Winter Flowering Colchicums December 2008

[mark smyth]

Thanks Oron.

And some big corms Zhirair

[Anthony Darby]

Here are by C. cupanii leaves. The widest leaf in the lowest photo is 4cm across. The one to the left is 3.5cm across.

By leaves it is cupanii
Janis

None of my cupanii has more than two leaves, except where a leaf has been made instead of a flower. The size would certainly suggest cupanii. What are the leaves like on your wee one Mark? It could be cretense? I have one very like it and I also have cretense bought as such, but it hasn't flowered for me yet.  I took pics of the leaves of my colchicums and will sort them out at home tonight.

[mark smyth]

Anthony, pass! No leaves until the spring

[Anthony Darby]

That is curious Mark.

Here are the leaves of mine, although the third one down was sold to me as Colchicum cupanii and not pusillum. The second pic shows them in situ.

[mark smyth]

Very brave of you to take off leaves, Anthony. I wouldnt have done it. Your cupanii leaves look small compared to mine. Could it be the size of the pots they are grown in? All my Colchicums that are not in the ground are in 1L long toms

[Anthony Darby]

The cupanii leaves are the tall ones in the further away 4" pot. Some are 10" long. That's huge in my book. I don't think removing a leaf will be a problem. The broad pusillum is second pot from the front and the narrow one from Crete is out of focus at the very front. The narrow-leaved pusillum is in the pot to the left of the one between the cupanii and the other pusillum.

[mark smyth]

Two winter flowering Colchicums, kesselringii and hirsutum, have started in my collection but due to the very dark days recently I have no photos to share. Street lights were on for most of today.

[Anthony Darby]

That looks as if it is outside Mark?

[mark smyth]

All my Colchicums are outside either in the ground, pots or troughs. Those in pots go under cover when the flowers appear.

[Gunilla]

Lovely stripes on your Colchicum kesselringii.  It is indeed very dark here too and not much is flowering in my garden but I have some Colchicum hungaricum in a pot. I plan to try them out in the garden next year. They were labeled Colchicum hungaricum 'Velebit Star' but the flowers are pure white with no hint of pink so maybee the name is wrong.

Colchicum hungaricum

[mark smyth]

Brilliant photo Gunilla. Mine are out also.

[mark smyth]

This is how my kesselringiis look today. Although I have pellets down the b*****d slugs have eaten and nibbled my darkest one.

C. cretense is also up today. Because of the weather this may be the only photo you will see of this plant

[mark smyth]

This plant flowered back in October. It now has leaves. I did say they leaves dont appear until much later

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Great shots Mark and Gunilla !  Very beautiful Colchicum.
Is your C. kesselringii outside in a trough Mark ??

[mark smyth]

Yes Luc