Spring Crocus 2010

Not familiar with that species...looks partway between a tommie and etruscus.

I'll win the prize for the latest crocus to bloom..I usually have some that make it to late May.  It will be mid-April before my show really begins...most of you will be finished then.

Here are some of my plants. I am not sure of the names, many cross and self-sow here. We have had a very fine day today, reached the 10C mark! However I was too late home to catch the blooms fully open.

Trond, I think you have, in order, C. etruscus, C. tommasinianus 'Ruby Giant' and C. chrysanthus 'Gypsy Girl'...Mark can probably verify if this is correct.

I have three cultivars open today...C. chrysanthus 'Gypsy Girl' and what I think is C. tommasinianus, although they look surprisingly like Mark's kosaniniii.  The second photo is either C. chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty' or 'Romance'

Trond, on second thought, the crocus I ID'ed as 'Gypsy Girl' is more bronzy than mine, so I think it might in fact be 'Fuscotinctus'.

Boland wrote:

Trond, I think you have, in order, C. etruscus, C. tommasinianus 'Ruby Giant' and C. chrysanthus 'Gypsy Girl'...Mark can probably verify if this is correct.

Hard to tell until the flowers are open to see stamen and stigma characteristics, so Trond, please post photos again of these same plants if you're able to catch them open.  Regarding C. chrysanthus cultivars, a Scottish Rock Garden Society member created an excellent photographic essay that diagnostically shows various chrysanthus cultivars... I'll find the link and post here.

Boland wrote:

I have three cultivars open today...C. chrysanthus 'Gypsy Girl' and what I think is C. tommasinianus, although they look surprisingly like Mark's kosaniniii.  The second photo is either C. chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty' or 'Romance'

I believe the C. kosaninii has a different disposition... thin narrow tube, small flowers, and a dark tube where the color ascends part way up onto the petals on the outside, although photos of this species from Serbia show lots of variation.  Also note the stamen and stigma differences.

On the C. chrysanthus cultivar, I would go with 'Romance', based on the light yellow flowers with the outer petals near white at the apex, see:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3139.0;attach...

Hoy wrote:

However I was too late home to catch the blooms fully open.

This has been my great frustration when I was working, asking myself over and over again: "why do I plant species crocus?", I almost never get to see them open, and invariably on the weekend it'll rain and I can completely miss seeing some species and varieties with open flower some years.  Now that I am home and unemployed, I get to see them (and photograph them) everyday. :D

I think MY Gypsy Girls are Fuscotinctus as well!  I went back and checked my older pictures and Gypsy Girl has purple stripes with just slight feathering that does not reach to the edge of the sepals.  On Fuscotinctus the feathery is more pronounced and does reach the edge...you can see that on both Tronds and mine.

Mark, pics I've seen of kosaninii show yellow at the base of the tepals on the outside and inside.  Your base looks darker, but as you say, there is variation.

Mark, was that crocus chrysanthus article by Tomas Huber?  I have a copy of photo plates taken by him in an article he wrote but be darned, if I know the original source.  I use his pictures all the time to try and ID my chrysanthus and tommies.

Boland wrote:

Mark, was that crocus chrysanthus article by Tomas Huber?  I have a copy of photo plates taken by him in an article he wrote but be darned, if I know the original source.  I use his pictures all the time to try and ID my chrysanthus and tommies.

Actually, he (Mr. Huber) made two of them, each is a multi-page thread... a wonderfully useful work.  I'll refind it and provide links for all; I'm off to watch some TV to unwind for a bit  8)

Thanks both of you. I can remember planting cultivars of etruscus and chrysanthus and others too. Regarding 'Ruby Giant' I know I have some of them as well, but I thought they had another deeper color. I have several of  "big" blues (or what you will call those colors) of different hues. I have several small ones (Crocus tommasinianus?) too of colors from white, cream, yellow and blue. Those seem to interbreed. I have planted them in my lawn not bothering to separate cultivars.

