Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Crocus => Topic started by: Janis Ruksans on September 09, 2018, 05:37:03 AM
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Oh, already September came, but here still enormously hot. But at first I must to thank everyone for greetings in my birthday. Crocuses slowly start to bloom and quickly fade due too hot weather. Two principal species now blooms - Crocus suworovianus and Crocus cancellatus sensu lato, not in mass, but only some stocks. All are pictured, but I'm so busy with repotting of now Alliums, that too tired in evenings to work with pictures.
But this entry I started for another occasion, just in my birthday's week was received marvellous present from Czech Republic - fantastical book of Vojtech Holubec and David Horak - The Tian Shan and its Flowers. 403 pages, almost all covered with pictures of fantastic landscapes and p[plants. From crocuses only C. alatavicus and korolkowii, but with very beautiful pictures. Book you can order directly from Vojtech - vojtech.holubec@tiscali.cz
I don't know exact price, but it is approximately same as price of my The World of Crocuses.
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Good to hear you enjoyed birthday greetings, dear Janis!
Learn more about the Holubec/Horak book here :
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16339.msg392307#msg392307 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16339.msg392307#msg392307)
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the first flower of autumn-crocus kotschyanus. Birds took a part of the flower-leaves, they must be tasteful!
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Yes, many animals (and also native people, as Janis has shown) like to eat crocus corms and flowers. But that is wrong >:( - Crocus is meant to be looked at and enjoyed that way only ;D.
I have to say that your crocus looks suspicious. The flower is deform and that could be a sign of virus and then it should be destroyed.
But let us hope that is is deform due to the bird attack.
Poul
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over night the next flowers of Crocus kotschyanus opened (13.9.2018) and they are undamaged !
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Crocus cappadocicus and xantholaimos opened today.
The last pic shows some variation in color in my pot of Crocus vallicola x scharojanii flavus seedlings. In some of the flowers the scharojanii gene is more dominant and gives a deeper yellow color.
Poul
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the first flower of autumn-crocus kotschyanus. Birds took a part of the flower-leaves, they must be tasteful!
It 100% is virus infected! On next entry right-hand plant looks suspicious, too. Other seem to be OK.
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Crocus cappadocicus and xantholaimos opened today.
The last pic shows some variation in color in my pot of Crocus vallicola x scharojanii flavus seedlings. In some of the flowers the scharojanii gene is more dominant and gives a deeper yellow color.
Poul
Excellent! Mine of the first "wave" wilted now comes new shoots - may be will last longer as weather becomes cooler. But draught is enormous. My water-lilies in ponds are out of water!
Janis
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It 100% is virus infected! On next entry right-hand plant looks suspicious, too. Other seem to be OK.
Thank You, Janis, for You information. I will select this plant now and have never seen bevor!
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Excellent! Mine of the first "wave" wilted now comes new shoots - may be will last longer as weather becomes cooler. But draught is enormous. My water-lilies in ponds are out of water!
Janis
Hallo Janis, here are two fotos from last year: Crocus kotschyanus and Crocus speciosus "Artabir" in great meadow
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The first Crocusses here did not flower well because of the heat. Now it is becoming better but most are still not as nice as usual.
Crocus armeniensis
[attachimg=1]
Crocus autranii at the second day of flowering, the first had been the better on
[attachimg=5]
Crocus damascenus was in flower at the beginning of August. Some shoots are coming out now.
[attachimg=2]
Crocus ilgazensis
[attachimg=3]
Crocus lycius
[attachimg=4]
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great photos, indeed it's warming again for the following weeks, no sign of Crocus yet here
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Stefan, great to see the Crocus season has started at your place. I look forward seeing more flowers from your large collection. :)
Poul
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Great to see Crocus' appearing again.
I have Crocus asumaniae in flower right now.
A light lilac form.
