Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Crocus => Topic started by: Janis Ruksans on August 01, 2018, 08:21:44 PM
-
It seem that this forum now became my Crocus diary. But I want to share my observations on them.
Today I continued harvesting. But it was possible to work only in very early hours - it still is enormously hot. Last night we had outside temperature + 26 C. Incredible for Latvia. So I took fiesta and slept midday for 2.5 hours. Then swimming in pond and back to crocuses.
Today I potted crocus cartwrightianus, starting with form from Crete (var. cretensis). Is it worth of species status - I don't know. Not easy to tell without DNA, but getting of this after my critics to Kerndorff became almost impossible, as analyses were done in Gatersleben where are researched his crocuses. Even long time friend joined with him not replies to me more, too. But truth is most important thing!
Then harvestinmg followed with Crocus longiflorus. This Italian species didn't grew well. Corms were unusually small, although some stocks splitted unusually abundantly, but formed small corms. Just opposite was situation with Crocus niveus from Pelloponesus. I never before had so huge corms of it - just just fit 9 corms into mine 15x15 cm pots. Bot no splitting. Losses were very occasional and very few corms mummified, but for the first time I observed baked crocus corms (yesterday in greenhouse was + 54 C). They were on pot side exposed to sun. Earlier I occasionally had this with frits, tulips, corydalis, but it was first time with crocuses.
-
Janis, just keep on writing :)
I really enjoy reading this "diary". It is not so often we get information on how the corms had performed, so I find it very interesting.
I have also been repotting, but of course in a much smaller scale than you.
We had a very warm spring and it is still unusually warm here in Denmark. I can see that on my crocus corms. they are in general smaller than usual, as they got dormant very early.
Wattiorum has split in many very small corms, so no flowering this year :(. In general I find it difficult to get flowering sized corms of this species. It seems to go dormant very early. Maybe someone has a good advice?
In general all corms are very healthy and I have only lost single corms. This is much better than previous years, and I think that the main reason is that I sterilized the compost last year and added Promot Plus which contains Trichoderma koningii and Trichoderma harzianum.
A few species has performed better than expected:
Hakkariensis, lycius, nevadensis, ligusticus and sativus has very big corms.
Balansae Chocolate Soldier, which I got 2 medium size corms of this spring from New Zealand, has been growing until recently and has multiplied to 5 medium sized corms :)
The last success I will mention is 2 year old seedlings of my own cross of vallicola and scharojanii scharojanii. One of the pots was repotted for the first time this year, and I got 19 corms which is 6-10 mm.
Poul
-
Thank you, Poul. Having no replies or comments I felt something idiotic with my entries. Happy that those are interesting for someone.
Yesterday I harvested Spanish autumnal crocuses. They grew very well. For most I never before had so good corms. Single exception was my own gatherings from Portugal. Corms again were small, two pots were marked with slip "bad corms". Although it means nothing - quite often they grew erven better than those in unmarked pots. As always with Spanish autumn bloomers were problems with correct identification. OK, no problems with nudiflorus - stoloniferous, forming leaves only in spring, although this year it was not so distinctly stoloniferous as before. Identification of serotinus again isn't very difficult - its more or less, but always coarsely reticulated tunics allowed to separate it. Problems are with separating of clusii from salzmannii - even under glass it is not always easy to decide are the tunics parallel fibrous or finely reticulated. Clusii usually are without leaves at blooming time but my most proliferous clusii (received from famous German grower) always has long and wide leaves at blooming time. I apologize to my customers, if I sent them wrongly named plants, but by other features it +/- fit clusii. I well understand why Brian Mathew regarded them as subspecies.
Another species from yesterday was C. ligusticus. I have 5 small samples of it and contrary to Poul I can't be proud with successful growing of this species. Yes, it alive and may be this year corms are better than usually, but they are small and I only can to hope about their blooming this autumn.
-
Today I finished harvesting, not repotting. Contrary to my usual practice I decided to harvest last pots and then in early morning to start repotting. The first was Crocus cancellatus s.l. Excellent quality although corms were something smaller than usually could be, but losses were absolutely minimal. All corms had 1-2 cm long shoots and I accidentally broke the shoot of the first cleaned corm. In general I'm very satisfied with all crocuses from C. cancellatus group. May be Greek mazziaricus were not so healthy (there were more mummified corms) and were larger than Turkish cancellatus, but I'm very happy with them.
