Crocus 2011

Your "double" also has multiple stamens and stigma sections.  I wonder if that means anything regarding stability?

RickR wrote:

Your "double" also has multiple stamens and stigma sections.  I wonder if that means anything regarding stability?

It does this year (double stamens/stigma) whereas it was normal last year as can be seen in the 2010 photo.  Not sure what to make of it.  I may tag this one and dig it up and replant to it's own location, to see if the doubling behavior persists.

McDonough wrote:

It does this year (double stamens/stigma) whereas it was normal last year as can be seen in the 2010 photo.

Are your sure?  I think I count 5 stamens in your 2010 photo...
What am I looking at?

RickR wrote:

McDonough wrote:

It does this year (double stamens/stigma) whereas it was normal last year as can be seen in the 2010 photo.

Are your sure?  I think I count 5 stamens in your 2010 photo...
What am I looking at?

You're right Rick, I wasn't looking as closely as I should have.  On the left is a zoomed in view from a different angle (2010 photo).  In addition to 5 stamens it also has a 4-part stigma instead of a 3-part one.  On the right is a new angle closeup (2011 photo), which shows 6 stigma divisions... I will look more closely at it to see if there are two trifid styles or one multi-branched one.

After two absurdly warm days (near 70 F, 21 C) sunny weather continues but now only in the lower 40s F (~6 C) yet the sun is still warm, and the spring bulbs are literally jumping out of the ground.  Here are some welcome spring crocus.

Usually the first to bloom, but beat out this year by C. biflorus ssp. isauricus, is C. vitellinus.

One of my favorite spring Crocus is C. gargaricus, the buds pop right up out of the soil looking like orange lipstick; the wide open chalices about the brightest orange of any crocus.

Crocus etruscus 'Rosalind' is a selection that I got from Jane McGary, and it is an exquisite Crocus; it literally popped up and started blooming in a single day.

This is a misidentified Crocus, bought as C. minimus, but looking like a C. vernus selection; it is beautiful and welcome whatever it is.

As much as I love species crocus, I've been getting lots of enjoyment scratching in seed of open-pollinated C. chysanthus cultivar seed, the bees no doubt mixing things up, and innumerable hybrid seedlings result in all sorts of colors and variations.  No need to worry about cultivar name; just enjoy the crocus hybrid party.  One of the parents in this area, was C. chysanthus 'Advance', with flowers purplish on the outside and yellow inside, the seedlings give rise to lots of coppery brown colored seedlings; such fun.

What a difference a day makes, a couple inches of snow overnight, views of Crocus gargaricus and C. etruscus 'Rosalind' in snow.

The sun didn't shine today, stayed cold and gray, so crocus are not opening up.  But for those species that are richly striped or marked on the outside, it's a good opportunity to photograph that characteristic.  Here are three views of Crocus angustifolius.  The first two photos show a patch that is growing in thickly, as each year I scratch in fresh seed around the mother corms.  The seedlings show a little bit of variability, in terms of color and intensity of the feathering, from brown, to purplish such as the flower in the far left (left photo).  The middle photo shows a close-up of the same clump.  The photo on the right is a different clone, one I got from Jane McGary, which grows a bit shorter, and more richly marked with brown.

A very nice color of that one, Tony!
Can't say the Crocus season is over here yet. Here are some flowering now.

Mark, inspired by your discovery I did take a look my Crocuses too and found this 9-petaled one!

Tony, I second the appraisal that you C. pelistericus is stunning, such deep color!

Trond, I like your "nonagonous" Crocus bloom (nonagon = 9 sides).  Lable it, then it should be interesting to see if that characteristic persists in following years.

Wim, C. veluchensis looks good, not sure why it is such a seldom grown species here, it should be hardy and doable in our climate.
I came across this photo, with receding ice:
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/35358201.jpg

A few photos from today, sunny with tempertaure just a hair above freezing, stiff cold wind; the crocus barely able to "crack a smile" and open their flowers a bit, although the C. chrysanthus hybrid seedlings seem a bit more immune to the cold.

