Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Crocus => Topic started by: galahad on August 03, 2008, 04:56:39 AM
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edit by Maggi 20/08/08 : The rather odd beginning to this thread for Crocus in the Southern Hemisphere has come about because of some editing work done on the thread, when splitting it off from the July thread!
The I. danfordiae are from a local garden centre, 3rd attempt. Ist year they were 'Harmony', last year not one came up, all rotted and this year I have all these buds but still may not see them open.
Lesley, I had the same issue with I. danfordiae. Was so disappointed when they flowered blue.
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Hello Galahad, and a warm welcome to the Forum. I see you're from Christchurch. May we know who please? Bout time someone from that fair city joined us southern men and women. :)
It seems if we complain where appropriate it sometimes works. When the first batch were in fact 'Harmony' Dave Toole wrote to the wholesaler and had a good moan, wouldn't accept money back but demanded replacement with the right product. Last year's could have been anything but probably were danfordiae, or they wouldn't have been so quick to rot ( ;D) but persistence paid off and the right thing flowered this year. (see Reticulate Iris topic). The continuing rain has just about done for the later blooms.
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Hi Lesley
It's Ross from Christchurch. Have been lurking for a wee while.
Yay. A sunny day yesterday only for it to start raining again today :( at least the reticlata irises have opened and the Fritillarias seem to enjoying the water.....so far.
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Hello, Ross/Galahad, from Christchurch! Good to have you struggle aboard through the rain.... ;)
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Thanks, Maggi
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Maggie,
Many tnx for your warm welcome,
I have been going back to many of the posts here.
There is so much information and many pics. to look at.
since there are about two more months for me and my bulbs to bake in the sun..
i hope to catch up with you....
Good to see there are so many Croconuts around ;)
oron
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Some more crocuses here, taken yesterday in a brief sunny period. One thing about the raised bed pics, I'm forcibly reminded about the weeds, when I look at these, here. Hadn't noticed so much ragwort (et al).
C. sieberi `Hubert Edelsten' has grudgingly opened a few flowers.
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C. biflorus alexandri, in a less contrasting (but I think prettier) form than the usual commercial version.
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Crocus (was) susianus, stellaris, (now) angustifolius.
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Crocus olivieri. A rather blurry pic, sorry, but the colour is right, especially of the less open flowers.
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Beautiful, Lesley. You're right about that alexandri being very nice. Great colour and form to it. :D
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I put up the wrong pic of C. olivieri. It was last year's. (Also blurry.)
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C. abantensis seems to have washed-out colour this year, not surprisingly. Still the bluest blue though.
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More of the cvijicii x veluchensis hybrids. Same pot as befoer, but with some sun on it.
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This one is a very pretty shade and large.
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and a bronzy one I particularly like.
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Crocus chrysanthus 'Herald' is a beauty'
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And finally for now (tommies soon), C. sieberi ssp atticus which I think is delightful.
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I think I will have to separate all the cvijiciix veluchensis sdlgs into separate pots and grow each one on to increase it a little then isolate each in the garden. Or maybe I should just plant out the lot in a patch somewhere.
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Lesley,
'Herald' is a beauty, isn't it. I've seen it at a friend's place here in Canberra but have never chased it up. Excellent flowers with good strong markings. Very superior!!
Still loving those cvijicii hybrids of yours. ;D
Great pics, all of them!! 8)
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My name is Oron Peri, from Israel. I am garden designer and a fanatic collector of
dwarf geophytes from the Mediterranean Basin: Cyclamen, Crocus, Sternbergias,
Colchicum, scilla, romulea and many others....
All mainly from low altitudes that need hot and dry summer [34c today...]
Would like to exchange seeds with other members from same climate conditions [if there are any....]
Just to give you an idea... I grow Cyclamen colchicum in A frig. [the one used to show cakes in a coffe shop]...they just love it and flower each year for the last 5 yrs.
Welocme Oron,
I live in Central Victoria in Southern Australia, and I think the climate here may be similar to yours, please send me a PM (personal message) so we can correspond.
In our garden I may've made a mistake planting this crocus here. Can you spot the crocus?
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Here's a close-up in case you couldn't see it amongst the fallen Mexican hawthorn fruit!
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I got it as "Sunkist" but Thomas assures me that it's actually a form of Crocus flavus.
cheers
fermi
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Fermi,
Maybe it is just trying to blend itself in to protect itself from predators? ;)
Here today C. cvijicii has popped up and into flower since yesterday when there was no sign of it. Will try self pollinating it for seed again, but doubt my chances based on previous experiences. Other than veluchensis what species is it able to cross with? Might try some hybridising if there are a few flowers and enough pollen to go around?
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Wonderful stuff from down under !!!