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On the last photo we can see the typical rib of this species
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Here some cool nights (temperature "only" + 9 C) encouraged start of blooming, but new hot wave is coming from Wednesday. But the reason for this entry is amazing finding in my former garden place. As I wrote before there were some species which were very poor this season and the poorest were Crocus veluchensis (all stocks) and C. banaticus (again all stocks). I repotted them but I'm not sure that there many will come up in spring. In my old garden still are my bee hives and a week ago I went there for so named "autumn revision" - checking of winter food reserves, taking of last surplus honey (yielded additional 10 kg in average from family) and was really shocked seeing under trees where used potting mix were always deposited two brightest white flowers of C. banaticus albino. By shape they looks as cv. 'Snowdrift'. Unfortunately I hadn't camera with me and when some days later I revisited the place both flowers wilted. I carefully opened soil around dry flower stems. It was absolutely dust dry! No signs of minor moisture. There were in total 3 corms - laying only some 7 cm deep. All abundantly rooted and roots were around 5-6 cm long. Both were carefully together with soil taken out, not damaging roots and carefully potted. Another one confirmation that may be request for moisture during summer rest is not so important as suspected. Excellent crop of pelistericus and scardicus left in greenhouse without watering all the last summer and quite poor crop when they were brought outside and exposed to summer rains in former years. Up to now only one species really benefit from bringing outside was C. abantensis. So for next year I will build up roof over my summer pot deposit place to protect plants from summer rains. Will see the results...
On attached picture seedlings from 'Snowdrift' pictured in greenhouse 2 years ago, most likely at repotting time some corms escaped my attention and were thrown away together with the old used potting mix, but may be they were just cv. 'Snowdrift'.
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Too warm again and Crocus flowers suffered again. Despite moist ground the flowers did not open well besides Crocus mazziaricus from Enos, Kefallonia.
[attachimg=1]
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Does anyone have a source of crocus vallicolal?
Asking for a friend
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Does anyone have a source of crocus vallicolal?
Asking for a friend
It is far too late - C. vallicola just started blooming.
Janis
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Crocus banaticus is one of my favourites.
(https://up.picr.de/33845509or.jpg)
(https://up.picr.de/33845511wr.jpg)
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Today I maid herbarium of fantastical autumn bloomer from Turkey with tiny flowers, tunics as in cancellatus group but with only 3-branched (?) stigma as in pallasii. Makes up to 5 tiny (less than 25 mm long) flowers per corm. There are some other Turkish species, too – description of one is almost finished, two still need some data. Today started blooming one superb Greek crocus from near Macedonia. So I decided to go to Greece in the 2nd half of November and just to Central and North Greece, not to Islands as I planned before.
Returning to Rhizoglyphus mite. I think that I have minor problems (I only once found this mite on single died corm got from ...) 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.
More problems I had with Scilla and Muscari, having perennial bulbs. This year I found some bulbs of Scilla armena with mite (?) damage and some of Scilla bifolia looked poor, too. Last year I treated all suspicious pots watering after repotting with 0.2 % solution of Actellic (pirimifos-methyl). Some bulbs in each pot were lost (may be they were more invaded) but those which alive now looked perfect. So this year I replaced acaricide to another - Dimetoat and instead of watering, sprayed with its solution after placing in pot and then covered with soil. I did this to all Scilla, Muscari, Ornithogalum species. I’m joking that I use “mite Novichok” as the medical treatment if you accidentally became poisoned with dimetoate is the same what was used to save life of Skripal in Solsbery.
But weather here is still dry and hot. How looks our water-lilies - you can see in attached photo, they are 1 m over water level in pond. A year before all the summer water stayed over banks and few rowan trees planted in adjacent meadow died - get drowned after 20 years of succesful growing.
Janis
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Darkness push inside from greenhouse every day earlier and earlier, so I have more time to sit at computer and can show you some crocuses.
Crocus scharojanii flavus of course suffer from such unusual hot and stay short. Today in greenhouse was + 36 C.
Unusually early started blooming of Crocus dispathaceus.
Crocus hadriaticus is one of brightest white at this moment.
Seem that very hot weather induced appearing of double flowers - here two such curiosities - Crocus turcicus and Crocus cartwrightianus
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A single Crocus banaticus pushed through the ground at temperatures 31°C day /10°C night the last couple of days! :)
My garden, lawn, hedges and fields around my home are bone dry and brown.
The 8 m³ cistern run low already in June, had to partial re-fill 5x times, always hoping for some rainfall but nothing significant (13 mm June, 4 mm July, 10 mm Aug., zero in Sept.) - can't remember such drought. :'(
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Also here the first Crocus banaticus but it is not so dry not far from the Alps.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
Also Crocus cancellatus is starting to bloom, some surrounded by Sideritis syriaca seedlings
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=4]
[attachimg=5].
