Crocus January 2014

[Janis Ruksans]

Now I'm attaching shocking picture. It is not mine and I hardly hope that it isn't photoshop joke. I got it today from my correspondent from Kazakhstan, who pictured it in wild. There are name Crocus alatavicus attached, but in any case for genus crocus it is incredible colour.
Pity that C. alatavicus is very slow increaser and not the best grower in cultivation. There were few incredibly coloured selections made by Czech, but all were lost during years just due difficulties in increasing and keeping. But this one surpass everything ever seen.

[Steve Garvie]

A beautiful Crocus indeed Janis!!!

[Tony Willis]

I see that in the IRG it is spelt the same way as I have it and I have a picture of the label on the f2 hybrid which is spelt gothoburgensis. Also in his post in 2008 Luc uses gothenburgensis for a corydalis. Interesting to know what is correct.

Two more in flower

Crocus sieberi from Mt Ida Crete

Crocus biflorus ssp pulchricolor x Crocus chrysanthus , a natural hybrid from Ulu Dag in Turkey

[Maggi Young]

 I think it was described as gotoburgensis -    Crocus × gotoburgensis R.Rolfe  - keeping the (almost) Swedish name - but it is true that we have used  x gothenburgensis in the IRG  and it appears quite often - arising, I suspect from the carelessness and dare I say arrogance, of those of us English speakers to mould things to our own preferences!

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

Edit :
Indeed, in the AGS bulletin of June 200, on page 230 there is Robert's description of the plant - clearly x gotoburgensis - I will be making a note in the IRG index.

 
(edit to fix typos!    )

[Janis Ruksans]

Copy from Kew checklist:
Crocus × gotoburgensis R.Rolfe, Quart. Bull. Alpine Gard. Soc. Gr. Brit. 68: 230 (2000)
- so it is officially used form. By myself I'm sometimes automatically writing wrongly, too, but official and single form to use is just this.

[Tony Willis]

Maggi  and Janis thank you for clearing this up.

certainly not arrogance on my part!

[art600]

If your picture is correct and I well understand colours on it, correct name of this one is Crocus minutus. My greetings!
Janis

Janis

Thanks for the clarification - I missed this new Crocus when it was described.  Is there a classic location?

Hope you are well and weather not too troubling.

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus minutus was described by Kerndorff & Pasche from three mountain ridges N and W from Antalya, I collected it on 4th ridge, next in East direction. Before reading the paper with its description I didn't see the white stigma in two of my gatherings, later I got one more acquisition from Gothenburg. Only after publication of new taxa I checked stigma colour of all blue flowering acquisitions of stocks named as danfordiae and was pleasantly surprised finding new taxa.

Weather still is very cold but in greenhouses temperature didn't fall below minus 15, in daylight it was around 0 to minus 2, so I hope that at present all will be OK. In February are offered up to +8 - it would be more dangerous as in March can return hard frosts.

[Steve Garvie]

My Crocus aerius has opened up and looks different from your's Cyril.

Prior to christmas Pippin, my wife's moggie was sleeping in the bulb frame and knocked out some labels so my plant may be something else!
(Images taken in poor light this afternoon -it is more bluish than dark lilac in sunlight)

[Cyril L]

Cyril

I raised the C. gothenburgensis from my own seed obtained by crossing my C. pelistericus and C.scardicus both ways. Since reaching flowering size both them and the parents flower every year and I am now working on the f2 cross. My climate seems ideally suited to them.

Thanks Tony.  Your damp climate is useful after all.  C. scardicus is perhaps one of my favourite crocus if only it would oblige.  I look forward to seeing the f2 results.

Steve, I think your Crocus aerius is correct, maybe Janis can confirm.  I was expecting something similar in mine with the attractive stripes.  Maybe my other two plants will turn out different.  I got mine from Janis.  It must be quite variable.

Tatsuo, I can see that with your climate, Crocus pelistericus for example, might be difficult to grow in the summer heat.  I suppose no climate will be ideal for all crocus!

[Cyril L]

Now I'm attaching shocking picture. It is not mine and I hardly hope that it isn't photoshop joke. I got it today from my correspondent from Kazakhstan, who pictured it in wild. There are name Crocus alatavicus attached, but in any case for genus crocus it is incredible colour.
Pity that C. alatavicus is very slow increaser and not the best grower in cultivation. There were few incredibly coloured selections made by Czech, but all were lost during years just due difficulties in increasing and keeping. But this one surpass everything ever seen.

Absolutely unbelievable Janis.  I cannot believe my eyes!

[Janis Ruksans]

Absolutely unbelievable Janis.  I cannot believe my eyes!

I, too!
Janis

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Now I'm attaching shocking picture. It is not mine and I hardly hope that it isn't photoshop joke. I got it today from my correspondent from Kazakhstan, who pictured it in wild. There are name Crocus alatavicus attached, but in any case for genus crocus it is incredible colour.
Pity that C. alatavicus is very slow increaser and not the best grower in cultivation. There were few incredibly coloured selections made by Czech, but all were lost during years just due difficulties in increasing and keeping. But this one surpass everything ever seen.

    unbelievable !!

[Janis Ruksans]

My Crocus aerius has opened up and looks different from your's Cyril.

From outside it didn't look as aerius, inside - so, so... I leave to make decision by yourself. Variability is so great for to show you it I selected 9 pictures of Crocus aerius made by me in wild and one from my collection. Of course not from this spring. By the way - it is not the earliest of annulate crocuses to bloom. But it only confirms how difficult is job done by Helmut Kerndorff and Erich Pasche researching crocuses of this group. They allways accented that it is almost impossible to identificate crocuses by pictures.
To show those pictures two entries are needed.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Some more of C. aerius, the last from my collection.
Janis