Then followed assumaniae from pallasii group. Again corms were very healthy, although much smaller than usually were. They didn't like this extreme climate, but I'm satisfied - a lot will be blooming and one stock perfectly increased by splitting, too. The growing and shape was so special and different from other "pallasii" relatives that I even labeled some unknown stock as assumaniae only after corm shape and size, of course using question mark on label.
And then came Crocus turcicus. It really shocked me. Corms were huge, incredible size and huge were losses. Where I had 5 pots for harvesting alive for repotting only for 2 pots. Mummification, fusarium - I was really shocked about results. No one other pallasii s.l. was so bad. I checked died corms with loupe and on one corm was really shocked seeing a lot of small insects quickly running between died tissue. They were of size of Rhizoglyphus mite - the pest which destroyed a lot of collections in Germany, including collection of Erich Pasche, but looked something different. Mites usually are slower in mowing and are dying or at least sleeping in so high temperatures. But I was so shocked that I put the corm in plastic bag and stopped harvesting for running to laboratory. They checked for me the corm and insects and found that they are saprophytes which eat dead tissue and reason for bulbs death was fungal problem - most likely Fusarium, but it was impossible to check it so quickly. So I breathed more freely, but in any case losses from Fusarium between C. turcicus was enormous. As I wrote before - the greatest losses were between pallasii group. If I would line them starting with the best growers the line would look so - kofudagensis, assumaniae, mathewii, pallasii from Syria, Israel, Jordan, macedonicus, pallasii from Greece Islands and W Turkey, type pallasii from Crimea and as the worst - turcicus, especially turcicus from Lebanon. If it would continue in following years in same way - without sawing of seeds some stock would be certainly lost.
I must note, that I'm every year repotting in fresh pots, in fresh sterile substrate, so no reason for infection. This year I checked health status of repotted corms very carefully and all suspicious were destroyed. Only some rarest species where corms looked poor were marked with slip - bad corms. But I think I already wrote that sometimes so marked corms grew better that those without mark.
Returning to Rhizoglyphus mite. I think that I have minor problems (I only once found this mite on single died corm got a year before from Germany) for several reasons. At first it is sanitary, then my growing style - repotting and immediate replacing of pots in greenhouse where temperature this summer reached even +54 C. Mite stop increase in temperatures over 25 and dies at 44 C. Pots are kept dry up to temperature falls down in autumn to 10-15 C. But mite again inactivates at such temperatures. So there is very short period when it can increase and damage corms. I agree with Henrik Zetterlund that mite makes damage only together with fungal disease, especially with Fusarium. If your bulbs are healthy - no problems.
So for me remained potting of harvested corms, then harvesting of some 40 pots with 4-5 years old seedlings, and then will come line to frits etc.
-
A difficult year of growing, for sure. Thank goodness there are good results also.
-
Janis, thanks for writing this diary and keep on. I am reading it very carefully. I did not start repotting at all, everyday 35°C is too much for that job.
-
I have just finished repotting the last 100 pots of crocus. In general they have performed well. Almost all has increased in numbers, but some of them were smaller than expected. On some species there were many cormlets, which I just have send to the Crocus seed exchange together with my spare seeds.
When I put the pots back in the frame I saw the first sprout of Crocus mazziaricus, so in a day or two I have the first Crocus flower of the season. I was surprised as Crocus suworovianus is normally the first one in flower at me. (Except Crocus scharojanii scharojanii, which is the very first but unfortunately it does not flower every year for me). Shortly after suworovianus follows scharojanii flavus and vallicola. But this spring and summer has been very warm and dry, and that could explain that the order of appearence has changed.
Out of topic I could mention that Colchicum parnassicum and kotshyi flowered in July, while Colchicum montanum and Cyclamen hederifolium have just started flowering.
Poul
-
A bit of a surprise a couple of days ago to find a bright coloured shoot appearing in a seed-pot.
Sown in 2016 from Goteborg seed Crocus gargaricus ssp gargaricus (J&JA 344.090, Turkey)
Today I brought it inside to get it to open in the warmth!