More spring crocus taken between March 19-22, 2010, by far the earliest crocus season ever in my garden!

imperati suaveolens - side view
imperati suaveolens - top view
biflorus ssp. isauricus - full flower, (the 10-petalled flower was nibbled)
angustifolius - with many seedlings, including flowering seedlings
angustifolius form from Jane McGary, with less brown veining than most
angustifolius form from Jane McGary, with etruscus 'Rosalind' behind
etruscus 'Rosalind' with sieberi 'Firefly' behind
etruscus 'Rosalind' top view, with one darker seedling at top.
malyi 'Ballerina'
sieberi 'Firefly'

Mostly common garden hybrids and seedlings, this was the sight today when I arrived home! I tried to take some close ups but my old camera but the autofocus tricks me. The cereals are residues from bird-feeding.

Hoy wrote:

Mostly common garden hybrids and seedlings, this was the sight today when I arrived home! I tried to take some close ups but my old camera but the autofocus tricks me. The cereals are residues from bird-feeding.

Wow Trond, that's a lot of Crocus!  :o :o  Looks like spring is finally happening for you.  What's the identity of your Crocus 12, it's a real beauty with those violet purple goblets and white interior.  Did you plant all these, or are they self seeding?  On the Scottish Rock Garden Society forum, there are a few members that have created bulb lawns, full of crocus, snowdrops, and other spring ephemerals, for amazing spring displays.

The precious few I had open are now buried under 4" of snow  :-[

Sorry, Mark, I can't help you with a cultivar name. I know I have planted both siberii and biflorus in that area. Most of the plants are seedlings (of vernus and tomassinianus and different hybrids). My lawn is a bulb lawn. I can hardly put down my feet anyplace. And you know, the spring here is a long story starting in February and ending in late May!

Todd, I am not jealous on you! Though we can have snowfall as late as April it has not been common for many years now.

Snow only as late as April?  I hate to admit it but it's the norm here to have a week or 10 days of dreadful weather in April (which is the usual determinant of whether our pear trees will produce fruit or not) with snow and overnight lows as extreme  as -15 deg C... wonder what this year will bring? 
Still, I have to say that it's in the snow in June that really hurts!  (Thankfully, it only happens every few years!)

Actually, it's a bit spooky that we have not had our usual huge dump of snow in March yet... and only a few days left to go... (I have this ominous feeling that we are tempting fate...  :o)

Crocus season is starting here with a few individuals, earlier than we've seen it before... The big clumps will be a while yet.

Nice start to the Crocus season Lori, they are such cheerful flowers, one never has enough of them.  May you be spared further winter-like weather misery.  It went down to 18 F (-9 C) last night, and this morning I actually touched and squeezed the blooms on crocus, and they were hard as rocks!  Later on today, it warmed up above freezing, the flowers were fine.  A dry freeze seems less damaging than a late wet wintery-mix sort of freeze.

McDonough wrote:

It went down to 18 F (-9 C) last night, and this morning I actually touched and squeezed the blooms on crocus, and they were hard as rocks!  Later on today, it warmed up above freezing, the flowers were fine. 

Isn't it amazing what plants, and even flowers, can take in terms of temperature extremes?

Three forms of Crocus malyi, my last crocus hurrah!

Observing Crocus species over the years, I believe C. malyi to be one of the very best for growing outdoors, providing a bold display of pristine white blooms that are more waetherproof than many.  This message compares C. malyi 'Sveti Roc', C. malyi 'Ballerina', and an unnamed form of C. malyi that I received from Jane McGary that looks more like the 'Ballerina' selection.

Cultivar        flower width      tube height  scent                    distinguishing characteristics
=====================================================================
'Sveti Roc'    5.0 cm              2-3 cm        none                    short stature, full rounded flowers, pure white
'Ballerina'      6.5 cm              4 cm          light melon scent    tall stature, brownish tube tops, long petals, outer petals with fine
                                                                                      purple line on outer tips.
McGary form  7-8 cm            5 cm          light melon scent    tallest stature, brownish tube tops, long petals, no purple lines

Photos of each are uploaded.  In the photo of the Jane McGary form, flowering size seedlings are there, and note one on the lower rigaht with rounder petals.

What an amazing collection of crocus you have, Mark!!

I have never considered planting malyi but now I see I have to change my mind!

