Colchicum

Lovely!  I had one of these... briefly.

The number of plants I've had briefly is quite large. (I had a hundred Jankaea heldreichii, briefly.)

The autumn flowering Colchicum have started in our garden:

Colchicum neapolitanum macranthum

Colchicum 'Lilac Major' - I got this under this name more than 30 years ago; it is possibly actually 'Lilac Wonder'

cheers

fermi

A few others in flower now:

The first came as C. atropurpureum but may be a form of Colchicum cilicium

The next just as "Mrs Craig's Colchicum" and is possibly C. byzantinum,

And Colchicum cilicium "Pale Form"

cheers

fermi

This is a small (less than 3 inches tall) Colchicum which was grown from seed which came labeled as C. bivonae which it isn't!

Any suggestions for what it might be?

cheers 

fermi

We got this tiny one from a friend who originally bought it as C. psaridis then was told that the name was changed to C. zahnii. Later someone told him that his was actually Colchicum cupanii!

We came back from 4 weeks away to find there had been so little autumn rain that many of the potted bulbs left in the open had not come into leaf as they were still dry. I presume that is why this autumn flowerer is in bloom in winter!

cheers

fermi

Two weeks after the last pic, the Colchicum cupanii had a few more blooms open

A tiny Colchicum trigynum in flower in August

cheers

fermi

[quote=Fermi]

This is a small (less than 3 inches tall) Colchicum which was grown from seed which came labeled as C. bivonae which it isn't!

[/quote]

It's in flower again and looking a bit stronger

A smaller flower is just opening and will become pinker as it opens

cheers

fermi

This colchicum has seeded itself in this bed and there is some variation

cheers

fermi

Colchicums in my area seed a bit too much, so I've taken to dead-heading them.  I must not be too successful, because I see even more leaves coming up now around the garden!  Their flowers are lovely, but there comes a point when enough is enough! 

...Claire

Hi Claire,

I only wish the other colchicums would start seeding around

In fact I've only found seeds on one or two other varieties,

cheers

fermi

This is possibly Colchicum 'The Giant'

cheers

fermi

We got this one as Colchicum autumnale but I wonder if it's actually a hybrid,

It emerged with just color in the tips but as it matured the color extended down the petal,

cheers

fermi

Since colchicums seems to hybridize (and seed) freely, it's hard to know if you have the correct name.  Here is a picture of what I am growing as "The Giant", as well as the darker one, "Glory of Heemstede".

[quote=Fermi]

We got this tiny one from a friend who originally bought it as C. psaridis then was told that the name was changed to C. zahnii. Later someone told him that his was actually Colchicum cupanii!

We came back from 4 weeks away to find there had been so little autumn rain that many of the potted bulbs left in the open had not come into leaf as they were still dry. I presume that is why this autumn flowerer is in bloom in winter![/quote]

This year this little charmer has again flowered quite late; 2 days ago a sigle flower emerged and is now accompanied by a few more

cheers

fermi