It is tiny, so definitely one for a trough rather than the garden, unless it's just because it's only 2 years old
cheers
fermi
-
A nice reminder of Jim on the anniversary of his death. Thanks, fermi
-
I finished repotting of main crocus stocks 9 days ago. The last to plant was species from pallasii group, and very last was C. turcicus. As I wrote already - there were greatest losses from Fusarium dry rot. I'm attaching here picture how looks infected corms. Although C. turcicus had the greatest losses in the same time it made hugest corms. On the second picture are 15x15 cm pot in which was possible to plant only 5(!) corms. For you can better compare on next picture is pot with Crocus pallidus seedlings where in pot of same size were placed 25 corms.
I don't think that it would be possible to keep C. turcicus in collection without regular pollinating and re-sawing of seeds. Fortunately species from C. pallasii group set seeds very easily and abundantly. They germinates very well and I'm usually throwing away smaller sizes of seedlings, having far too much for my needs and current size of nursery.
-
Very important is labeling of all your acquisitions. I'm using labels made in Germany, they in full sun last at least 3 to 5 years before became brittle. I found that no one of markers are sufficiently sun and waterproof regardless of producer and label on packet ensuring for use just this product. Some lasts longer, but no one is permanent. So I turned to old standard graphite pencil. Most of my labels are handwritten, but in winter months some are printed by laser printer on special film (very expensive) which are attached on plastic label, but again problem is in glue - sometimes didn't fix the printed film on label for long time, so nothing is better than old standard black pencil.
On labels I'm writing main important information - name, acquisition number, locality where it was collected or from whom it was received, altitude where it grows. In some cases on top is special number. It is used for species in which I'm specially interested. For example - all localities from where I'm growing crocuses of biflorus group are numbered from 1 (Italy) to 99 - E Turkey and Caucasus, those biflorus from Iran has locality numbers starting from 100. It allows easier placing on beds - in such a way neighbouring species are placed side by side.
Similarly labeled are crocus localities for large group of C. mazziaricus relatives and this winter I will give similar numbers for C. pallasii group.
Crocuses from chrysanthus group (annulate species with yellow flowers, not always relatives) are "numbered" by alphabet starting from A which is used for locus classicus of chrysanthus in Galičica in Northern Macedonia.
I'm sure that under name of C. danfordiae are hidden several species, so their acquisitions again are numbered starting from West in direction to East. Putting on map my acquisitions of those crocuses they formed 2 separate groups - Western populations and Eastern populations - so for danfordiae crocuses in label near locality number is attached litter "W" or "E" - showing from which region it comes.
Another labeling system is used for seeds. There always on label is year when seeds were collected and sawn. So S-18 mean that seeds were collected in 2018. Most of my seeds are from hand-pollinated plants, but if they are from open pollination - then is attached small liter "o". Sometimes such labels show amazing things. I this summer harvested pot with some Iris species sawn already in 2008. There were blooming size corms and still a lot of seedlings which germinated only last spring and there were still seeds which looked good, but still waiting... There were similar situation with crocus mathewii sawn in October, 2011. That only confirms how important is early sawing - I try to saw my seeds immediately after harvesting - then germination is very abundant in the first spring.
-
Sometimes are attached special red label. It is used for pots where special attention is needed, from where herbarium must be made because it is supposedly new, still unpublished species. I still have a lot of crocus samples without name, where only acquisition number is written on label. Some of those are selected for deeper research during following blooming and growing season - and then red label allows easier to locate the pot between almost 4000 pots with crocuses.
Crocus repotting is finished and top-dressing with stone-chips started. Watering will start only in September. But still almost half of greenhouse needs working. Today almost finished Colchicums - remained 8 pots! Were too tired to bring new potting mixture into greenhouse. Will finish tomorrow and then will be line for Cyclamen, Fritillaria, Corydalis etc. etc. I was out of repotting during almost all last week. After finishing with crocuses came Open Door Day for my wife's Phlox collection (more than 200 cultivars). We had almost 500 visitors and my help was very essential. Then 3 days I worked with bees and honey harvesting. The best crop from one family was 70 kg, but in average 30 kg from family - not very good, but excellent for so dry season. And then followed packing of inland orders for Latvian customers. So only yesterday I again returned to repotting of my bulb collection.
-
Surprised that regardless of long shoots at repotting time still no one autumn crocus are blooming. May be too hot? And no one reported their blooming from other places. With me now nicely blooms only few Colchicums, several (many of kotschyi, paschei) were repotted too late - finished blooming in boxes. Between not repotted yet bloomed pictured here C. lusitanum from Portugal. Blooms some Acis and Cyclamen hederifolium (were repotted with blooms).