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Seem that was passed the hottest day of 21st September ever recorded - temperature outside reached 29 C, in greenhouse I even didn't check. Regardless of this I finished potting of Muscari s.l. , potted all Geranium's and even 45 pots with Alliums and maid a lot of pictures. Seem that tonight temperature will drop dramatically and for following two weeks only + 10-12 degrees are offered and finally seem that some rains will come, too.
Crocuses blooms and wilts but now I hope that better days will start. So some pictures of today:
Crocus assumaniae JP 88-47
Crocus boryi PELO-001
Crocus cappadocicus JRRK-090
Crocus cartwrightianus Purple Eyes
Crocus damascenus - Iraq Kurdistan
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And some more
Crocus dispathaceus Icel, Turkery
Crocus kotschyanus HKEP-9205 - SE Turkey near Syrian border
Crocus pallasii type locality, Crimea, Ukraina (temporary occupied by Russia)
Crocus pulchellus Goldag, Manissa, Turkey
Crocus speciosus aff. possibly ilgazensis LST-374 (near Pinarbasi, alt. 1890 m)
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Very nice set Janis, still nothing here too hot and dry.
The heart of HKEP-9205 :o
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Some Crocus in flower here at the start of this month:
Crocus vallicola
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1974/29902539587_de120a0935_o_d.jpg)
Crocus scharojanii flavus
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1966/29902539187_0a6974bb88_o_d.jpg)
Crocus scharojanii
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1852/43028030940_024252a03e_o_d.jpg)
Crocus autranii
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1850/29902539397_2c8886fa1c_o_d.jpg)
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Steve, as always, your photography is exquisite!
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Steve, beautiful photos of 4 of my favourite Crocus species. I envy your skills in both growing and photographing them!
Poul
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Many thanks Gordon and Poul.
I still struggle with these crocus -particularly scharojanii. It may perhaps have been a result of the warm, dry summer but one scharojanii corm flowered at the end of July, another in August and then the one above in early September. I would prefer to have them flower en-masse and then get some seed set.
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To be able to cross pollinate within species and make hybrids I have frozen pollens of scharojanii.
I cut of the anthers, put them in a small glassine envelope and put this in a empty Jam glass with silica gel to dry them (at room temperature). Next day I put the envelope in a zip lock plastic bag with some silica gel and put them in the freezer at -18C.
Two months later, I successfully pollinated Crocus vallicola to get the hybrid scharojanii flavus. That was 3 years ago, and the corms are now 6-10 mm as shown here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16551.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16551.0)
I have read somewhere that Crocus pollen are viable for several years if kept dryed and frozen at low temperatures. I will try to find the link to that article.
Poul
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Many thanks for this information Poul.
I will certainly try it in future.
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To be able to cross pollinate within species and make hybrids I have frozen pollens of scharojanii.
I cut of the anthers, put them in a small glassine envelope and put this in a empty Jam glass with silica gel to dry them (at room temperature). Next day I put the envelope in a zip lock plastic bag with some silica gel and put them in the freezer at -18C.
Two months later, I successfully pollinated Crocus vallicola to get the hybrid scharojanii flavus. That was 3 years ago, and the corms are now 6-10 mm as shown here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16551.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16551.0)
I have read somewhere that Crocus pollen are viable for several years if kept dryed and frozen at low temperatures. I will try to find the link to that article.
Poul
Very interesting. I didn't know this.
Janis
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The first cold day this autumn - we had here only + 12 C and further days are promised cooler - so I hope that more advanced blooming will start, but yesterday's hot killed almost all flowers and there was nothing to picture today. I'm still repotting. Now left only Tulipa and Ornithogalum. Today potted Iranian tulips, there are some very interesting. Really tired although potted only 130 pots (yesterday regardless of hot even 200). In evening started to work with spring pictures and was stopped by marvellous hybrid of Crocus ancyrensis raised in Lithuania by Eugenius Dambrauskas. He just named it 'Eldorado'. It is abundant bloomer, excellent increaser by splitting and prefer growing in garden, not so well in pots. It is sterile, confirming hybrid origin.
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To be able to cross pollinate within species and make hybrids I have frozen pollens of scharojanii.
