Evolution of a Crocus Garden

[Paul T]

Luc,

Given that it contains a mix of spring and autumn species, as well as Narcissus bulbocodiums etc and smaller Narcissus, plu Iris retics.... it will definitely never be covered in flowers in autumn, but with a better display in spring of an assortment of things.  Hopefully the retic irises will have bulked up a bit this year and get more flowers.  Those I probably will manage to repot even though they probably already have roots on them.  I'll try one and see whether the roots are through the mesh, and if they are then I won't repot any of them because it will be too damaging.

[Paul T]

Howdy again All,

I've got another pic of the whole garden about a week ago, once i get it prepared to post.  I just wanted to comment here just how different the flowering is from the crocus this year compared to years "precrocus garden".... unbelievable.  I can only imagine what the future will hold as more of the struggling crocus from pots mature back to flowering size.  Hopefully most will be up there for next season, but this season has been amazing.  I still have pulchellus in flower more than a month after they started, and C. mathewii is still having the odd flower.  I've never had ANYTHING like the length of flowering that I've had for some of them this year, and I've never had this many of them actually flower as far as I know.  It helps having so many together, but I don't think that is the only reason.  I would highly recommend doing this sort of thing to anyone who is, like I was, growing in small pots that get too warm too early.

[Joakim B]

Paul nice that Your hard work paid off so well then.
I did try some crocus in pots but did not do well with them and they got better when planted in the open garden but then it was to late for most of them. If I had made a crocusgarden maybe they would have recovered already?
Well done and nice to know it is possible to grow them in warm climate.

All the best
Joakim

[Paul T]

Joakim,

The key in the warm climates I think is to making sure that they don't get too hot too early.  I have had problems the last few years with a warm patch in September/early October each year which has pushed them into dormancy earlier than they should be doing so.  This has been magnified due to the black plastic pots I grow them in, and them heating up in the sun (we have got a week of 30'C or so at that time for the last 3 years or so..... then cooler again for another month after that).  The insulation of the garden means that a week or this sort of heat doesn't warm them up enough to go into dormancy I think, so they last through to that next month of cooler weather, so they set up better corms for the next year's flowering.  Thankfully our -8'C or so in winter is cold enough to give them the winter cool that they like.  I've had more than 6 weeks flowering on some of them so far this year, which is WELL more than I have ever had before, and far more flowers on some types than ever before. 

I am now planning a second bed out the back under the washing line.  Maybe not as "artistic" as the front one, because it needs to be flat so there is no problem with the washing on the line, but it will also be for things like Crocus, smaller Narcissus and Iris reticulatas etc.

[rob krejzl]

Paul,

The one thing I noticed with the first bed was that you hadn't used a sheet of root barrier, despite it being close to trees. Would you use it next time?

[Paul T]

Rob,

Actually, there is geotextile cloth underneath it, for exactly that reason.  No idea how well it will work, but theoretically it should impeded the roots at least to a degree.  That was another reason for me intending to lift the pots and repot each year, so I could monitor root growth into the garden.

[Lesley Cox]

Even heavy duty tarpaulin doesn't stop roots of Eucalyptus. They have come up through my potting mix piles, to the extent that the roots are now at least a metre ABOVE the base of the tree. They seems to scent water a mile off and rush up towards the slightest bit of damp in the atmosphere.

[Paul T]

Here's a pic of my Crocus garden recently....

Things are doing absolutely brilliantly in some cases.  The Hoop Petticoat daffs are producing wonderful clumps, and some of the Crocus species that were struggling are back and flowering brilliantly now.  I'll be posting a bunch of pics into both the relevant topics shortly. 

Please click on the pic for a larger version.  If pics are too large, please let me know.

[Paul T]

Decided I would post a couple of pics of some of the clumps here as well.....

Please click on the pic for a larger version.  If pics are too large, please let me know.

[Lvandelft]

Here's a pic of my Crocus garden recently....

Things are doing absolutely brilliantly in some cases.  The Hoop Petticoat daffs are producing wonderful clumps, and some of the Crocus species that were struggling are back and flowering brilliantly now.  I'll be posting a bunch of pics into both the relevant topics shortly. 

Please click on the pic for a larger version.  If pics are too large, please let me know.

Paul, just saw the new picture of your Evolution garden.
It’s looking better every time. The bulbs seem to thrive really good in this bed.
Very interesting to follow this development. Thank you for showing!

[Paddy Tobin]

It's looking very well, Paul.

Paddy

[Paul T]

I certainly have had better flowering on some of the crocus than ever before, particularly the length of flowering.  They just seem to keep on sending up flowers, something I haven't had like this in pots before.  I can't believe how long some of them have been in bloom for now.  Also much better flowering than I have ever had on the Iris reticulatas before. Hopefully this is just a sign that all of them are starting to return to mature flowering bulbs and that over time I will end up having all of them in flower in clumps instead of just a flower here and there.  I've also never had this many different ones flower in a give year.... I really should have been out pollinating them I guess, but I haven't been doing so except once or twice. 

Everything in the garden has a bit of a lean to them now.... very strong winds here the last couple of days and the Iris retics are all on a 45' angle at the moment, as is the Narcissus cordubensis! 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

I love to see how your bulb garden gets along Paul !
The sandy mix, your climate + your expert growing (    ) clearly do the trick !  Have you got any Juno Iris in there ??  I'm sure they would like it just as much !

[Paul T]

No space Luc!  Although there might be space right in the middle at the top.  Could be worth thinking about..... thanks for the idea. 

[Paul T]

Howdy All,

An interesting side effect of my new crocus garden...... I have had seed set this year.  Up until now I have only ever seen seed set on C. laevigatus and C. tommasinianus, but this year there is laevigatus, pulchellus, tournefortii, sieberi ssp sieberi, mathewii (the seeds of this last one are massive compared to the others) and cvijicii (I bought a second clone this year, and it obviously worked.... there are pods below ground as I checked today, but they're still below ground so I will leave them alone).  Very, very cool.    I have no idea what hybridisation is possible amongst the crocus I had out in flower so I would imagine that some at least are hybrids.  I guess I'll find out in a few years when they flower. 

Luc, if you're interested I can spare you a couple of seeds of the mathewii to go with the corm at the end of this season?  And I probably have enough pulchellus to spare a few for someone who is interested.  They are from the main clump of pulchellus that I posted pics of in the crocus topic this autumn.

So, I wonder if there will be any others that I haven't found as yet.  It is amazing how some pods emerge to just at the ground level, while others shoot up on a tall stem.  Very, very cool.