Never heard of malyi...but then we have limited access locally to funky crocus species.

All of mine are now under 4-6" of fresh snow.....just as well with the temp down to -6 C and 50 km winds!  Guess it will be another week before this latest snow melts.

We're doing a little better than that here, with crocus blooming a week or more early...   No unusual species, but a joy for us to see, nonetheless!  :) 

Both the blue and yellow seem to differ from any colors I have. Have tried several cultivars to have early ones and different colors.

Well it hit 16 C today and the crocus responded!  Here are some selections of C. tommasinianus...Lilac Beauty, Barr's Purple and Ruby Giant.  The Barr's Purple self-seeded in the lawn.

First C. chrysanthus selection...Saturnus.

There you see, you will catch me up, Todd. Don't think we will have 16C for a while!
The lawn seems to be green too.
The tommasinianus selections look like mine which I have no name of.

More open today...C. X hybridus 'Jeanne D'Arc', C. etruscus, C. minimus and C. chrysanthus 'Advance'

Todd, I liked the Lilac Beauty, one I'm not familiar with, it is a beauty.  Always like seeing C. etruscus, such a classic shape and coloration on this one.  I have tried C. minimus, purchased at Home Depot in discount bonus-sized packages (Home Depot; a large "big box" home improvement chain for those unfamiliar with it), but they are not true to name, so I'm glad to see your photo which looks like the real thing.

I blundered on the ID of C. minimus...it is actually C. corsicus.  Here it is with the flower closed.

Crocus still going strong...the C. sieberi are now out..they are among the last to bloom.  Meanwhile, on the north side of the house, the tommies are just sprouting!

Below is Tricolor, Violet Queen and the beautiful Hubert Edelstein

The Crocuses (or Croci??) are finished here except a few stragglers. Edelstein is new to me. Looks nice.

Despite a very early start, the crocus season is really just getting going here!
Having said that, the Crocus sieberi 'Tricolor' are done now... accelerated by the snow.

Wait!  I'm not ready to give up on crocus yet!  ;D
1) Crocus chrysanthus 'Advance'
2 - 7) Various C. chrysanthus, tomassinianus(?), vernus...
8, 9, 10)  These two common C. vernus types seem to have got together to make this intermediate form (last photo)... unless I'm forgetting what all I planted a decade ago.   (Who me???  ;D)

I am already longing for next spring! My crocuses are all leaves now.

Great crocus show Lori!  Mine are all tightly closed with all the rain, drizzle and fog.  I hope to get a pic of C. sieberi 'Hubert Edelstein' with open flowers but it doesn't seem likely.

Todd wrote:

....... was that crocus chrysanthus article by Tomas Huber?  I have a copy of photo plates taken by him in an article he wrote but be darned, if I know the original source.  I use his pictures all the time to try and ID my chrysanthus and tommies.

Todd , here are a couple of links you were looking for, I think.... 8)

Thomas Huber's Crocus chrysanthus cultivar IDs : http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5060.0

Tony Goode's Crocus Pages; Species : http://www.srgc.org.uk/genera/index.php?log=crocus

Thanks Ian!  I have downloaded his pics as a future reference.  Our weather has been so wet and cold this past 10 days that most chrysanthus simply rotted before they ever opened properly.

IMYoung wrote:

Todd wrote:

....... was that crocus chrysanthus article by Tomas Huber?  I have a copy of photo plates taken by him in an article he wrote but be darned, if I know the original source.  I use his pictures all the time to try and ID my chrysanthus and tommies.

Todd , here are a couple of links you were looking for, I think.... 8)

Thomas Huber's Crocus chrysanthus cultivar IDs : http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5060.0

Tony Goode's Crocus Pages; Species : http://www.srgc.org.uk/genera/index.php?log=crocus

Oops, I had forgotten that I had promised these links.  I have it on a ToDo list, but I need a separate ToDo list to check my ToDo list!  ::)  Thanks Ian and Maggi

PS:  Note to Hugh, I see from our non-functioning "Roll the eyes" emoticon, that troubleshooting the escaping of the double colon symbol hasn't happened yet... it shows up as a colon followed by the smile icon.