I cut of the anthers, put them in a small glassine envelope and put this in a empty Jam glass with silica gel to dry them (at room temperature). Next day I put the envelope in a zip lock plastic bag with some silica gel and put them in the freezer at -18C.
Two months later, I successfully pollinated Crocus vallicola to get the hybrid scharojanii flavus. That was 3 years ago, and the corms are now 6-10 mm as shown here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16551.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16551.0)
I have read somewhere that Crocus pollen are viable for several years if kept dryed and frozen at low temperatures. I will try to find the link to that article.
Poul
Jamie Vande has experience with storing Crocus pollen: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2726.15 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2726.15) reply 15
And here an article about Rhododendron pollen: https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JARS/v30n1/v30n1-mayer.htm (https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JARS/v30n1/v30n1-mayer.htm)
Another about fruit tree pollen: https://www.jircas.go.jp/ja/file/7570/download?token=oSpS9RoH (https://www.jircas.go.jp/ja/file/7570/download?token=oSpS9RoH)
General articles about pollen storage: https://cropgenebank.sgrp.cgiar.org/index.php/178-procedures/collecting/654-chapter-25-collecting-pollen-for-genetic-resources-conservation (https://cropgenebank.sgrp.cgiar.org/index.php/178-procedures/collecting/654-chapter-25-collecting-pollen-for-genetic-resources-conservation)
I could not find more specific information regarding Crocus pollen storage, so if someone has experience regarding this, please share.
Poul
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Searching for articles about storage of Crocus pollen, I found this interesting paper about life cycle of Crocus:https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/STAPFIA_0103_0027-0065.pdf (https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/STAPFIA_0103_0027-0065.pdf)
Poul
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First flower of the season here. Crocus serotinus salzmannii = Crocus salzmannii.
Cooler weather, cold nights, recent rain. Lots of new growth in the crocus frame :)
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The crocuses outside are ahead of my potted ones, which have to wait until after the daffs are done (thank you Eric Rainford for helping) but they are flowering very well this year. The Crocus hadriaticus are loving it on my raised bulb bed, HS2 (it is top dressed with railway ballast to deter cats). A few corms of Crocus pulchellus have increased to a lovely drift which the bees and hoverflies were enjoying in the sun yesterday. The C. banaticus are seeding around gently under Betula jacquemontii.
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The railway ballast top-dressing may also deter mice, Anne - no bad thing!
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Maybe if I manage to deter the cats enough, I'll have a problem with mice? I need an owl. ::)
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YESTERDAY I FINISHED REPOTTING! So left only to plant mine own tulip cultivars which hadn't place in my large greenhouse and will be planted in the ground. I will start this on Monday when I will have helper to dig rows and to fix in soil wooden sticks separating stocks. Soil is hard and heavy hammer is needed to do this but I have some irritation in my right hands elbow and I can't do this by myself. During last 4 months more than 9000 pots were taken out of beds, taken off bulbs, corms etc and then again filled with substrate and placed on my rised beds - each pot 2-3+ kg in weight. Still left place for 15 pots as some corms/bulbs still didn't come from abroad, but I hope to get them next week. But yesterday it was possible to use second half of day with sun for pictures and here the first of them (some really were fantastic and surprised even myself).
The first is Crocus gilanicus from Iran. In several places it is growing together with some of Crocus speciosus group as you can see on 2nd picture where at planting was not noted difference in corms - both are collected in same place at altitude 2073 m. I still didn't compare this "speciosus" with other Iranian's so can't judge about its status.
Beautifully blooms Crocus ilgazensis - this is really true species just from Ilgaz-dag and it always is carefully hand-pollinated as otherwise ilgazensis can hybridize with pulchellus and several commercial stocks represent such hybrids which by the way are fertile in most cases.
One of the best "speciosus" of course is Crocus ibrahimi from Turkey in Europe. I really can't understand how former botanists overlooked this one regarding it mostly as pulchellus, sometimes as speciosus or as hybrid between both. The last certainly is not truth as no one pulchellus or speciosus were seen in proximity. The last pulchellus in dirrection to West in Turkey I saw only near Istambul.
Crocus puringii from Ai-Petri Yaila Crimea, Ukraine (at this moment occupied by Russia) is another one which surprises me for overlooking in earlier years. It was well known since 1983 that it has completely different chromosome number and their morphology what means that it can't be identified with type C. speciosus, although looks very similar to it by flower (as all speciosus group species - there still are many unidentified and unnamed both in Turkey and Iran, may be even in Greece).