C. abantensis is on my wants list now ! As are quite a few others... ::)
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Paul, you could try CC. sieberi or dalmaticus or reticulatus. I'm pretty sure C. sieberi `Bowles' White' would work, maybe both ways and the lavender forms would be worth a go.
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Thanks Lesley.
So is that any of the sieberi ssp? I have 'Violet Queen' in flower at the moment (and actually growing only a foot away from the cvijicii). I unfortunately don't have the other 2 species you mentioned, not the 'Bowles' White'.
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Yes, any of the sieberi forms should work. Try the pollen of sie onto cvi and cvi onto sie. Hedging your bets. I never actually transferred pollen from veluchensis onto cvijicii but they were closeby each other in a trough.
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Paul...
You might like to try a few of the other species from that series if they are flowering for you. C "rujanensis" C abantensis, C angustifolius... possibly might work.
Im suprised you dont have C sieberi "Bowles white" its one of the nicest of all crocus. Plus an easy grower. Marcus always lists it...
The C chrysanthus are performing here too... including the lovely form of C biflorus ssp weldenii "Middleton Cream" Its very nice.
Mat
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'Myddleton Cream' should be out here too today or tomorrow. (we're back to rain again). I love the greyish wash on the outside of the cream, like no other.
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Just caught up with this thread marvellous to see Crocus in flower just when I'm potting mine up thanks
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"Midletton Cream" is very unusualy coloured... altho mine is more a blue wash than grey.
I also have a HUGE form of C chrysanthus flowering.... It originaly came as seed from Alan Edwards.... He calls is his "Galicia Planina" form. Im not quite sure where this.. Northern Greece perhaps??? But its easily the largest form of C chrysanthus I grow. I send seed of it to the Crocus group this year. So if you want a realy great form... get it from there. Its a bright golden yellow.
Mat
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Mat, were you across to the UK for Alpines 2001?
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"Midletton Cream" is very unusualy coloured... altho mine is more a blue wash than grey.
Mat
It's probably a matter of reflection from the sky Mat, blue at your place, dead grey here right now. :)
And Myddelton please (I spelled it wrong too) not Middleton. I believe Myddelton House was E.A.Bowles' home.
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Great photos everybody, what a wonderful thread this is :o
A big welcome to Ross from Christchurch and Oron Peri!
Oron, I would be interested to see photos of your trip to Amman,
especially the (possibly) new white Crocus species!
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Oron, I would be interested to see photos of your trip to Amman,
especially the (possibly) new white Crocus species!
Hi Thomas
I'm afraid the photos are too big in size, I'm trying to send them again separately.
first C. moabiticus
oron
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Lovely C. moabiticus! Really rare I believe, and difficult?
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What a stunning Crocus, Oron. The markings and combination with the style and pollen etc are so very striking. Very, very nice!! 8)
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Leslie... I think its spelt Middleton... yes after Bowles residence... I checked the name.
Maggie... yes i was at Alpines 2001.... I loved it.
Wow... lovely pic of C moabiticusIn Crocus 2008 August thread) Probably grow quite well in southern areas of Australia. They have a medditeranian type of climate there.
Mat
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Mat,
Lesley is right, Bowles' house is Myddleton House. Used to live near there.
I notice I'm miss-spelling it now. Myddelton. Myddelton. Myddelton.
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A slight correction I have to make...... I apparently bought Crocus veluchensis in 2006, but not from Marcus. I noticed a flower pop up overnight and when I checked the tag I was somewhat surprised to realise what it was. I'll photograph and post here to confirm for sure that it is the correct name, but I'll be trying to hybridise them anyway. I'll try it both ways, and keep trying to find pollen on the sieberis. If any of them take the results will no doubt be interesting, even if it ends up a complete mix of pollens onto the cvijicii! ;D
Thanks for the advice re hybridising..... I'll keep you posted on results.
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My apoligies then.... altho it doesnt show that on google
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Well I googled too, and got Myddelton (not Myddleton). Anyone got one of his books? Otto?
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Idiot! I have one myself! "My Garden in Spring" but a quick flick through doesn'r show any mention of the name of his house. I'll have a better look later.
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I googled again, using his name rather then the house name and many references came up with Myddelton, so I'll go with that. Lots of his books are still around from Amazon and elsewhere and there is one called "E.A.Bowles - The Crocus King." Funny, I though that was Thomas Huber. :)
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Howdy All,
A couple of pics from today. First is of cvijicii sitting on the soil surface like a glowing egg yolk! ;D And hopefully the other two pics are of Crocus veluchensis. From web pics I think it looks about right, but can anyone please confirm or deny? Have shifted a little pollen that I could find on the former onto the latter, but no pollen present yet on the latter as it is only just opened this afternoon (and with storm clouds heading our way I don't think it will be out for long today either!! ::))
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Paul
A very dark form of veluchensis compared to the ones I saw in northern Greece. Very nice to have.
