Crocus October 2017

[tonyg]

Always wonderful to see your collection Janis - I cannot compete!

Five happy escapees in the garden here.
Crocus cartwrightianus - a single corm planted out several years ago.  Slowly increasing.
Crocus caspius - I have two isolated stray flowering corms in a raised bed.  Almost certainly there from seed or old compost as I did not plant them out!
Crocus goulimyi - nice bicolor form
Crocys goulimyi - sheltered by pulsatilla seedling.  Problem - if I let the pulsatilla grow bigger it will strangle the crocus.
Crocus niveus - long time ago planted in a raised bed, now somewhat overgrown!

[tonyg]

A few highlights from the frame where various familiar autumn crocus are in flower.  Like Janis I find it a long season with flowers appearing at different times but no great display as in other years.

Crocus creocreticus - raised from Crocus Group seed a long time ago
Crocus oreocreticus - labelled 87-07 on picture file - seedlings from the above seed sown 2007
Crocus serotinus - nice pale seedling with slight feathering

[Maggi Young]

The plant previously shown here in 2009  under Melvyn Jope's  collection number http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=4261.msg114305#msg114305   is  now   known as Crocus goulimyi Agia Sofia  (previously(MELJ 9652))

[Yann]

I was absent during the week (job or flower....grrrrr) and i missed flowers, whatever here's Crocus gilanicus and niveus.
The white powder over the Seramis is potash, no salt 
Crocus hyemalis

[Janis Ruksans]

Here still rain and rain. It is October, but in greenhouse some nice flowers comes up every day.
In this entry
Crocus goulimyi of Harlequin type
Beautiful seedling of C. hadriaticus. What is pollen parent? I don't know. It came up between hadriaticus seedlings, is seem to be sterile but good increaser by corm splitting.
From rarer crocuses - C. hermoneus collected in Israel.

[Janis Ruksans]

Some more of today
- the first is Crocus lycius, only started blooming - the first 2 flowers
Then Crocus longiflorus sample HKEP-1626
and as last - Crocus macedonicus

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus mathewii blooms not so abundantly than usual. Here two forms - one quite widely known Dream Dancer and another - excellent increaser by corm splitting, although flowers are smaller and with narrower segments, but good colour contrast.
Crocus oreocreticus only started blooming.
This C. nudiflorus was collected by my Dutch friend in SW Spain
And as the last - new species from Israel - found and shown to me by Oron.

[Janis Ruksans]

Very special so named "mazziaricus" from near Fethiye in Turkey
Typical and true Crocus speciosus from forest in Georgia
well separable from lowland Crocus sakariensis
and as last - one of C. tournefortii samples from Amorgos Island in Cyclades, Greece

[Janis Ruksans]

Two Crocus pallasii aff. from Chios Island, most likely need own name
Two pictures of C. pamphylicus and
as the  last another sample of Crocus caspius.

[Janis Ruksans]

Two Crocus pulchellus from Chios - note the difference in flower markings and then various C. tournefortii from different Islands and with different basal markings, by the way colour markings very similar on each Island and different between Islands.

[Janis Ruksans]

Last entry today.
Surprisingly, but still some vallicola's are in bloom
The first robertianus opened flowers - this is from S population
Again picture of hybrid between Crocus boryi x tournefortii raised by Tony Goede
And the first flower of smallest autumnn crocuses - Crocus pumilus from Crete. The flower is less than 2 cm long.
On the last something different - labeled as Colchicum doerfleri, but not that one - see below comment & picture of Stefan (Sokol)

[sokol]

Nice pictures Janis and I like Crocus hermoneus and this special Crocus hadriaticus most.

Your Colchicum is not doerfleri as this is spring flowering and the flowers come out together with the leaves.

Colchicum doerfleri, Olympos, May 2012:

[Janis Ruksans]

Nice pictures Janis and I like Crocus hermoneus and this special Crocus hadriaticus most.

Your Colchicum is not doerfleri as this is spring flowering and the flowers come out together with the leaves.

Colchicum doerfleri, Olympos, May 2012:
(Attachment Link)

Thank you! I didn't checked names of Colchicums in last years, as you could understand - all my attention was given to crocuses

[Catwheazle]

Hello, I had bought this year from a well-known German flower bulb dealer Crocus banaticus and Crocus ligusticus.
I wasn't quite sure about the banaticus yet, but I'm afraid that the ligusticus are infected with a virus. (or is it a cultural mistake of mine?)
Please have a look at the picture!
Are the seeds of these plants also infected with the virus or are they free of viruses?
If I remove the plants. Can I plant crocus at this place later on without any danger?
Thank you for your efforts!
salutations
Bernd

[Janis Ruksans]

Hello, I had bought this year from a well-known German flower bulb dealer Crocus banaticus and Crocus ligusticus.
I wasn't quite sure about the banaticus yet, but I'm afraid that the ligusticus are infected with a virus. (or is it a cultural mistake of mine?)
Please have a look at the picture!
Are the seeds of these plants also infected with the virus or are they free of viruses?
If I remove the plants. Can I plant crocus at this place later on without any danger?
Thank you for your efforts!
salutations
Bernd

It cerrtainly is infected and must be destroyed as soon as possible. Virus infected plants can set seeds but not always. This one looks heavy infected. Usually viruses are not transfered through seeds. I recovered C. nerimaniae from virus infection during 2 generations.
Planting again in same spot? Depends from virus. Many viruses are using several host plants and can alive in neighbours (in "weeds"). It seem that you planted in grass? It isn't the best habitat for reusing.
Janis