Left to right:  
C. sieberi 'Firefly', C. chrysanthus hybrid seedlings, C. angustifolius (from Jane McGary), C. gargaricus.

Slowly it warmed to the upper 30s F today, and eventually Crocus blooms opened up:

Two views of Crocus angustifolius, a form from Jane McGary, with C. etruscus 'Rosalind' behind, still refusing to open its blooms.

From left to right:
C. sieberi ssp. sublimis 'Tricolor' - used to have a wide patch of this, then varmints got at them one year, so I'm rebuilding stock.
C. gargaricus again, finally opening its perfect pudgy goblets of gold, among my top 10 fav crocus species.
C. chrysanthus - mixed hybrid seedlings
C. chrysanthus - beautiful cream tinged pale lavender, a hybrid seedling.

I'll be sharing mine in May when they are distant memories for the rest of you!  :(

After a 2-day snow-induced Crocus hiatus, the snow has melted, the sun is warm, and once again Crocus are smiling.  I'm always surprised how crocus can magically break ground and appear in flower in just 1-2 days, such is the case with the lovely C. malyi, one of my favorites with pristine white flowers and bright orange-yellow stamens & stigmas.

Growing among a group of A. malyi I got from Jane McGary in 2002; the two seedling plants have huge flowers that are exactly double the size of normal C. malyi blooms; not sure what caused these plants to have such large flowers, but I think it is worth singling these two out and attempt increasing them.  The extra large blooms are easy to spot, they are over 3" (8 cm) wide.  Notice in the side views, the tubes are dark brownish orange near the top on some seedlings (including the large-flowered ones), or light yellow on others.

Crocus malyi 'Ballerina' (white), C. angustifolius (gold), C. kosaninii (blue purple)

Two views of C. sieberi ssp. sublimis 'Tricolor' (2 left photos) + species Crocus view (3rd) + C. chrysanthus hybrid seedlings view (right)

I can't resist taking photos of Crocus on bright sunny days, as the blooms open fully to welcome the sun's warmth.  And so I shall take photos of these beauties, because after 17 months of unemployment (but unfettered constant access to the garden), I have rejoined the rat-race with a new job and huge daily commute, I'm back once again to photographing the garden only on weekends (if the sun comes out); a mixed blessing.  So, I photograph the very dwarf and beautiful C. imperati suaveolens even though mostly still just in bud, because in another week they might be over entirely.

C. chrysanthus hybrid seedlings (left) + C. imperati suaveolens (center) + C. etruscus 'Rosalind' (right)

One of the very best dwarf species with charming tiny flowers and gregarious colonizing habit, is C. kosaninii.  While under snow for two days, this species appeared and is jumping at the chance to bloom.  In a couple view, the gold-yellow is C. angustifolius.  Last year, I believe due to the unrelenting heat and drought, this species set no seed.

It is a huge difference between your Croci and mine, Mark! Yours open their flowers, mine do not - I lack sunshine :(
Yours have short leaves and a dominant flower, mine have huge leaves and lanky flowers :( :(

Great display Mark!

My first crocus are somewhat open.  Most are still under snow but the one bed that is melted responded to the cool sun today.  Crocus tommasinianus , C. t. Ruby Giant, C. t. 'Lilac Beauty/

Crocus etruscus just needs one more sunny day.  First C. chrysanthus opened..."Fuscotinctus' and 'Dorothy'

Suppose to be around the freezing point the next 2 days but the next week is suppose to be around 5-6 C every day.  I expect (hope) there will be plenty of crocus open by the time I get back from the UK on the 18th.

So these are where you shoveled the snow away, Todd?

Very nice, by the way. 