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First impression is that it is C vernus vernus Paul but I have no experience of them in the wild. Art and others do have this knowledge and that gives their opinions more weight than mine.
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Tony
I would always take your opinion over mine. You are, after all, an 'expert'
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Hi Tony,
You wanted to see the frig....
so here it is
I grow in it C. colchicum, parvifolium, elegans ans some coum ssp. most dormant at the moment
accept C. colchicunm that is practically an evergreen in this conditions, starts to make new leaves at this time of year.
I don't find this fact very odd [just a little...], i mean there are heated green houses so why not have the opposite...
oron
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Thanks for the photos, Oron - what a wonderful crocus this is!!!
If you have more I can help you to resize them if you wish.
Paul, I'm with Tony, this crocus looks more like vernus than veluchensis.
But I always find these two difficult to distinguish as both are very
variable in flower colour and leaf characterics. The main difference
is the absence of the prophyl in veluchensis, which vernus has, but
this is only the theorie - I can't convert this into practice :-[
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Tony and Thomas,
Thanks for the input. If they're that close, how DO I check it's right then? When I look up "Prophyll" (it didn't accept it with one l) it says "a plant structure that resembles a leaf", so I'm no closer to knowing what you are meaning about the presence or absence of a prophyll? It's pretty, whatever it is, but I would like to know if it is correctly labelled. I'll try crossing it with the cvijicii anyway once it produces pollen, but by the sounds of it that might be pointless?
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Tony
I would always take your opinion over mine. You are, after all, an 'expert'
Expert is a relative term - I am not a field expert where crocus are concerned .... but if you want to take me with you next time ... There are too many things I don't know for me to think of myself as an expert :)
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Oron - Thanks!
You are quite right, it is not odd. You are simply trying to provide the environment that the plants need. I remember seeing refridgerated benches in the old alpine house at Kew. They also had fans running constantly too.
Great to see those wild crocus pics. Did you take any shots of the wider habitat?
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Oron,
I wouldn't mind that refridgerated setup myself. Could grow a few more of the alpine things that don't like my summer heat. There are orchid boxes you can buy as well, which are set up as a constant environment where you can keep temperatures and humidity perfectly controlled. A bit bigger a scale though. Something I'd love to have, but I'd need a bigger house to accomodate. I quite like you're setup as it does the job it is supposed to, and allows good viewing at the same time. Great stuff!! 8)
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Tony,
here are pics from the habitat of C. moabiticus in Jordan,
in the second pic you can notice the Jordan valley with Dead Sea and Hebron mountains at the Palestinian territory
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Sorry,
At the first pic you can see the Dead Sea and Hebron Mountains on its other side
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Is it as arid as it looks in the pictures? I ask because so often the pictures are deceptive and there is really a lot more growing than it "look like" in a picture.
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It is arid, i would say about 80-150 mm annually, well with us it is considered semi arid
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Yep, that's pretty dry!! :o :o
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Tnx Paul,
I really recommend you to set a Refrigerator....
The funny story is that 5 years ago i got some plants of cyclamen colchicum from Jan Bravenboer in Holland,
the day they arrived was really hot, about 41c and i was afraid they will not survive so i got this idea, i just rushed to the flea market in Haifa and bought this used frig. and it is perfect, the best is that because the frig. tremble it helps Cyclamen to auto pollinate so i don't need to think about it any more... ;)
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Oron,
I collect enough as it is. ::) It's only the real alpine plants that I have problems with. Thankfully all the other treasures like Fritillarias, Erythroniums, Galanthus, Helleborus, Crocus, Colchicums, Narcissus, Trilliums, Eranthis, Cyclamen, Iris etc (The list goes on and on. ;D) do fine here without a fridge, and I can even get away with some tropical stuff in sheltered areas. We always want what we can't have, so I of course want real alpines. In future years as the Magnolias etc in my garden mature I will have more shelter and the garden will stay somewhat cooler in some areas, so some of the alpine things will probably stand much more of a chance. Then again, if the warming trend continues we'll be another few degrees warmer in summer which will counteract the better shade. ::) Can't win either way. Maybe THEN I have to get a fridge!! ;)
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it is perfect, the best is that because the frig. tremble it helps Cyclamen to auto pollinate so i don't need to think about it any more...
Now, that, Oron, IS perfect!! A self-pollinating plant store.... just great! 8)
We tried this idea with one of the flat style, table top type of refridgerated shop cabinets a few years ago, but it took up a lot of room because of the shape and it was hard to fine somewhere it could be paced to keep the electricity safe and still get good light for the plants..... we did not want to have to have grow-lights as well!! In the end we gave up when it broke down and was not fixable by Ian at reasonable cost. Super solution, though, for keeping plants cool but providine light.... Fritillaria alburyana springs to mind.... 8)
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Mat.... I thought you looked familiar.... I did recall assorted young Australians at the Conference but with 500 plus folks there, I began to suffer name fatigue :-[ At the time it felt like I HAD spoken to everyone, but as time passes I realise that in fact it was only 475 ;)!!