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Another colour form of Crocus gilanicus from the same locality in Iran.
Then huge flowers of Crocus "mazziaricus" from NE Greece - the largest in this group.
Today one species were striped out my collection list - turned that my stock of Crocus sativus is virus infected and all 4 pots were deleted, all had very good roots even through bottom holes of my 20 cm deep pots.
And two pictures made by my wife - on first I'm working on crocuses in my hot day dressing, another during sunny but cold day.
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Janis that's really an impressive collection, so much raw material carried for great results :o
Here the first Crocus appears in the garden. I planted irises without reminding there was a bulbs carpet under the soil...
Crocus kotschyanus subsp kotschyanus are now hidden among rhizoms.
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It is last day of September. More and more crocuses are blooming now in greenhouse and some planted in garden between perennials show coloured buds and few speciosus (without labels) I found already almost finished in the garden. Now will be 3 entries each dedicated to some hybrids (unintentional and so in general undesired) between species - all made by bees.
In this entry most unpleasant - it is hybrid between Crocus autranii from W end of Caucasus and Crocus gilanicus from East where Caucasus mountains ends - from Iran. The hybrid was got as seeds of C. autranii from Gothenburg and seedlings (first picture) were all identical as it usually happens in F-1 generation hybrids between clean species - practically inseparable from autranii. Only growing both side by side you will note that hybrids are a little bit smaller and a shade lighter that clean autranii, but alone identification is practically impossible. This hybrid is fertile and pollinated one with another are forming F-2 generation seedlings where splitting starts. The some small part of spectrum you can see on the second picture. Today blooms pure gilanicus from Iran (bluish form) and some hybrids which from side look is absolutely identical with pure gilanicus, but when flowers open, you can see the difference - in the hybrid appeared yellow basal blotches so common in C. kotschyanus group. The last picture shows another one pure white F-2 seedling which already finished blooming.
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Another very old and well known in gardens is hybrid between Crocus pulchellus and some of C. speciosus group - cultivar 'Zephyr'. It is very good grower and again - it is fertile. In my collection happened such hybridization between ilgazensis and pulchellus - F-1 hybrid is very good grower and increaser, resembles dwarf speciosus and hybrid origin is shown by white anthers. Seem that it is sterile, but I didn't check this. At least at present I had no seeds from open pollination by bees.
But seedlings of 'Zephyr' split enormously - some resembles pure pulchellus, some speciosus, but mostly they has white anthers, showing pulchellus ancestry, and between them appear pure white pulchellus like plants, too. Those you can see on this entry.
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And as last this morning is the most surprising crocus this autumn. From where it comes - I have no idea. Checking my old papers, the first note about unusual autumn crocus in 2014, but how it came to my collection - is mystery fort me. Most likely I selected it from some seedlings, but forgot to note just from where it is. On label was written only Crocus suworovianus lilacinus, dark form.
Crocus suworovianus is known in two forms - most widespread is its white coloured form, but there are light lilac coloured, too. I have two samples of this lilac suworovianus - both are reported from Kizildag gecidi in East Turkey - one was collected by Czech travellers, another during BATMAN trip arranged by Gothenburg BG (BATM-371). Both are very similar and in general resembles suworovianus. Between open pollinated seedlings comes out white and light lilac specimens, so most likely both are only colour forms or its lilac form makes some link to kotschyanus group. By the way C. suworovianus was regarded by B. Mathew as subsp. of kotschyanus.
The crocus which is pictured here got my special attention only in autumn 32017 when I attached to its label note "excellent and special", to give more attention in future. This autumn it really shocked me. My first idea, seeing it coming out was - some crazy pelistericus which decided to bloom in autumn after this horribly hot summer, when flowers open they again resembles pelistericus by throat colour, only stigma is yellow. Seem that it is some hybrid from suworovianus lilacinus, because anthers looks pollen-free, and so it most likely is sterile. Now I tried to pollinate it with suworovianus lilacinus. So future will show what it really is. But now it is one of very special autumn bloomers with no one similar in my collection.
