Crocus March 2012

[TheOnionMan]

To Simon, Maggi, and Gerry, thanks for jarring my fading memory, I had vague reminiscence of such discussions on the name, but a hasty search on the forum didn't find it right away.

[Sinchets]

There's still hope, Armin. Whatever remains of the bulbs and corms underground may still be able to regenerate smaller replacements. We have had the same thing here in some years- a plants vanished for a year and then reappears smaller and slowly works back up to flowering size.
In the meantime there is always Saint Roch- nominated patron saint of Crocus malyi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Roch

[TheOnionMan]

I lost about 30% of all of my crocus and other bulbs planted in my raised beds this winter (all C. minimus, C.corsicus, C.medius, C. cancellatus, C. goulimyi, C. ochroleucus, rare C. chysanthus & vernus cvs., all reticulata iris, some alliums, many tulips+seedlings, hyacinthoides hispanica+non-scripta, galanthus woronowii, cyclamen coum, colchicum, sternbergia+seedlings, leucojum aestivum, narcissus+seedlings...) 
The unusual warm period of Nov. to Jan. forced the early growth, the 2 weeks lasting bare frosts in February down -18°C (no snow cover) killed all early stuck out shots.

Many I thought look o.k. 2 weeks ago turned to yellow and decompose as temperatures raised. Still green shots being stuck, show no sign of growth and I fear more losses. I could cry a river...

Oh Armin, that's so very sad to suffer such widespread losses with your bulbs, I can sincerely sympathize with the distress you must have seeing so much lost.  It seems abnormal weather is becoming the norm around the globe these days.  It's way too early for the weather we're having here too, reached 80 F (26 C) today, has been record breaking warmth for nearly a week, supposed to get hotter as the week progresses, more like July and August.  But fortunate for us this year, while winter was overall very mild, and our earliest spring ever, there were sufficient very cold and gray days to keep things in check, to keep the ground frozen and prevent overly precocious growth. With April around the corner, I'm hoping we don't get whacked with a very hard late freezing. But, it has been a banner year for the crocus, now frits, brodiaea, allium, tulipa, corydalis, are coming on strong... the chance of a late freeze is still very real here, I don't rest easy for several weeks yet.

But nature and our plants can be resilient, and I'm sure that in short order you'll be able to replace many plants.  I felt devastated in October 2011 with the pre-Halloween surprise snowstorm, which because trees still had their leaves, they had no chance whatsoever with 14" (35 cm) of heavy wet snow, destroying a number of ornamental trees in the yard.  A few I cut back to mere stubs, with the hope that they'll leaf out and regenerate.

FYI, I posted more crocus photos here:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=952.msg15930#msg15930
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=952.msg15872#msg15872

[TheOnionMan]

There's still hope, Armin. Whatever remains of the bulbs and corms underground may still be able to regenerate smaller replacements. We have had the same thing here in some years- a plants vanished for a year and then reappears smaller and slowly works back up to flowering size.
In the meantime there is always Saint Roch- nominated patron saint of Crocus malyi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Roch

So Simon, would there be an appropriate name for my super-sized form if C. malyi, perhaps something like C. malyi 'Roko' or 'Rocco', among the many alternate spellings of Roc from your link?

[Armin]

Simon,
yes, hope is the last to die. I hope some of my buried treasures will reappear.
The bitter thing is it is now the second consecutive winter with fatal late bare frosts and losses.

[Sinchets]

We had the same snow storms here, Mark. I hadn't realised they had happened in your part of the world too. The sheer number of trees brought down onto powerlines left some villages without power for weeks.
Our weather forecast tonight suggested that Madrid is expecting snow tomorrow- hope it doesn't head this way next.

Take the Stallone route, Mark, and called it Rocky  

[TheOnionMan]

Yes, I'm liking that, 'Rocky' (Balboa). 

We were without power for a week with that Halloween snow storm, some places two weeks.  Then a snowless winter, until the beginning of March, another 13-14" snow, like bookends to the winter season.  With the coming heat, I might be tempted to plant tomatoes this weekend

The regular C. maly and the big-flowered offspring flower a copuple days sooner that C. malyi 'Sveti Roc' (just opened today, many more buds coming) and 'Ballerina' (also started opening today).  I have been sowing seed for the last several years, and there must be a thousand seedlings coming up as thick as grass, some of them started blooming this year.

Photos:
1.  C. malyi 'Sveti Roc'
2.  C. malyi 'Rocky' with in hand in the photo to get a sense of scale of the flowers.
3.  C. imperati suaveolens (among the slowest to increase here, although I do have seedlings coming along)

[Armin]

McMark,
thanks that you commiserate with me. I feel already much better now
Let's keep fingers crossed you don't get whacked by late frosts, too.
Your crocus images in the NARGS forum are lovely. Like your chrysanthus hybrids.

'Rocky' is an appropriate name. Like it too.

[TheOnionMan]

When would be the most appropriate time to dig up my 6 corms of the extra large-flowered C. malyi.  Last year I thought about the same thing, but when they go dormant and dry up so fast, I wouldn't really know which ones to separate, seems like I might need to do it when I can actually see which corms are the right ones by the growth attached to them.  Is it bad to dig up crocus while in flower?

[Tony Willis]

  Is it bad to dig up crocus while in flower?

Yes

[Gerry Webster]

  Is it bad to dig up crocus while in flower?

Yes

In my - very limited - experience, not necessarily. About six weeks ago I received through the post a corm of C. vernus. Although not literally in flower, it was above ground & had a well formed flower bud which developed normally. It now looks fine & appears to have divided. I was sceptical, but the person who sent it assured me it would be OK & he was right. So, I imagine it depends when & how carefully you do it.

[Martin Baxendale]

I dig up crocus seedlings in flower, being very careful and potting immediately, as it's the only way to select out the good ones. They don't seem to mind so long as you don't damage the roots and pot up and water within a minute or preferably within seconds, so the very fine roots don't dry out.

[TheOnionMan]

Thanks all, I think I'll give it a try over the weekend (maybe I'll do this on 4 of 6 large-flowered ones, just for insurance)

Tony, what has been your experience that Crocus shouldn't be moved in flower?

[I.S.]

  Armin, I can imagined how it is sad to lost some part of collection! Mine are also out side without any wintercare. I had also lots of snow this winter. My raised bads were covered with 30cm snow. I was so sory that I have lost my colchicums (baytopiorum, chalconicum, and some more...) But now they are all perfect. I have only some demaged leaves of C. wattiorum. But me I lost crocuses in hot and rainy summer conditions. (like hadriaticus and from pallasii grps. ex.)
  I believe that you will have lots of cormlets next year for increasing up your collection.

[Otto Fauser]

As the Crocus season draws to its end in the Northern Hemisphere here in the Southern Hemisphere the autumnflowering species start to bloom