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Maggi, I've told you a million times not to exaggerate. ;)
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Actually, Paul, that's only 999,567 times.... but who's counting ? ;D
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Careful Maggi, you might get the other 433 all in one go!! ;) 8)
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well Paul,
your situation is better than mine, I grow most of my fritillarias in my dreams...and Erythroniums only when i sleep really good...
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Oron, I am sure that Ian (who dreams about erythroniums 24 hours a a day, awake or asleep) wishes you lots more sweet dreams! ;)
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Paul here is a pic of my Crocus veluchensis, (as ID'd by Thomas) the pollen parent of my hybrids.
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My vernus flower much later than this, barely showing leaf yet.
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Lesley,
Yeah, I'd expected a lighter colour than mine turned up. Oh well, shame it isn't correct. I'm assuming the ring-in isn't a trade type vernus though is it? Is it likely to be a wild type or something? The flower form is much more species type to my eye than the big hybrids or anything like that?
Oron,
yeah, I am lucky to sort of be in the middle climate-wise, although our warming summers are making it harder for some things. I'll be setting up some shade coverings for the back yard this summer I think, to cut down the heat a bit.
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Paul, after seeing Lesley's veluchensis I noticed, that these have a bracteole
while vernus has NOT. This is more obvious than the prophyll!
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So, like the imperatii ssp imperatii has 2 bracteoles and the ssp suavoleons only has one? Is that what we're talking about? So how do I tell whether mine does or doesn't? I'm assuming the sheath the flower emerges from is not the bracteole?
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So, like the imperatii ssp imperatii has 2 bracteoles and the ssp suavoleons only has one? Is that what we're talking about? So how do I tell whether mine does or doesn't? I'm assuming the sheath the flower emerges from is not the bracteole?
Exactly like the imperati discussion we had weeks ago.
If a plant has just ONE sheeting leave it's the bract
if it has TWO it's bract and bracteole!
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Got it. That was what I had in mind, but wanted to confirm. Will check tomorrow, as it is currently 11:20pm here so a tad dark and somewhat cold outside right at the moment. ;)
So if they're that closely related, why are they separate species rather than subspecies of something? Or was veluchensis at one point C. vernus ssp veluchensis? And will my vernus ssp vernus (if it turns out to be that) hybridise with the cvijicii? The vernus weren't mentioned as one to try when it came to hybridising.
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While they are closely related they are not as close as to warrent merging. In fact Brian Mathew did merge a lot of different things into C vernus when he wrote his monograph but he considered C veluchensis to be quite seperate. Some people still mourn the merger of nearly 30 years ago ... we don't want any more controversy :)
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That's not a problem Tony. I was just asking because the means of differentiation of the two species were rather limited to say the least. I understand quite well the whole lumping and splitting debate. I still had to ask though. Only way to learn!! 8)
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Paul - of you had a dozen different vernus forms and a dozen veluchensis all in flower at one time I think you would quickly learn to tell them apart. Shape and dimensions of these variable flowers is a hard thing to record on paper.
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Fair enough. Sorry to have questioned.
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The picture I posted above of Crocus veluchensis is an absolute dud - quite ashamed of it in fact, so badly blurred. I very recently discovered a "sharpen" function in my Photofiltre programme, and I have used it here to show what a difference it can make. It can't make a rotten picture into a good one, but it does help. This pic was taken at the same time as the other and was equally poor.
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Looks as if I'll need to go through just about all my pics and sharpen them up. :'(
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Hi Thomas
I'm afraid the photos are too big in size, I'm trying to send them again separately.
first C. moabiticus
oron
Here are the photos of the new white Crocus, Oron has found on his trip to Amman/Syria.
I wanted to show them Dr. Kerndorff first, but he's on holiday now. Will do this later!
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Delightful little Crocus.
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Two of us here in Aberdeen liking that crocus, as well! Love the spotty tube...
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Thomas
Thank you for uploading the pics
I wanted to add the two other forms of C. aleppicus from this region, the first is the common form from the Golan Heights and Mt. Hermon [probably the same as in Syria and Lebanon]
The second pic is C. aleppicus from the coast of Israel, this is a tiny colorfull form that resemble by its slender form C. veneris from not far Cyprus.
If you comper, you can notice that the form I found in Jordan is different, also by its elongated form of the corm... and it has a powerfull smell of Hyacinthus orientalis.