-
The weather has turned back to normal for Denmark, about 22 degrees and cloudy. That is cold compared to a week ago where it was sunny and +30.
Maybe that is the reason that many of my Crocus has shown their noses:
Crocus suworovianus, vallicola, scharojanii flavus, cancellatus. Only one is in full flower: Crocus mazziaricus aff. I will see if I can show a pic tomorrow.
Poul
-
Here still is very hot. Some cooling offered only next week - down to 20 C.
-
interesting to see how you manage your labels Janis. Very clean nursery!
-
Janis thank you for showing the picture of the corms with Fusarium dry rot. This is something I have very often and have not been able to identify the problem. Do you have any idea how the problem arises and any preventative measures
-
Surprised that regardless of long shoots at repotting time still no one autumn crocus are blooming.
I observed last year that a shoot came out, when it was rather warm. Nothing happened for a week or more. Then the temperatures dropped and within one or two days the shoot grew on and flowered.
At the moment I have a single shoot out but as last year it is still too warm for it to flower.
-
Here is my first flower this season: Crocus mazziaricus aff. from Samos. Unfortunately it needs some sun to open.
Poul
-
Here is my first flower this season: Crocus mazziaricus aff. from Samos. Unfortunately it needs some sun to open.
Poul
Very nice - when will come up mine?
-
Very nice - when will come up mine?
Hopefully soon!
We look forward seeing all your beautiful Crocus.
By me the second flowering one in an uncovered frame is Crocus scharojanii flavus.
Poul
-
It looks really nice!
-
Finally the Crocus season has started here!
Crocus scharojanii. An image taken yesterday between the rain showers.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1878/30347037198_4e77712797_o_d.jpg)
Crocus suworovianus
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1865/30347037618_d22c78f66d_o_d.jpg)
Crocus karduchorum ex SASA-102
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1881/30347037398_78a23767a0_o_d.jpg)
-
Finally the Crocus season has started here!
Crocus scharojanii. An image taken yesterday between the rain showers.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1878/30347037198_4e77712797_o_d.jpg)
Crocus suworovianus
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1865/30347037618_d22c78f66d_o_d.jpg)
Crocus karduchorum ex SASA-102
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1881/30347037398_78a23767a0_o_d.jpg)
Hallo Steve, this are wonderful crocus-fotos and the beginn of the new saison seems to be very early, here in germany after a very hot and dry summer the colchicum started 3 weeks earlier too!
-
Steve beautiful pictures of lovely crocuses. No sign of anything showing here yet
-
nor here, and indeed great shots.
-
Finally the Crocus season has started here!
Crocus karduchorum ex SASA-102
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1881/30347037398_78a23767a0_o_d.jpg)
Steve, your Crocus karduchorum looks more like C.cappadocius. Think karduchorum have other styles. Here my Crocus karduchorum.
[attachimg=2]
-
Thanks Dirk.
I bought this from Janis Ruksans as “Crocus karduchorum ex SASA -102”.
Perhaps Janis may be able to comment on this plant.
-
The plants SASA-102 were collected by Archibald, Stevens, Seisums at pass on old rd to Hizan from Van where only C. karduchorum is growing. They were very variable as you can see on attached picture - all grown in same pot from same gathering. All my C. cappadocicus comes from much more Western locations - Doģansekir and Ziyaretpesi gec. near border between Kayseri and Sivas Provinces and they has distinctly yellow stigmatic branches. I never saw plants of cappadocicus reported from Erzincan and Tunceli, but even they both are located more to W from SW corner of Lake Van from where C. karduchorum is described.
I'm separating both species +/- surely just by colour of stigmatic branches. Seedlings of karduchorum having yellow stigmas are discarded as occasional hybrids, but some has slightly creamy stigmatic branches as between original plants. Actually as most typical I regard only those with pure white stigmas, but how constant it is in nature - I don't know. I never was there at blooming time of karduchorum.
-
The Crocus kotschyanus group is very complicated - plants from type localities are more or less identical and easy to identify, but there are very few data foundable at their blooming culmination in wild to see the complete variability of them and distribution area of each of them. Crocus cappadocicus is registered from two general localities, but in cultivation I found only plants collected near Ziyaretpesi gecidi - the most W and S located population, I saw them only in spring, never succeed to be there at blooming time, so all my judgments about variability comes from few plants collected by me and many more bought from other growers/collectors. On the map it is marked red.
