Crocus October 2009

[Melvyn Jope]

I fear the rain and wind forecast for the next two days will knock the Crocus about, two C.speciosus taken just as the rain started and a C.tournefortii growing under glass.

[Armin]

Melvyn,
nice croci. Your white C. speciosus resembles more cultivar C. pulchellus "Zephyr" (with white anthers).
A picture from my garden today.

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis

Your C. veneris is a bit unusual.

This autumn many crocuses are anusual - less developed styles, smaller flowers etc. C. veneris flowers are smaler than before and style remains between anthers. Suppose that reason is too cold summer.
Janis

[David Nicholson]

My banaticus never open wide like that.

put them in the kitchen for an hour or so, then they will. Have you seen whar Tony said on Crocus Pages? ("some early botanists referred to it as Crocus iridiflorus")

[Ian Y]

I have just been catching up with the forum.

I have been away so much over the last month I seem to have had too little time to enjoy the posts.

Simply stunning crocus pictures everyone both in cultivation and in the field - thank you for sharing them.

[mark smyth]

This is the pale serotinus clusii I mentioned this week

[Sinchets]

Thanks for the C.pallasii pallasii pics, Janis. We hope to find a southern Bulgarian population next week.
Flowering here now on the first sunny day after a week of rains.
Crocus cartwrightianus

[Roma]

I have the beginnings of a crocus lawn.  A number of years ago crocus pulchellus appeared in the narrow border between the 'rockery/raised bed' and the grass, from seeds or smallcorms in used potting compost.  They set lots of seed and have gradually spread the whole length of the border.  They are now spreading into the grass and appearing all over the garden helped I think by ants.

[I.S.]

 Janis very nice pics. from wild and your collection specialy pallasii with dark throat.
 
Is your new taxa C. Crocus speciosus subsp. archibaldii from Turkey? I think yellow throat is endemic to Turkey! I was plannig to visit a location of C. speciosus subsp. xantholaimos for next week from N.W. Turkey which is not recorded for this subspecies. So I have to check corm carefully

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis very nice pics. from wild and your collection specialy pallasii with dark throat.
 
Is your new taxa C. Crocus speciosus subsp. archibaldii from Turkey? I think yellow throat is endemic to Turkey! I was plannig to visit a location of C. speciosus subsp. xantholaimos for next week from N.W. Turkey which is not recorded for this subspecies. So I have to check corm carefully

No, it is from Iran. Yellow throat is more widespread - see picture of Armenian plant, too.
Janis

[Ragged Robin]

I have the beginnings of a crocus lawn.  A number of years ago crocus pulchellus appeared in the narrow border between the 'rockery/raised bed' and the grass, from seeds or smallcorms in used potting compost.  They set lots of seed and have gradually spread the whole length of the border.  They are now spreading into the grass and appearing all over the garden helped I think by ants.

How wonderful, Roma, each year will be a new surprise as they spread - am interested in you comment about ants spreading them - why would they?

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Very nice "wild" population of pulchellus Roma !!

Love your cartwrightianus form Simon !!

[Sinchets]

I have the beginnings of a crocus lawn.  A number of years ago crocus pulchellus appeared in the narrow border between the 'rockery/raised bed' and the grass, from seeds or smallcorms in used potting compost.  They set lots of seed and have gradually spread the whole length of the border.  They are now spreading into the grass and appearing all over the garden helped I think by ants.

How wonderful, Roma, each year will be a new surprise as they spread - am interested in you comment about ants spreading them - why would they?

Ants are gluttons for anything with sticky seeds. 

[Sinchets]

First flower today on Crocus longiflorus (?) AH9703. Third year with us, but it chose to bulk up rather than flower until now.

[Ragged Robin]

Wow, Simon, worth the wait, it's so pale and a lovely shape