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the second form from the coast line
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How lovely! I like the idea of a crocus with such a good scent, too 8)
You are so fortunate to see these plants in the wild, Oron!
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Well Maggi.... ::) I cant complain...
We have six species with four subsp. of Crocus in Israel, so October November is a real celebration for me
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We will look forward to the pix, in those months, then, Oron! 8)
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Oron,
beautiful forms of C. aleppicus you show us. :o
The pictures from the unknown lovely white crocus from Amman reminds me of either C. veneris (with yellow style and anthers and lack of orange throat) or a form of Crocus cancellatus ssp. lycius from S-Turkey with slender pedals...
Let's wait and see what the real experts say. I'm exited for their opinions.
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Oron
The aleppicus are wonderful - it is so good to see such a large clonal clump.
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Armin,
cancellatus has a fine netted tunic with a long neck, both cancellatus from the area cancellatus damascenus and cancellatus cancellatus are different in appearance. in the pic, you can notice that the corm has a papery tunic
C. veneris is endemic to Cyprus [thogh I think that what we consider aleppicus from Israel's coast line has some close relation to veneris]
And so we are left with either a form of C. aleppicus [what i'm more into] or might be also a form of C. hermoneus? ...
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Wonderful Crocus' Oron - thanks very much for showing !
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Oron,
I love the markings on the pink eleppicus. I see so many species here on the SRGC that I've never heard of before.
So, given that these were photographed in the northern hemisphere and I assume aren't flowering now, what time do they flower?
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Paul,
C. aleppicus is in flower in October and November, the form i have found in Jordan
was in flower in mid December.
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So they're autumn into winter then. Nice addition to the autumn flowering collection! ;D Thanks for the info.
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Armin,
cancellatus has a fine netted tunic with a long neck, both cancellatus from the area cancellatus damascenus and cancellatus cancellatus are different in appearance. in the pic, you can notice that the corm has a papery tunic
C. veneris is endemic to Cyprus [thogh I think that what we consider aleppicus from Israel's coast line has some close relation to veneris]
And so we are left with either a form of C. aleppicus [what i'm more into] or might be also a form of C. hermoneus? ...
Hello Oron,
thanks for your reply. I agree you are right regarding fine netted tunic with a long neck for C. cancellatus and the different appearance of C. cancellatus damascenus and C. cancellatus cancellatus. By flower image there is still strong resembly to C. veneris in my opinion. Even we believe C.veneris is endemic to Cyprus there is not a too big distance to Jordan...
Reg. C. cancellatus ssp. lycius I'm refering to a picture posted in the old forum 2006 from Dirk Schnabel (picture located almost rock bottom, Please have a look.) [url][/url http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/5012/40620.html
At the end I think only a genetic analyse can bring the truth... :D
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Just dug up a Crocus biflorus ssp tauri for a friend, to find out, that even the spring
crocus have already started new root growth. Turning my head to the left I found the
first autumn crocus in flower: Crocus kotschyanus ssp suworowianus
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Thomas
Is this much earlier than usual? Do you find this a difficult Crocus?
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Thomas
Is this much earlier than usual? Do you find this a difficult Crocus?
No, Arthur this Crocus is always the first for me - as long as I'm allowed to say that:
It's the third season for this species in my garden.
In the first year it has increased from 2 big and 2 small corms to 10 middle sized ones, but
this summer they didn't like something, the corms were only small. They grow in my rockgarden
in a very sandy but always softly moisted soil under a hazelnut tree protected from strong sunlight.
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First of many Thomas.
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Thomas, looking forward to the show.
Maybe next fall I will pickup some fall flowering crocus, not sure how well they would do here.
Which ones would you suggest to start with, and are easy to grow?
Thanks for info.
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Thomas is digging his Crocus biflorus ssp. taurii and mine is in flower today though rather a prey to long days of rain and snow!
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Two new ones out for me today are Crocus biflorus ssp. taurii
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and C. b. ssp. biflorus from seed collected on Rhodes
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Lesley
Very nice Crocus. I will leave it to the experts to comment, but the first one does not look like taurii to me - more like weldenii.
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Lesley,
Love that biflorus. Great markings!! Isn't ssp taurii much darker than that? I don't still have a photo of mine, but my memory (perhaps rather incorrect) doesn't look much like that one... I think of it as quite dark? ???
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Lesley
lovely crocus but I agree with Arthur on the first one.My first impression before I read his comment was that it was weldenii
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Arthur and Tony, please remember, that ssp weldenii NEVER has a yellow throat!!!
Lesley's plant looks exactly like ssp tauri to me. And Paul, please hold in mind,
that in the wild ssp tauri is, like most crocus, very variable!
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Thomas, looking forward to the show.
Maybe next fall I will pickup some fall flowering crocus, not sure how well they would do here.
Which ones would you suggest to start with, and are easy to grow?