On the first two pictures is Crocus pelistericus and then 3 pictures of this hybrid - you can compare both by yourself. Flower of dark "lilacinus" were opened by fingers, to picture throat.
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Before returning to greenhouse this morning two more pictures - common view of autumn crocus collection yesterday - you can see a lot of pots still without flowers, but coming up (I checked some very special...)
Another picture shows you what can do small peace of Equisetum root into substrate. This amount of roots were formed in one pot of Allium during one season! It is most horrible weed. I'm making substrate mix on open field where are stocked my heaps of coarse sand and peat moss. Although below is geotextile film, sometimes some equisetum shoot find way through and regardless of regular weeding of components, some root peace escaped and entered pot together with potting mix. Now I'm not wondering that this form of vegetation alive since carbon age when they covered Earth.
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Janis thank you for all our posts I am able to enjoy and learn so much from your collection.
Here are a few from our garden this week,
[attachimg=1]
Mostly Crocus pulchellus and hybrids.
[attachimg=2]
C. nudiflorus and C. speciosus
[attachimg=3]
C. pulchellus
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I´m still waiting for hybrids! Crocus pulchellus ´Inspiration´looks unusually inspired this year.
(https://up.picr.de/33948574xy.jpg)
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The sunny last day of october, the crocus starts with flowering in open grounds in my garden:
1. Crocus kotschyanus with the typical V - formed orange markers inside of the flower
2. a white form of Crocus kotschyanus, the orange markers are point - formed, two points per flower-leave!
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Really nice Crocus you show. In the open garden I have seen the first Crocus speciosus, far off Ian's nice Crocus groups.
Fortunately there are more and more Crocus starting in the protected areas. One nice surprise is Crocus ibrahimii from Primorsk, Bulgaria. I have got the seed as C. chrysanthus.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
I was very happy to see my first flower of Crocus nerimaniae that I have got this year.
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=4]
First flower of a Crocus from the Sierra de Guadarrama. I determined it as Crocus salzmannii. Please tell me if this is wrong.
[attachimg=5]
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Crocus speciosus growing in my meadow.
[attachimg=1]
Crocus speciosus albus
[attachimg=2]
Crocus speciosus Oxonian
[attachimg=3]
Crocus kotschyanus
[attachimg=4]
Crocus nudiflorus, I'd like to get such nice groups as Ian and planted it out to my Erythronium.
[attachimg=5]
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The last Crocus from yesterday.
Crocus hadriaticus
[attachimg=1]
Crocus lycius
[attachimg=2]
Crocus mazziaricus from Llogara Pass, Albania
[attachimg=3]
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Janis thank you for all our posts I am able to enjoy and learn so much from your collection.
Here are a few from our garden this week,
(Attachment Link)
Mostly Crocus pulchellus and hybrids.
(Attachment Link)
C. nudiflorus and C. speciosus
(Attachment Link)
C. pulchellus
As you, Ian, I love all autumn Crocus, but get terrified when I see these long, unprotected stalks waiting to blown over by the first wind gust or flattened by heavy rains... :-\ Ever thought of growing some like this...
This is C. goulimyi, a splendid Melvyn Jope collection, growing through Gipsophyla repens 'Dorothy teacher' - works a treat ! :D
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I was very happy to see my first flower of Crocus nerimaniae that I have got this year.
I can believe why you're happy with this wonderful gem Stefan ! :o :o :o
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A great plant association Luc, I do have some crocus growing through other plants that give some support.
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To be able to cross pollinate within species and make hybrids I have frozen pollens of scharojanii.
I cut of the anthers, put them in a small glassine envelope and put this in a empty Jam glass with silica gel to dry them (at room temperature). Next day I put the envelope in a zip lock plastic bag with some silica gel and put them in the freezer at -18C.
Two months later, I successfully pollinated Crocus vallicola to get the hybrid scharojanii flavus. That was 3 years ago, and the corms are now 6-10 mm as shown here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16551.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=16551.0)
I have read somewhere that Crocus pollen are viable for several years if kept dryed and frozen at low temperatures. I will try to find the link to that article.
Poul
Update to above topic:
Last year I polinated Crocus scharojanii flavus with 3 years old pollen from scharojanii scharojanii, and yesterday I harvested seeds from 2 seed pods :).
So crocus pollen can be kept viable for at least 3 years, when dried and stored at minus 18C.
Poul