Another 2 localities is positioned more to East and North - from there no one plant was seen by me. On map marked yellow.
The plant pictured by Kees Jan still more to North and most likely representing new species is marked on map with green.
The karduchorum locality - has brown mark.
I must note that at green and brown points only few plants were seen by Kees Jan in 2011, so no information about variability in wild.
But there are still more "enigmas" - what is suworovianus lilacinus? What is kotschyanus from very South (Syria)? Distribution area of hakkariensis?
-
Steve, beautiful photos!
I cannot compete with that quality, but here are a few crocus from my garden.
Two pots of Crocus scharojanii flavus.
Crocus suworovianus
Crocus suworovianus liacinus
Poul
-
My first crocus opened its flower this afternoon. Picture is not of high quality and flower isn't the best, but we still have very hot weather. Only nights are a little cooler. But it is the FIRST! It is Crocus suworovianus LST-250 from Golyurt gec, alt. 2380 m (40 20.00 N 40 47.00 E). The shape of flower something resembles vallicola, but position of corm in soil (on its side) allows to name it without doubt. On 2nd picture another flower spotted today - the apple tree blooming together with almost ripe fruits. Oh, this strange summer...
-
My first crocus in the open garden is one from the large Crocus speciosus group. I do not know exactly which one it is.
-
Very nice! Could be some of cultivars? In general resembles two species - typical speciosus, but most likely could be armeniensis (the last most likely is parent of most named cultivars). With me yesterday started blooming Crocus cancellatus (type species) and today opened flowers of C. cancellatus from Samos. In greenhouse is +34 C, I pictured them, but now I'm too busy harvesting hardy Oxalis collection (will be potted tomorrow), so have no time to show the pictures. May be later in evening.
-
After a relatively cold night some more crocus opened yesterday:
Crocus autranii
Crocus vallicola from Russian Caucasus
Crocus vallicola x scharojanii flavus
Poul
-
Next in line is Crocus banaticus, both the standard blue one but also the white First Snow.
And more flowers on the hybrid Crocus vallicola x scharojanii flavus.
-
Great collection Poul of really nice early Crocus. Not much can be seen here, mainly Sternbergia and Colchicum.
-
Indeed Poul you own a nice collection.
autranii is so beautiful!
-
Thank you Stefan and Yann!
Stefan, Colchicum and Sternbergia started up long before my Crocus. Especially Sternbergia are early and very floriferous this year, probably due to the dry and hot spring and summer we have had.
-
Here still far too hot for good blooming. Yesterday in greenhouse I had +32, a day before +36 C. Crocus autranii came out with already wilted tips of flower segments. C. suworovianus came out and end blooming in two days, only some cancellatus last longer, but still not started mass blooming. Next week is offered something cooler and then may be will start more abundant blooming. By myself I'm still harvesting. Fortunately still left only collection of Alliums (some 300 pots) and Anemone blanda, biflora and Central Asian species. Anemones I watered for the first time yesterday - for tubers will soak up in soil making them larger and easier to repot. Up to now repotted only one new species which I will hope to publish next spring.
But I was really shocked yesterday, when I went to work with my bees in my former nursery place. As you now - I'm repotting crocuses every year and completely changing substrate and even pots. Used soil goes to places in open garden, mostly in grass or in shrubs - to spots where must be raised soil level. Of course, always some bulb/corm escapes, especially when seedlings with tiny bulbs/corms are repotted for the first time. As I wrote before, one of species which mostly suffered from last summers hot was crocus banaticus, It is very possible that this species could be almost lost (will see in spring). Here banaticus is not growable outside, it almost never blooms as cold came too early. And yesterday I spotted two marvellous purest white flowers of banaticus under large oak tree where used soil was scattered. Flowers was intermediate in size between 'First Snow' and 'Snowdrift', so they were seedlings. Both were well marked to be harvested at end of next season and I hope that my
C. banaticus stock will be rebuilt from them. I cross-pollinated both. It only confirms that most likely I was keeping my banaticus too wet in former summers. In wild I collected it under large beach trees where soil in summer must be completely dry and cooler than in greenhouse. May be next summer I will built some roofed place under trees for placing of those crocuses which hate too high temperatures in summer.
Still hadn't time to prepair pictures. May be later today... or tomorrow?