Crocus October 2013

[Leena]

I got an autumn flowering crocus from plant exchange in the spring, and was surprised how hardy it is. I noticed the flower coming up little over a week ago, and right after that we had couple of very cold nights, minimum -7,5°C and the days were barely over zero. Now it is warmer again, days +10°C and the little flower had not been damaged at all by the frost. I don't know the species, and there hasn't been enough sun for it to open the flower. I suppose it is impossible to know the species form this picture?

[de.da.]

Hi Leena!
The crocus at your photo should be Crocus speciosus.
They are very hardy.
Kind regards. Daniel

[Leena]

Thank you Daniel.
It is good it is so hardy (and it flowers so late that there are no other flowers left, so that is good).  Perhaps some earlier flowering species would still be better to grow here.

[Janis Ruksans]

Thank you Daniel.
It is good it is so hardy (and it flowers so late that there are no other flowers left, so that is good).  Perhaps some earlier flowering species would still be better to grow here.

There are earlier forms of speciosus, too. May be white Crocus vallicola could alive. I think Crocus kotschyanus could be hardy, too.

[ArnoldT]

Crocus cartwrightianus Albus

[Leena]

There are earlier forms of speciosus, too. May be white Crocus vallicola could alive. I think Crocus kotschyanus could be hardy, too.

Thank you for these suggestions, I will try to keep them in mind when the time comes to order new bulbs in the spring, because I would love to have more or these autumn flowering species.

[YT]

Hello all, this is my first flowering crocus of this season.
Crocus mathewii, from Janis in 2012.

[udo]

Hi Tatsuo,
your Crocus mathewii looks good,
here two new Crocus this weekend in flower:
Crocus ( biforus ssp. ) melantherus from southern Greece
   ''        caspius from northern Iran

[krisderaeymaeker]

Hello all, this is my first flowering crocus of this season.
Crocus mathewii, from Janis in 2012.

Very good form Tatsuo ! 

[krisderaeymaeker]

Hi Tatsuo,
your Crocus mathewii looks good,
here two new Crocus this weekend in flower:
Crocus ( biforus ssp. ) melantherus from southern Greece
   ''        caspius from northern Iran

I like this form of melantherus Dirk ! Good black anthers .
I have some seedlings from caspius , now I can see how  they hopefully wil be in the future ..

[Janis Ruksans]

Absolutely crazy year. Not only in United Kingdom with horrible storm (we wait it here tonight) but with plants, too. Today here is +15 C so I maid some last job in my "bee farm" - took of anti-varroa medicine. Of course got some "anti-rheumatic injections". But yesterday all crocus flowers were full with bees and they flew as in summer.
Are blooming not only autumn crocuses but even some spring bloomers started to flower. Surprisingly (luckily!) - not spring crocuses but Corydalis schanginii from Kazakhstan and one stock of Ornithogalum lanceolatum. I read on internet that it could bloom in autumn and read about this in best German garden magazine "Gartenpraxis" but by myself saw it for the first time. From crocuses in this entry 2 pictures of Crocus speciosus subsp. hellenicus - described by me this summer in "The Alpine Gardener" and supplement. Here it is one of latest from C. speciosus group, but very pretty - something similar to Turkish subsp. elegans from near Akseki.

[Janis Ruksans]

Absolutely last from speciosus group this year is subsp. sakariensis. Unfortunately not pictured it yesterday when flowers were open to show its bright yellow throat and tall stigmatic branches well overpassing anthers. Today is very cloudy and flowers are tightly closed.
Nicely yesterday bloomed Greek mainland Crocus laevigatus - variously coloured forms.

[Janis Ruksans]

Nicely are blooming Crocus cambessedesii
Surprisingly late is this form of Crocus wattiorum from P&P Watt which I got through Jim Archibald
Very unusual is this Crocus goulimyi named by its discoverer Melvin Jope as 'Agia Sophia'
An as last for today is Crocus melantherus - form with stippled back and only slightly noticeable black connective of anthers. Regardless of its name "melantherus" (black anthered) there are plenty of plants with pure yellow anthers, too.

[Roma]

When repotting crocus corms sown in November 2009 and labelled Crocus biflorus pulchricolor x chrysanthus I thought one was big enough to flower and got all excited.  It is flowering now and is pulchellus The packet of seed was a freebie from the SRGC Discussion weekend in 2009.

[Rimmer de Vries]

Crocus pulchellus "Michael Hoog"
all blooms have been distorted like this
is this virused?