Crocus 2012

Tony, a most cheerful view on this frigid morning (0 F, -18 C), they're all beauties.  Someday I want to have a small greenhouse, just to have some winter blooming treats like the early crocus.  Is your Crocus x gothenburgensis the 'Tricolor' form?  Wonderful presentation to see papa, momma, and baby bear croci :D

Such a selection that it's impossible to decide which one is most beautiful; although my top 3 pick (it could change in a moment's notice) is sieberi from Mt. Parnassus, cyprius, and biflorus ssp. crewii.  Sometimes when I see photos of Crocus flowering under glass, they look over-reflexed with segments splaying backwards; a tad "flabby", but your plants look pristinely fresh with tight chalice-shaped blooms; do you keep your greenhouse as cool as possible?

An excellent array, Tony, and a perfect start to a new crocus thread!

Wouldn't it be interesting if your reverse cross of C. scardicus and C. pelistericus showed the opposite coloring: predominantly lavender petals with yellow throats?

Beautiful, Tony!
Now I really am looking forward to the spring. Although a couple Crocus vernus/tomasinianus have shown their colour it is still a month or two till the blooming starts.

Not bad those either, Wim!

All my crocuses are in the "freezer" now! -8C last night.

Tony and Wim, really nice crocus, and once again, my eye is instantly drawn to C. sieberi (Parnassus form), such a full and elegant goblet shape.  Wim, Crocus versicolor is a delicate beauty, another species I'm not famliar with.  One day I'll have to buy Janus Ruksans book, another item on my long list of things to afford-and-buy.

Unusually mild winter here so far, once again above freezing today, although predicted to get much colder again.  Walking around the south side of my house and yard yesterday, the cataphylls on a number of crocus are showing and swelling.

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

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!

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 :(

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.

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.

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.

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:

Lori wrote:

I love the coppery-coloured ones too.  What are the very blue ones, Mark?  I have lots of purple tones but none that are distinctly blue like that.

I did have C. chrysanthus 'Blue Pearl' in this particular bed, so the blue color is no doubt coming from that parent.  The color looks a tad more blue in the photographs, in reality they are a purplish-blue.  I do have one fine royal blue one that is heavily striped, my photo came out lousy, so I didn't show it, and it's overcast today, crocus no open ;-)  Several other crocus species are opening (well, in tight bud while waiting for some sun), such as the best of the dwarf white species in my opinion, C. malyi. 

Walking around the garden today, I'm noticing just how many Crocus chrysanthus seedlings have escaped the bounds of the "shrub ring" and are now popping up all over the place in the lawn, then found a couple small seedling C. chrysanthus flowering in my woodland garden about 30 meters away, not sure how they got there, probably from chipmunks who bury collected seed in small caches.

First sun in a couple weeks!
The Crocus vernus and other opened their flowers after a long waiting time.

Very nice and floriferous, looks like a welcome sunny slope for a picnic and flower gazing.

A glorious summer-like sunny day today, 72 F (22 C), and the bulbs are jumping out of the ground and Crocus spread wide open to great the sun; so a few more photos.

Left:  C. angustifolius (yellow), C. kosaninii (tight clump of blue purple in the center), C. biflorus var. isauricus (light blue, and going over).
Center:  closer view of the same crocus.
Right:  Close view of C. kosaninii; most of the buds weren't even showing the previous day!

Left:  more Crocus chrysanthus hybrids, wide open.
Right: a nice buff yellow color form of C. chrysanthus

Left:  Crocus malyi
Center: view showing C. malyi (foreground), angustifolius (left center), etruscus 'Rosalind' (center), gargaricus (top)
Right:  C. etruscus 'Rosalind', with C. angustifolius in lower right.

C. sieberi 'Tricolor'

Mark, you have some nice Crocuses yourself! Your climate is better than mine for many different Crocus species. They dislice the humid climate here.

Dave, some special species you have there!

Dave, your Crocuses give me a feeling of spring - as did the trip to Finse where the snow still lingers  ;D

First flower from seed of Crocus rujanensis received from the NZAGS Seedex in 2008
cheers
fermi

Your crocuses reminds me of the autumn-blooming ones, but no sign of them here yet. Nice to see yours though ;)