Crocus 2012

[cohan]

So many beauties! The yellows and whites are especially lovely to me.. seems like spring flowers are impossibly far away-- though I guess it could be under 3 months...lol

[WimB]

In bud here now:

Crocus 'Hubert Edelsten'
and Crocus 'Yalta'

[Hoy]

Nice ones, Wim! Do you let your Crocuses "go wild" or do you have a strict regime on them so they don't cross?

[WimB]

Nice ones, Wim! Do you let your Crocuses "go wild" or do you have a strict regime on them so they don't cross?

Thanks Trond. I let them go wild but I collect most of the seeds, which I sow myself or send to the seedexes as Crocus ex "species" or "cultivar". Most of the time they come true to type from open pollination!

[WimB]

Some Crocusses flowering here:

Crocus chrysanthus 'Milea' (2x)
Crocus 'Shock Wave' (2x)
Crocus x reticulatus 'Ego' (2x)
Crocus x reticulatus 'Janis Ruksans' (2x)
Crocus 'Hubert Edelsten'
Crocus 'Yalta'

[RickR]

The kind of feathering on your Hubert Edelsten, Wim, is my most favorite variation in crocus.  I am a sucker for lavender hues, too.  They are all so fresh and inviting!

[WimB]

The kind of feathering on your Hubert Edelsten, Wim, is my most favorite variation in crocus.  I am a sucker for lavender hues, too.  They are all so fresh and inviting!

Crocus is the real herald of Spring for me...I simply love them all...you may call me a "Croconut".

Today in the garden, a row of Crocus 'Yalta' in bud,

[Hoy]

A fine collection, Wim!
I had 1 1/2 day with bright sun and open flowers on my Crocuses, now I'm back to dull weather again. Can't expect any sunshine till next week

[McDonough]

Some good crocus there Wim, I believe I'm a budding croconut too.  I particularly like C. x reticulatus 'Ego', reminscent of C. angustifolius (which are tightly in bud here) with the beautiful brown feathering on the outside.  With a summer-like day two days ago, bulbs are "leaping" out of the ground; some crocus surprisingly had flowers open in the afternoon that warm day, when no buds were visible in the morning!  Today it is just above freezing, too cold for any buds to open.  Supposed to be sunny and 55 F (13C) tomorrow, so expecting to see blooms on biflorus isauricus, angustifolius, numerous chrysanthus open-pollinated hybrids, gargaricus, and maybe a couple others.

[WimB]

A fine collection, Wim!

Thanks, Trond!

Some good crocus there Wim, I believe I'm a budding croconut too. 

It's contagious, isn't it?

I particularly like C. x reticulatus 'Ego', reminscent of C. angustifolius (which are tightly in bud here) with the beautiful brown feathering on the outside. 

Love it too, it's quite distinct.

Supposed to be sunny and 55 F (13C) tomorrow, so expecting to see blooms on biflorus isauricus, angustifolius, numerous chrysanthus open-pollinated hybrids, gargaricus, and maybe a couple others.

Looking forward to seeing some pics of them, Mark. Especially the open-pollinated C. chrysanthus hybrids!

[WimB]

Some Crocuses which are flowering here now:

Crocus chrysanthus 'Prins Claus'
Crocus vernus ssp. vernus var heuffelianus 'Dark Eyes'
Crocus vernus ssp. vernus var heuffelianus 'Shock Wave'
and Crocus 'Yalta'

[McDonough]

Wim, I wish the heuffelianus types were more available here, they're striking; as is the 'Yalta' hybrid.  Crocus chrysanthus 'Prins Claus' is one of my favorites, and incredibly fragrant; after a decade or so in my garden I lost most, although a few seedlings persist; must plant it again.

[McDonough]

An extra mild spell including a record-breaking warm day, contribute to an early Crocus season, where blooms are leaping out of the ground.  Yesterday I was able to get home early, an unusually warm sunny day, but by the time I got home clouds arrived, so I hustled outside with my phone camera in hand to attempt getting some crocus photos with the flowers open.  The quality of photos is not great with my phone camera, but it's all I have unless I buy a new camera.

Crocus angustifolius is one of the best long-lived species to naturalize in the garden, and one of the showiest deep yellow species with striking bold brown striping on the outside. The species regularly produces lots of seed, and when I sow the seed "in situ" directly in the garden, it germinates freely and in about 3 years makes dense wonderfully floriferous patches.

left:       C. angustifolius, 3-year old seedling patch, just starting to flower; many more buds coming.
center:   C. angustifolius, overheard view.  
right:     C. angustifolius, with C. etruscus 'Rosalind' in the background.




Two views of C. etruscus 'Rosalind' is one of my absolute favorites.  On the left, in the morning, the flowers are just emerging.  In the 2nd photo, the flowers opened more.




Crocus gargaricus is utterly unique, color-wise and the way it flowers... the flowers literally emerge as leafless orange lipsticks popping right out of the ground.  I started with 3 bulbs about 10 years ago, now it is about 50 bulbs growing happily outside.  In the first photo, the flowers are just emerging, in the second photo the flowers are opened, the incurved goblet shaped flowers are so hot orange and shiny that it is hard to get a good photo of them.

[McDonough]

I have one circular bed (actually a "shrub ring") with Hibiscus syriacus 'Aprhrodite' underplanted with Crocus chrysanthus cultivars Goldilocks, Advance, and Blue Pearl), dwarf Iris, frits, and other miscellaneous bulbs.  I find that C. chrysanthus produces masses of seed, which I help along by scratching the seed into the soil when ripe in early summer; many interesting hybrids appeared.

In the famous ice storm of December 2008, with disastrous damage to trees and shrubs, the Hibiscus toppled over under the weight of thick ice, the huge root ball lifted completely out of the ground, and there it had to stay until spring thaw.  I lost a number of bulbs that winter because for months they were totally exposed to freezing, dessication, and varmints. With the spring thaw, it was a major undertaking but I was able to upright the shrub and get the root ball replanted; most of the established clumps of Crocus chrysanthus perished.  But a few bulbs and innumerable seedlings survived, as did miraculously, the Hibiscus.  Since spring 2009, I've been sowing lots of C. chrysanthus seed "in situ", dabbing pollen with a paintbrush when I have time to do so, the result being a pleasing jumble of mixed colors and forms.  I'm surprised by the variety, including some good pure white colors, interesting because there were no white Crocus in the area.



I particularly like the many beige to brown-toned colors.


a few more:

[WimB]

  Wonderful Crocusses, Mark. Love those coppery-apricot hybrids!!