Well, Todd, are you ahead of us? Have May already arrived? Nice to see your crocuses too ;)

No Rick, these are blooming in the first flower bed that naturally melted.  Snow has a funny pattern in my garden.  My back gathers snow like no ones business but I have one area that only got about 2 feet of snow...that bed, along with the shovelled one, are now free.  There are a few tommies in the shovelled bed but most of my bulbs are in the back end of the garden.  As the snow melts, the crocus are literally in bloom within a couple of hours!  Quite amazing to watch!  Remember, I have no frost in the ground like you do, so plants are already growing when the snow leaves them.  Once our snow finally melts, I will be caught up to usual (from a Newfoundland standard).  Unfortunately, my drift in the back reached over 5 feet.  It is down now to 2.5 feet.  Too slow for my liking.  No melting for the next two days.  In fact, it is suppose to drop to -8 C this evening.  On the plus side, all of next week is suppose to be mild so hopefully this next 2 days will mark the end of our winter season.

Todd, I need to add some of those deep color "tommies" to my Crocus repertoire, a most compelling color statement for the spring garden! I hope by now your getting some warmer spring weather and more crocus are putting on a show.  Mine are getting ready to finish up, but after working all week and not seeing my crocus babies, today it is sunny and a warm 63 F (17 C), and a few crocus clumps look nice, I have to share some photos.

Left:  from a few bulbs in 2002, a clump of Crocus kosaninii is picture-perfect today; hardly a finer spring crocus species.
Center:  Crocus imperati suaveolens; a very slow grower, also planted 8-9 years ago , it is slowly increasing.
Right two photos:  Crocus malyi 'Sveti Roc', a dwarf cultivar with full rounded flowers, a wonderful cultivar and reliable grower.

Beauties Mark.....it was only 2 C today and only suppose to be 3 C tomorrow...crocus are in suspended animation!  With low to mid 40's F next week, I may arrive home from the UYK with many more crocus open...who knows, maybe my Eranthis and Galanthus will even be exposed.

Seems that Crocuses like your climate, Mark!

Here the Crocus season is soon history but today we had the warmest day so far this spring 18C/64F! ..and the last Crocuses suddenly opened up fully.

Mostly vernus and tomasininus hybrids.

Hoy wrote:

Seems that Crocuses like your climate, Mark!

Here the Crocus season is soon history but today we had the warmest day so far this spring 18C/64F! ..and the last Crocuses suddenly opened up fully.

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Mostly vernus and tomasininus hybrids.

Thems a lot of Croci Trond, most colorful and exuberant!  I have managed to contain crocus within my garden bed areas, but now some of the chrsyanthus types are seeding into lawn areas; maybe I should encourage their spread, like some of the fantastic bulb lawns seen on the SRGC Forum.

I let them self sow, Mark, and get a lot of new color combinations. Seems that vernus and tomasinianus easily cross and make viable fertile offsprings too. The flowers are very variable, both in color and size - from 5 to 15cm across!

PS. Congratulation with your new job Mark!

Lots of crocus open here now.  My kosaninii have flowered for the first time....only 3 blooms but I'm delighted.

Congratulation Todd. Is it from seed?

Skulski wrote:

Beautiful scenes, Mark and Trond, and congrats, Todd!

Here's the state of the crocus bloom here... close, despite the snow and cold (-9 deg C last night).  Ugh, what a climate!

Cheer up, Lori, you will soon have a heatwave and catch up ;)

The crocus season is just about finished...taken today are my two favs...Crocus minimus and Crocus sieberi 'Hubert Edelstein'

9 C is WARM in my area for this time of year! (It's all relative!)

Nice display, Lori.  I had always wondered if the tricolors might show through to the back sides of the petals of C. sieberi 'Tricolor'.  Thanks for that shot of the buds that depict it. 

Nice displays Lori! Seems you let'em loose in your garden ;)

A few "spring" crocus here as well, Dave.
Crocus cyprius

Crocus sieberi sieberi

cheers
fermi

I am glad I still have summer without croci ;)

Is the colour of the abatensis that blue, Dave?

Beautiful crocus Michael; still a bit too early to see any fall crocus here.

The veining on those are so exquisite - like threadwork!

Love them all, Wim. 

Crocus stigmas can be so interesting...