Miscellaneous spring bulbs

[Lori S.]

Very impressive indeed!
Of the ones shown, I know that T. turkestanica is very hardy and does well here outdoors too.  I am not good with Fritillaria, although F. meleagris and F. pallidiflora are fully hardy here (and tough enough to survive my "care".  )

[cohan]

More bulbs to cultivate indoors for the best results :
Tulipa turkestanica
Tulipa biflora
Tulipa sogdiana, a semi-desert species
Tulipa regelii, a semi-desert species with the most remarkable leaf

All  nice, but regelii is exquisite!

[Tony Willis]

Luc absolutely stunning plants

here are a few Cyclamen pseudibericum in flower at the moment.

[WimB]

Some small bulbs flowering here now:

Anemone blanda 'Ingramii'
Anemone blanda 'Radar'
Erythronium dens-canis 'Pink Perfection'
Erythronium dens-canis 'White Splendour'
Fritillaria stenanthera
Fritillaria verticilliata 'Kara-Sumbe'
Olsynium douglasii 'Alba'
Ranunculus ficaria 'Aurantiacus'
Ranunculus ficaria 'Collarette'
and Ranunculs ficaria 'Wild Red Back'

[LucS]

Fritillaria bucharica, a rhinopetalum from C-Asia - 3 shots during flowering time

[Hoy]

It is clear to me, Luc and Wim, that the spring is far more advanced in Belgium than here in Norway - both inside and outside
I have had Fritillaria bucharica outside but it was shortlived! The slugs seemingly are very fond of Fritillaria.

Tony, nice plants! How hardy are Cyclamen pseudibericum? I have several other Cyclamen species in the garden, the slugs let them alone.

[Tony Willis]

Hoy

they have been frozen in a bulb frame this winter but only for short periods.

I have raised a batch of plants and I am going to try them outside so ask again in a year or two.

[McDonough]

I'm late in replying, lots of good plants posted here, thanks for posting!

Last autumn I received bulbs of two forms of Colchicum kesselringii, I include a photo of one of those two forms.  The following shows a form from Jane McGary, the blooms are leafless and are incredibly tiny and cute; a good candidate for a trough.  The second form is a JCA collection, with flowers 4 times the size and spread wide open, with a short basal leaf showing, and taller stems (still short though), hardly seems like the same species... I have not included a photo of the second form.

[Lori S.]

Very nice, Mark.  It seems sort of special to me to see spring-blooming Colchicum!  That reminds me... I had one C. kesselringii - the flower was very white on the petal reverse, with only the faintest purple streaking... but I haven't seen it since 2009.   Oh well.   Must try again some day.

[McDonough]

An update to my previous post about Colchicum kesselringii, here is a photo take on this cold gray day, showing two forms I'm growing.  In the distance is the tiny form from Jame McGary, and in front of it is another form, identified as ex. S&V 94-90, HBG 1998.  The Jane McGary form is leafless when in flower, and as in crocus the flowers only open in bright sun.  The second form has basal foliage showing, and has flowers that are about 4x larger, with much longer tubes and splayed open flowers that stay open regardless of light.  I like the smaller form better.  Thanks for these JJF.




Supposed to snow starting this afternoon, so thought I'd snap some photos even with the buds closed; this is Colchicum doerfleri, another of the very small spring blooming species.  I received this several years ago from friend J. John Flintoff, and they degree of hairiness is variable, some show a fringe of hairs along the leaf edges, and another is downy with fine hairs all over the leaves.  After flowering, the leaves stay small and downy; a real cutie.

[RickR]

Really cool stuff Mark.  The hairs are certainly an added attraction on the last one for me. 
What conditions are your Colchicums growing in?

[McDonough]

Really cool stuff Mark.  The hairs are certainly an added attraction on the last one for me. 
What conditions are your Colchicums growing in?

Nothing special in terms of growing conditions, I typically excavate a 6" deep hole, and amend the our native rocky silty-clay soil with about 50% sand.

I went back and found a few photos from 2010, the photo on the left showing that the bulbs I received represent two forms, one only sparingly hairy but with larger more abundant light pink flowers, and one that is very hairy, with smaller less abundant deeper pink flowers.  I like them both.  The next two photos show the hairy foliage.

Colchicum doerfleri

[WimB]

Wonderful Colchicums, Mark. Here they are all in leaf now as they flowered in February. Love C. doerfleri a lot...I'll have to find that species.

Here in flower now:

Corydalis bracteata
Corydalis shanginii subsp. ainae
Erythronium dens-canis 'Charmer'
Hyacinthella dalmatica
Ranunculus ficaria 'Greenpetal'
Ranunculus ficaria 'Ken Aslett'
And some Narcissus cultivars.

[McDonough]

Really good stuff Wim, nice Corydalis, and others, we hope to get a hint of such things in the weeks to come.  I have a friend that is enthusiastic about some well-behaved forms of Ranunculus ficaria.  Ranunculus ficaria 'Greenpetal' certainly looks intriguing close-up.  Does it have any visual impact in the garden, or is it one of those collectors "BIO plants" (an acronym borrowed from George Schenk, meaning Botanical Interest Only).  I rather like this green-flowered Ranunculus, but wonder what the whole plant looks like from afar.

[WimB]

Really good stuff Wim, nice Corydalis, and others, we hope to get a hint of such things in the weeks to come.  I have a friend that is enthusiastic about some well-behaved forms of Ranunculus ficaria.  Ranunculus ficaria 'Greenpetal' certainly looks intriguing close-up.  Does it have any visual impact in the garden, or is it one of those collectors "BIO plants" (an acronym borrowed from George Schenk, meaning Botanical Interest Only).  I rather like this green-flowered Ranunculus, but wonder what the whole plant looks like from afar.

Thanks Mark,

there are not a lot R. ficaria cultivars which are well behaved in the garden. Except maybe for the sterile doubles which don't seed around so that's one way less in which they can take over the garden. R. ficaria 'Greenpetal' hasn't got a strong visual impact in the garden. You can see in the first pic how the plant as a whole looks, it's "BIO plant"  (Although I must mention that I planted this cultivar this year so it might get bigger and more distinct in the following years)
The second pic is of R. ficaria 'Salad Bowl' which is one of the most beautiful cultivars to me.