Thanks for info.
Guff, the best crocus for starting an autumn lawn is speciosus and kotschyanus.
You can also try banaticus, nudiflorus, pulchellus.
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Fair enough. I think I shall stay out of commenting on future Crocus IDs. ::)
Flowering now for me are 'Blue Pearl' and 'Cinderella' which I have photographed to show comparisons of striping and form etc, providing they are correct of course. Also 'Remembrance', which is an absolutely massive flower!!
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Arthur and Tony, please remember, that ssp weldenii NEVER has a yellow throat!!!
Lesley's plant looks exactly like ssp tauri to me. And Paul, please hold in mind,
that in the wild ssp tauri is, like most crocus, very variable!
Thomas
Thank you for your clarification - I only added weldenii as an afterthought. Have NEVER seen taurii looking like Lesley's, even though I have seen much variation.
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Paul
Your lawn is working well. Next year should be outstanding.
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Arthur,
Not quite a lawn..... single sleeper it's a raised garden bed, topped with sand. The details are in the "Evolution of a Crocus Garden" thread, if you're interested. In a lawn I wouldn't be able to keep track of them, and I do like to share corms with people when they're dormant. if I couldn't find them, I couldn't share them! ;D This way, they're planted in baskets and I can easily retrieve and repot them during summer, sharing out where necessary. 8)
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Poetic licence - cannot imagine how difficult it is to keep a proper lawn going in your climate without rain.
I agree sharing Crocus is a major part of growing them.
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Arthur,
It is currently illegal to use town water to water lawns. You can recycle water from inside, or use water if you have a tank, but you can be fined for watering the lawn, even by hand. No sprinklers are allowed, although drippers are acceptable at certain times. Don't know what I'd do without the dripper systems, particularly in summer. :o
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There are some reply about my crocuses in my inbox but not here. Anyway, in reply to one of them, I have the biflorus ssp. taurii as that from Marcus Harvey, a first flowering this season. If incorrect, I'd rather know thanks. It is deeper coloured both in and out than the pic suggests.
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Thank you Thomas. You've restored my faith in Marcus whom I've found very reliable with names.
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Well thank Heaven that's sorted. There I was replying to all these later posts but what I was replying to wasn't in the thread section because in my inbox they were still coming up in Crocus July 08, and I didn't realize Maggi had split off a lot of it. So my comments about YOUR comments are in that thread.
Maybe Maggi's splitting/moving episode has gone to her head and she'll need to take time off for chocolate.
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Lesley, sorry for the confusion but I suddenly realised that no-one had started an August page so I spilt off the many posts to August..... thought I had scooped up anything that had crossover, but may have missed some, it seems.... hope you all know where you are by now? ::) :P ;)
Actually, I now realise that the confusion was caused because I forgot to post a note on the July thread to alert you all to the move. OOPS! Sorry again....never mind, perhaps the rushingaround to find things did you all good ??? ;)
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To add to my photos on the previous page of Crocus 'Cinderella' and 'Blue Pearl'... here is one I have received from a friend as 'Skyline'. I am nearly positive we discussed this last year and Thomas suggested it was incorrectly named and provided me with a different name for it (at the time it was photographed at the friends place), but using the Search I can't seem to find it, but then that isn't anything unusual. ::) So... if Thomas or anyone had a better name for it please let me know.
Added Aug 22nd ... For those who may come across this through searching on the Net..... this plant has now been worked out to likely be a seedling of 'Skyline', not the real thing. Thought it worthwhile noting here, just in case someone googles it and comes up with this posting.
The flower is much smaller than normal as it was only given to me a couple of weeks ago after a blackbird unearthed part of the clump just before I happened to be visiting there. I asked at the time whether I could get a corm at the end of the season as we forgot over this summer and she lifted this one straight out of the ground for me, as she'd only just replanted it after it had been dug up by the bird. Seems that the shock has affected the flower as it is very small and extremely short. Still, it shows the outer markings, and the complete lack of the yellow throat that the other two I posted had.
Also a pic of Crocus sieberi 'Tricolor, which is flowering for me now as well.
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Even if the name is not correct - "Skyline?" is a very nice one Paul !!
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Paul your plant looks "nearly" like Skyline, but not exactly - I think it's just an ex-Skyline seedling!
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Thomas,
Thanks. So is it the chunkier flower shape that is the problem? I can head over to my friend's place and see if hers are flowering now (I think she mentioned they were) and get a better pic? Actually, I probably still have last year's pics there somewhere so I'll go and look for them. The flower on mine is much smaller than I expected, and I do have to wonder how representative it really is. :-\
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Paul, did the "Skyline" have pollen, looks sterile from your picture.
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Guff,
No, but that may be more to do with the trauma of unearthing etc. If it can stunt a flower, I imagine it can abort some pollen.
