Crocus October 2009

[mark smyth]

Thanks Ashely for both comments

[Thomas Huber]

Thomas I am sure you can guess who.

Same as always? - never ordered from him, and it seems I will never do so in future  

Cancellatus looks like the trade form, formerly sold as cancellatus var cilicius. A good garden plant even for the open garden.

[mark smyth]

He obviously buys in Dutch Crocus or surplus from those with big collections and have surplus corms

[Gerry Webster]

He obviously buys in Dutch Crocus or surplus from those with big collections and have surplus corms

I think that most of the larger bulb suppliers in the UK import at least some of their offerings from the Netherlands. And I know that at least one of the smaller suppliers also used to do so - Dutch bulbs are cheap. However, I'm fairly sure that some of the more exotic bulbs offered by the supplier to whom you refer come from Antoine Hoog who, I believe, is now in France (Brittany). Someone who certainly bought surplus bulbs (of excellent quality) from collectors was Mike Smith of Hythe Alpines - he told me so & I have some.

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus medius (virused?)

Yes, without any doubt.
Janis
P.S. Correct name - ligusticus

[Janis Ruksans]

Does anyone what to say which speciosus this is?

The dark tube suggests Oxonian.

Great pictures as usual Mark.

YES, Oxonian.
Janis

[Paul T]

I don't look at this topic for a couple of days and BANG, there's 4 more pages!!    Some beauties in here, but I think the highlight of unusualness for me is the white and white with dark stripes cartwrightianus.  Striking, and something I haven't seen before (although there are a LOT of Crocus in this topic that I have never seen before!  ).

Thanks everyone!  

[mark smyth]

Paul here are my three white cartwrightianus. All my whites are in two pots and I have some away this year. Did they get all white or the one with the darker veins?

[Gerry Webster]

Crocus serotinus subsp. clusii  'Poseidon'

[mark smyth]

I'm very confused about serotinus and it's cultivars in my collection. They all look the same to me except for two - 'Gwendoline Edwards' and a very pale form with darker feathering

[Paul T]

Mark,

Have you been doing any hand pollinating of the white cartwrightianus? 

[mark smyth]

Yes and to your second question - yes no problem

[Janis Ruksans]

Yesterday returned from my Crimean trip to picture Crocus pallasii, but today all the day passed in the greenhouse picturing flowers, taking off wilted blooms. Destroyed all stock of salzmannii erectophyllus - 100% virus, got it only last autumn. Garden was visited by roe-deers who ate flower segments, leaving flower tubes as narrow white pencils...
I'm attaching few pictures of Crocus pallasii subsp. pallasii pictured on Kaya-bash seaside steppe at altitude ~300 meters. The night after our visit there was first rain during all summer, so soil was absolutely dry. Crocuses formed new roots, but they started to dry (looked as infected with root-rot - Pythium). So flowers mostly were with hot damaged segments. There were many dried and many only coming, so good density was only occasional and not for pictures. Very rarely we found white specimens. C. pallasii is very rare in Crimea and Kaya-bash really are the place with greatest density protected by military base at this spot during Soviet regime. Now it is free to access but soon wild ecosystems will be destroyed as after militarists left good roads, elctrolines and there will be built up villas, sporting spots etc. So may be those are last pictures...
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Some more pictures from Kaya-bash where Crimean Crocus pallasii still grow.
Returning late evening to Sevastopol we decided next morning return to Simferopol and to go to Tschatir-dag where in spring I saw C. speciosus leaves covering ground as grass. A year before I pictured C. speciosus on top of yaila, now we went by bottom of gorge. Unfortunately we didn't found soil "covered by flowers" as I hoped. There were plenty of wilted flowers, plenty of sharp buds, but only few open flowers. As day was quite dark, in gorge it was even darker. So only one picture of C. speciosus attached. We walked and talked that no one of us ever found white speciosus in wild and no one of our friends living in speciosus distribution area ever saw some such. Leonid even expressed opinion that speciosus 'Albus' is garden hybrid, not true species. As I still feel pain in my earlier broken leg I followed both gentelmens (Dima & Leonid) at some distance. And there it was - of course too old flower, but certainly pure white speciosus. Due late hour on picture it looks slightly bluish, but really they were remnants of pure white speciosus. I was very happy that they both stepped over this flower, not on it.
Janis

[mark smyth]

Janis did you fly or drive?