Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Crocus => Topic started by: Arda Takan on March 30, 2013, 08:33:01 PM
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hello all,
I'm planning to visit Abant next week and I am hoping to see some crocus abantensis. I know this year spring came very early and it is even latter than the normal time of blooming but do you think I can find any blooming crocus abantensis? Or only leaves?
Thanks
Arda,
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I think you will find, may be you will need longer walk, but there are plenty of gullies with more snow where blooming delays. And there were quite heavy snowing at quite low altitudes NW Turkey during last days of our trip (16-17th of March). So I suppose - you will see flowers, too. Look for unusual colours and may be you will be lucky to find some Crocus x paulinae with brownish flowers.
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Thank you Janis!
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by the way I forgot to say I have no car so the location of hotel I will stay is very important. could you suggest any?
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I never lived in hotel near Abant, I think they are very expensive (at least for me). I usually lived quite far from locality in small moderate city hotels. There are several just near lake.
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Unfortunately I will stay in that expensive hotel(I have no car). I've made the reservation. Hope I'll find what I want on saturday.
Thank you for your reply Janis,
best regards,
Arda
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I hope you have a good trip, Arda, and that you see lots of crocus :)
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Unfortunately I will stay in that expensive hotel(I have no car). I've made the reservation. Hope I'll find what I want on saturday.
Thank you for your reply Janis,
best regards,
Arda
Arda, go by main road up to pass and then turn right, higher by slope and you will find C. abantensis. It is growing together with ancyrensis. I usually puictured my plants just on both sides of pass, but you are later, so must go up higher by slope. Both species grow there in abbundabce, so must not be problems. Side by side is C. speciosus (autumn bloomer), too, but it is more under trees in partial shade. The last is growing at lekes altitude and even lower, too.
All depends from weather. Ones I was there in mid March, C. abantensis just started blooming. I returned on my way back 10 days later and all were under deep snow.
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My Journey is completed. I have found too few c. abantensis at south of lake so I decided to climb. At the highest point and end of the forest, near snow I have found a great amount c. Abantensis. I will add photos when I reach home.
Arda
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Excellent news that you found the flowers, Arda. We will look forward to seeing the photos later.
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I'll add more soon
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Sorry for delay,
I am back with more pictures( but not with good quality I am sorry)
After reaching abant about 8 AM I went directly to the south of the lake. An there near the path I found these little crocuses.
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I wasn't satisfied with the looks, so I remembered what Janis said and decided to climb.
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So when I reach the top of the hill I saw the snow and hundreds of cyclamens,Primula(??)s and crocuses.
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Me stepping on snow and enjoying the view.
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Time to reward myself.
Cheers.
Thanks to everyone who supported me for this trip. I really enjoyed every moment of it.
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You made a success of the trip for sure, Arda. I hope it will be the first of many trips you make to enjoy the wonderful flowers and nature in your country. It's good that you begin now- you will need a long life to explore all of Turkey!
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Also I forgot to add this colchicum species.
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You made a success of the trip for sure, Arda. I hope it will be the first of many trips you make to enjoy the wonderful flowers and nature in your country. It's good that you begin now- you will need a long life to explore all of Turkey!
Thanks Maggi.
Now I have enough resources and time( I don't work on saturdays now)
I think I can keep like this forever :)
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Arda
glad it went well for you. It is a beautiful area both for the scenery and the plants. I have been a couple of times and it always seems wonderful.
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Hi Arda,
Lovely to see this area again - such a wonderful place. I also found Crocus olivieri in open spaces south of the lake along the road from the expensive (but luxurious) hotel. Also Fritillaria pontica and an unidentified colchicum (Janis might know which one)in the same location. I think it is the furthest western point of Helleborus orientalis' range and there were many plants on both the southern and northern sides of the lake.
Did you enjoy your stay in the hotel?
Cheers, Marcus
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Hello Marcus,
I was too focus finding C. Abantensis I didn't pay attention on other bulbs much. I didn't take enough photos. Now I regret those things but that is a good experience for my future journeys.
I didn't see any frits. The list of bulbous plants I saw are(my guesses);
Ornithogalum
Cyclamen
Colchicum
Muscari
Galanthus
Scilla
Gagea
My hotel's name was Büyük Abant Oteli. It was a good hotel. But expensive for 1 night :)
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Marcus
the Hellebors orientalis grows even further west and I collected it near Sile which is on the coast North of Izmit growing with Primula vulgaris ssp sibthorpii.
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while on my way to abant from bolu I saw Hellebors orientalis from distance in bus and I tought it could be some kind of frit. But when I get close I was disappointed.
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Hi Tony,
I learn something every day! I still have quite a few plants from my seed collection growing around the garden.
Did you find any white flowering forms of said primula?
I will never forget that hotel, Arda. I almost fell over when I was told the price per night! In fact I did start to walk out the door when the hotel manager came racing after me and offered me their Bargain Basement room , which was, well, in the basement. It still cost me, who was a strict budget that had to last 3 months, a virtual arm and a leg, but the food, the service, the atmosphere was fantastic. There were many very rich looking Turkish people staying there but no foreign tourists. The hotel put on a big open air concert down by the lake with belly dancers and the whole orchestra on Sunday morning. For those of us who just wanted to get away to the wilderness for a bit of peace and quiet - forget it! I remember thinking at the time how different this was to Tasmanian national parks but these days the gap is narrowing with an increasing inclusion of these commercial assets inside them now.
Cheers, Marcus