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Just been and checked my pics from my friend's place last year..... hers didn't have pollen either, and were definitely that same squat shape, rather than the more elegant flowers in Thomas' pic. I'll prepare and post them to show you.
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Rather than posting new versions of pics I posted last year.... I used the timing of my photos in my friend's garden to track down the pics I posted last year.
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=661.msg16047#msg16047
This shows the pics I took in her garden, and shows the shape as very similar to mine this year. Thomas also said last year it was likely a seedling. While Thomas' real 'Skyline' is far more elegant, I quite like the chunkiness of mine. Will be interesting to see what it looks like in the future once it sets up a clump. I think it would work very well.
It also confirms that the search feature really isn't working properly, as we referred to 'Skyline' there a few times yet those never came up in the search I did. ::)
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Trying to post some new crocus pics but for some reason they're not available in My Pictures, even though they were there yesterday. They don't come up as being there at all! Can't understand it.
As well, if anyone can tell me how to get My Pictures alphabetical again, I'd be grateful. They are, if I open to browse for the Forum but if I open for any other purpose, like to upload to a newsletter I was doing this morning for my job, they're all over the place and take scrolling up and down for ages to find anything.
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Lesley,
I assume you've accidentally sorted them by some other means that name. Not sure what you're using to view them (Outlook?) but you should be able to click on the column heading for Name and that should sort them into name order... you may have clicked on date or something, so they're now ordered in date order (or some other heading order). You may need to click it twice, as the first time may put it into descending not ascending order? Unsure whether this works in Outlook, if that is how you're doing it.
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I don't sort them by anything Paul. I simply upload from my camera or occasionally from somewhere else like some emails that Arthur has sent me, and they used to arrange themselves alphabetically but now they don't, EXCEPT when I browse to upload to the Forum topics.
To view them I just click on My Pictures on my desktop or from the pop up menu when I click "Start."
I have no columns anywhere that I can see with "Name" or "Date" or anything else, just a left hand box with assorted picture tasks, folder tasks etc.
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Lesley,
Coolo. That sorts out what you're using. When you choose start and 'My Pictures' and it opens up with everything mixed up........ choose the "View" menu at the top (third menu from the left) and click on it. Then select "Arrange Icons by", which will have a box appear to the right hand side, and select "Name" from that box. I don't know why the order has changed for you, but that should change it back. Try it and let me know how it goes. You can use the same method to choose the date things were last modified, etc, if you wanted to at any time.
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My God! The man's a genius. It worked! Immediately! What do you want for Christmas?
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Glad to help, Lesley. :D
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So I'll try posting the crocus pics I couldn't find before.
No, they're still not there when I browse to attach. They're there when I just open My Pictures for a look to see if they're there. But at least they're all alphabetical now. Something really weird's going on.
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Hmmm.. Lesley, I am not sure I can help with that one. Not without being at your computer. Sorry. :'(
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It also confirms that the search feature really isn't working properly, as we referred to 'Skyline' there a few times yet those never came up in the search I did.
Hmm? Wondering about this, I know that it sometimes seems that the search facility is not cathching everything, but when I tried a "skyline" search just now,and among othersthreads, it also brought up one reference to the Southern hemisphere thread that Paul cites above... perhaps ony one ref. per thread is cited? Will try to delve further into this matter... it is puzzling. :-\
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Maggi,
I find the search facility is unpredictable to say the least. I have had some searches bring up numerous different results in the one topic, while others only one from a topic, and others missing a topic completely. it is a real shame, as it means that the wonderful information we're amassing here isn't as available as it could be. I can guarantee that for me when I did that search it did not bring up that topic at all for 'Skyline'. I found it by going and checking my own photos, from that working out which "flowering now" thread it would have been in, then trolling through it page by page until I found it. The 'Skyline' name was mentioned at least a couple of times in the thread, yet none of them came up in the search. I am wondering who many other people use the search function, never realising that they're only getting part of the results they should be. There was a bit of a discussion of this up in the member area as well, and others had the same problem with the search function as I did, so it isn't just my computer. It is apparently a tad erratic, but that just leaves it in good company here on these forums!!! :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;) :P
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Yes, Paul it is too erratic and we will have to see if anything can be done to improve the search facility.
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My first Crocus - just made into August.
Crocus speciosus
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Crocus banaticus is on the way. Had today my first flower!
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Arthur, as this is an SH thread, just to keep the record straight, and for the sake of continuity, would you please also post your beautiful Crocus speciosus in the Crocus August 2008 thread. :-[
edit by Maggi: Arthur's photo moved to Crocus August page 8)
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David
Senior moment I am afraid - under pressure to go and pack the Crocus Group seed
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First Crocus for me - speciosus
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Maybe you'll find an application in there from me Arthur. :)
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Maybe you'll find an application in there from me Arthur. :)
Lesley
I only pack them, David is responsible for the posting. But at least you know they will not be long in coming.
