Crocus in pots February 2010

[Michael J Campbell]

A few here fresh from an hour on the kitchen window sill.

Very nice David, is the wife out again today?

[Maggi Young]

McMark, you may be interested to see this file Thomas Huber prepared some time ago.... very useful for comparison of various hybrids/cultivars in cultivation at the moment....
Click on the file name to download......

 Thomas Huber crocus hybrids.pdf (113.71 kB - downloaded 141 times.)

[TheOnionMan]

McMark, you may be interested to see this file Thomas Huber prepared some time ago.... very useful for comparison of various hybrids/cultivars in cultivation at the moment....
Click on the file name to download......
(Attachment Link)

Thanks, that is a handy resource.  I see my favorite of favorite chrysanthus type in there; 'Prins Claus', incredibly fragrant flowers.

[Janis Ruksans]

Nice crocus views!  I really like C. chrys. 'Blue Pearl'.  But I'm wondering, after looking at Janis' scan of chrysanthus cultivar diagrams,  if we know how true these are today. Blue Pearl is one of my very favorites, I'm a softy for soft colors, but comparing the diagram for Blue Pearl the markings at the end of the petals don't entirely match.  The plants I grow look much like those shown in David's beautiful photographs.  I'm not a stickler on such issues, it's a lovely form regardless, just a bit curious though.

Mark,
Those diagrams show the darker parts on flower segments or differently colored zones. Designs are made very long ago when bulbs were sold by company who grew them. Of course, even then were possible mistakes, but I got samples from various sources, compared them and included only those, about which had no doubt about identity. There were 4 main sources - Van Tubergen company (Michael Hoog), Pruhonicky Institut of Ornamental Plants (then Czekoslovakia), Main Botanical Garden of USSR (Moscow) and Botanical Garden of Latvian Academy of Sciences (near Riga). Tomorrow I will translate detailed description of 'Blue Pearl'. There must be RHS Color Chart numbers atached (I haven't monograph at home, only in my office).
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Nice crocus views!  I really like C. chrys. 'Blue Pearl'.  But I'm wondering, after looking at Janis' scan of chrysanthus cultivar diagrams,  if we know how true these are today. Blue Pearl is one of my very favorites, I'm a softy for soft colors, but comparing the diagram for Blue Pearl the markings at the end of the petals don't entirely match.  The plants I grow look much like those shown in David's beautiful photographs.  I'm not a stickler on such issues, it's a lovely form regardless, just a bit curious though.

By the way, flowers of Blue Pearl on the pictures looks something suspicious for virus, especially less opened flower on right side in the first picture. Color of more open specimen looks something uneven, too.

On diagram - there are tepals outsides, right is outer, left inner. At bottom is darker zone surrounding bottom tongue on outer segment, but on inner - shape of dark basal tongue.

Janis

[mark smyth]

Some Crocus from today

chocolate and gold - Janis Ruksans
chrysanthus EP Bowles - inside and out
chrysanthus - bug spray comes out tomorrow
reticulatus Early Gold
reticulata Ego - supplied as Nida - I think

[Armin]

Mark,
excellent sharp photos from pretty nice cultivars

[mark smyth]

Thanks Armin.

[TheOnionMan]

Spectacular close-ups Mark, not only crystal clear but artistically composed, particularly C. chysanthus4.jpg.  Very happy looking collection of fine Crocus.

[annew]

Wow! Instant sunshine, Mark. Great photos.

[mark smyth]

and all taken in the house

[Janis Ruksans]

Some Crocus from today

chocolate and gold - Janis Ruksans
chrysanthus EP Bowles - inside and out
chrysanthus - bug spray comes out tomorrow
reticulatus Early Gold
reticulata Ego - supplied as Nida - I think

Mark,
Those C. reticulatus x angustifolius hybrids I named as Crocus x leonidii in honor to Leonid Bondarenko who selected those from my seedlings, multiplied, named and started to distribute.
Janis

[Otto Fauser]

Mark , as always your photos are superb !

   Armin  , sad news that chrys. 'E.A.Bowles 'has been lost to cultivation .I know that 'Myddelton House' ( where Bowles lived and gardened till his death in 1954 )is also looking for it .

 On a brighter note chrys. "Nanette' is still growing in my garden from corms imported from Broadleigh Gardens in 1968 .
 Also , I only have one or two corms left from corms sent to me in 1961 by the late Wilhelm Schacht -Munich Bot. Garden .

        Otto.

[Otto Fauser]

Armin , sorry I omitted the name of the Crocus that Wilhelm Schacht sent me in 1961:
 Cr. vernus 'Maximillian' .

[Janis Ruksans]

'BLUE PEARL' - In my garden started blooming in average 9th of April, blooms in average 23 days, making 3-6 flowers per bulb at 6-7,5 cm height. Segments rounded, outer 33 x 20 mm, inner 30 x 22 mm. Outers from outside very light bluish, at tip light blue (RHS CC 91C), at base grayish tongue surrounded by light violet blue (88C,D) speckled zone, inside almost white at top slightly bluish. Inner segments almost white only at tip from both sides very light bluish (91D) shaded, at outside base grayish green tongue. Flower tube lilac, throat light yellow (14C-B). Stamens 18 mm long, filaments 7 mm long, very light yellow; anthers 13 mm long yellow (15B). Stigma bright dark orange (32-A) at same height as stamens. Leaves 8, 2 mm wide and up to 23 cm long. Vegetative increasing medium good - in average 2,9, maximum observed - 4. Fertile. Sometimes the same is distributed under name 'Blue Bonnet'. As 'Blue Pearl' sometimes is distributed C. biflorus weldenii 'Fairy' from which easy separable by shape of tongue on outer segments outside base (see description of 'Fairy').

Janis