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I missed this thread. I have now clicked on notify for updates to be sent to my computer.
Great Crocus everyone!
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My first Crocus are also out - some speciosus and ?. I looked at it yesterday and today and I cant remember the name
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Nice veining Art - my C. speciosus "oxonian" not showing yet...
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First crocus for me - C. banaticus. This form from Hythe Alpines is much more vigorous than other forms I grow. 2 corms obtained in 2006 have produced 6 flowering size corms this year.
This is the first pic with a newly acquired camera so apologies for the image quality.
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The flowers and the picture look absolutely stunning Gerry !! No need for apologies at all ! :o
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Thanks Luc- very encouraging.
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Gerry,
What in the world are you apologising for? What's wrong with the image quality? The detail in the styles is excellent! Looks like a lovely form. Beautiful!! 8)
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Gerry
Beautiful flowers
Wish I could get my banaticus to flower - they are multiplying, but just do not flower.
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Arthur,
You know that banaticus are one of the Crocus species that like some summer moisture and don't mind shade?
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Paul - Thanks. I just thought this pic was not up to the standard of many on the Forum; I don't like the background.
Arthur - I grow C.banaticus in a 1:1:1 mix of JI3, Cambark fine & perlite in clay pots. They remain outside, plunged but uncovered & moderately shaded, all year round & get whatever the weather delivers. They are fed about every 2 weeks with either dilute 'Tomorite' or 'Phostrogen' - it doesn't seem to matter which. Under these conditions they flower every year though I've never had seed.
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Gerry/Paul
Thanks for info
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Arthur,
I've realised that my last response here was pretty short.... what I was meaning was that given it is a summer moisture lover you might be losing flowers because you're drying it over summer like the majority of crocus like? The hot dry bake is detrimental to them. Similarly for C. cvijicii and a couple of other species I can never remember. I should have mentioned all of this in the original message, so you knew what I was driving at. Hope it is a help.
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Paul
I knew what you meant.
Will try some out in the garden - I have enough to do this.
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Gerry, no need to excuse - your photo is great!!
Two photos that were lost during the forum crash:
Crocus speciosus ssp xantholaimos.
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You're making me jealous Thomas! Only C. goulimyi just showing a nose at present and it was my first one last year as well. Still more Autumn flowering Crocus yet to be delivered, wish they would hurry up.
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Very nice one Thomas, so delicate - one for the wants list !
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Surely next year, Luc. Too late for this year, I've planted 100 of them last weekend.
By the way: Happy Birthday Mr. Gilgemyn!!! :D :D
David, no sign of my goulimyi so far, but another rarity is out. Have to wait for some
sun to make a good photo and start the september thread.
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I've had a form of Crocus niveus for a number of years which was said to be raised from Marcus Harvey seed. It was obtained as full-sized corms. It multiplies readily but has never flowered & shows no inclination to do so. I wonder if any friends in NZ or Australia have any experience or useful knowledge of this plant before I dispose of it - as Bowles' is supposed to have said, "if it doesn't pay the rent......".
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Gerry you will need Thomas or Tony to give you their opinions. It has been known for bulbs to be given away because they dont perform only to flower for the new owner
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Mark - I paid good money for them!
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See the Crocus Sept 2008 thread Gerry, for my note on Marcus' niveus. Mine flower quite well though.
Sadly, the last couple of days have seen the end of crocuses in this part of the world, for 2008. There were a couple of minimus left in Australia earlier in the week and the last bloom on my own C. minimus Bavella form has now finished. Nothing more to come. But frits are in full swing. :)
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Lesley,
It was a shame that I never got good enough weather to get a good photograph of both of Otto's late types... Crocus minimus and C. corsicus. Both were just glorious, even closed, but particularly the minimus!!!!!.
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Why have we gone back to 2008?
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Why have we gone back to 2008?
"We" haven't, Lesley... I was tidying a few mixed old posts and you have somehow picked up on that!
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Oh. The email appeared 15 times in my Inbox!
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Sorry Lesley... it must have sent you each time I moved stuff!
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Why have we gone back to 2008?
"We" haven't, Lesley... I was tidying a few mixed old posts and you have somehow picked up on that!
Maggi, in your tidying up I think you have picked up an old thread-see title-with posts from 2008.
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Why have we gone back to 2008?
"We" haven't, Lesley... I was tidying a few mixed old posts and you have somehow picked up on that!
Maggi, in your tidying up I think you have picked up an old thread-see title-with posts from 2008.
I know that, David... it was a pair of 2008 threads I was tidying..... I really cannot bear to rush the housework. ;)
!