Autumn bulbs

My Lilium rosthornii looks the same.  I like it so much more than L. henryi.  Mine also has the lighter colored edges to the petals.  The first year of bloom, as the bud developed, I thought it was going to be a misidentified lily, as the bud was white.  But as it matured, it turned to orange.  In the pic, the white bud is the youngest.  It just looks larger because it is closest to the camera lens.  The multiple colors are a very nice feature, though.

Colchicum agrippinum has been very floriferous this year. It must have liked our exceptionally dry spring.  Unfortunately with our continued wet September, I can never get a pic of multiple flowers before the rain beats them down.

No autumn crocus showing here yet but the first Colchicum autumnale 'Album' are showing in the BG.  I saw C. agrippinum blooming in Ottawa this weekend but no sign from mine yet.

First Colchicum are blooming at last...this is Colchicum autumnale 'Album'..it is often the first and the last to bloom; the flowering season is a good 6 weeks!

Very nice Todd, I'm reminded that I don't grow enough Colchicum, only a few sorts here.  One that I received from a friend is Colchicum 'Pink Goblet'.  I don't know if my plant is named correctly, a few web photos show stronger checkering or tessellation than on mine, but in general terms it looks close.  The flowers are wonderfully fragrant.

Rick, I like the strong tessellation on Colchicum agrippinum.

That's a nice unknown Mark....I have several of these pink types but most have floppy stems and are really quite useless.

C. agrippinum is starting for me now.

Great photography, Todd!  (And the plant, too.)

'The Giant' is considered a selection or possible hybrid of Colchicum speciosum.  Mine are just breaking the surface.  C.autumnale typically has rather small flowers compared to many colchicums.

Trond, your floppy pink colchicum is 'Lilac Wonder'...I have that floppy son of a so and so myself..I keep meaning to toss them out!  C. speciosum and its selections always has nice stiff stems and stands well even with wind and rain.  Here are the ones at work.  They should be open tomorrow if we get any sun.

Hi Trond,
I took this image of a lovely stand of Colchicum speciosum in a Midlands garden yesterday before presenting a lecture to the Alpine Garden Society Warwickshire Group last evening.

Trond, Cliff's image are the real speciosum...typically rich purple-pink.  Yours is probably some hybrid...and there are many only subtly different.

Here is Colchicum Jarka...another Ruksans purchase.  The slugs did some damage but typically the petals are tipped white.  The second is Crocus nudiflorus.  I expect your C. niveus are actually C. speciosus since niveus is suppose to be white-flowered.

Todd wrote:

Trond, Cliff's image are the real speciosum...typically rich purple-pink.  Yours is probably some hybrid...and there are many only subtly different.

Here is Colchicum Jarka...another Ruksans purchase.  The slugs did some damage but typically the petals are tipped white.  The second is Crocus nudiflorus.  I expect your C. niveus are actually C. speciosus since niveus is suppose to be white-flowered.

I checked Janis Ruksan's 2010 bulb catalog, and he does indeed list Crocus niveus BLUE form, which is a surprise to me, as I've only known the pure white and pink-flushed forms of niveus.  Janis writes that the flowers are a light blue lilac, with the golden throat of niveus.  Upon seeing Trond's plants I immediately thought I was seeing C. speciosus, as you pointed out.  Trond, any possibility of a label mixup, because those darker blue veined flowers look just like C. speciosus, they lack the deep egg-yolk yellow center and base of niveus, the color very apparent from the outside of the flower as well.

Looking more carefully at your mystery Colchicum I am of the opinion that one is actually 'The Giant'.  They certainly look like the inside of mine.  That one is among the most popular around here too.

I did some research on the blue color forms of Crocus niveus, hoping to find some photos, including the blue one Janis Ruksans sells.  I found pics and discussion on SRGC Forum of three different blue forms of C. niveus (beautiful things they are), including Janis Ruksans' form from Peloponnesus, Greece.

Crocus niveus blue form or Crocus niveus bicolour
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2639.0;attach...
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2639.0;attach...
Discussion:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2639.msg63096#msg63096

more images
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=855.msg21413#msg21413

Janis Ruksans dark form of Crocus niveus from Peloponnesus, Greece (the one he sells in his catalog)
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2725.0;attach...

Other croci Janis photographed in Peloponnesus
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2725.msg63092#msg63092

Another light blue C. niveus:
(Crocus niveus in the Mani Peninsula, southern Peloponnesenear near its upper altitudinal limit)
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=82.0;attach=9...
Discussion:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=82.msg930#msg930

Four record breaking warm days have made the Coclchicums bloom like crazy.  Waterlily has never been open so early...usually its almost November and it is always the last to bloom...not this year!  I am still waiting for the double autumnale alba and speciosum album to bloom.  Pictured here are Colchicum agrippinum, Colchicum byzantinum, Colchicum The Giant, Colchicum Waterlily and Crocus nudiflorus.

Nice display Todd, C. nudiflorus is one that I must try sometime... most attractive.

Here are a a couple autumn crocus that appeared and bloomed over the past 2 gorgeous autumn days:

1    C. sativus - lots more buds coming, this is the earliest it has ever flowered.  The scent is wonderful (at close range).
2-3  C. asumaniae - bunching up nicely, sweetly scented.  Second photo with pollen-laden bee.

Super crocus, Mark.  The Saffron crocus is C. sativus, though. ;)

IMYoung wrote:

Super crocus, Mark.  The Saffron crocus is C. sativus, though. ;)

Maggi, I must have been in a garlicky state and thinking about Allium sativum ;D

Crocus sativus was looking mighty fine today; a photo while shaded from a bush and a photo backlit from the sun.  I was working on extending a flower bed today, about 15-20' from the Crocus planting, and I could smell this crocus' sweet perfume from that far away!  Sunny and warm today, which helps power perfumed flowers.

Skulski wrote:

Splendid!  So do you actually collect the stamens to dry and use for cooking (re. saffron)?  Looks like you'd have enough there to make it worthwhile.  (It's a moot point here whether this is practical or not, as it's not hardy...  I have tried to grow it.  :()

No, I haven't actually collected the stamens & styles, but maybe I should give it a try.  I saw a TV show on the cooking network that explained saffron, showing the flower, and that if you peel it open, inside there is the "saffron part" (instead of saying stamens and styles). 

From wikipedia, a fairly in depth discussion on saffron, very interesting!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron
Here's a quote from it:
"C. sativus thrives in the Mediterranean maquis, the North American chaparral, and like climates where hot, dry summer breezes sweep semi-arid lands. It can nonetheless survive cold winters by tolerating frosts as low as −10 °C (14 °F) and short periods of snow cover."

I think C. sativus is much more winter hardy than 14 °F, as I've had mine for about 8 years.  It is VERY SLOW to get going and increase, but once established it appears to be one of the more reliable of the autumn crocus for this climate.  It is sometimes hard to gauge flower size from photos, but the flowers are relatively huge, similar to the size of C. speciosus but on shorter stems.

I do enjoy saffron-spiced dishes.

Found a map that shows where Saffron is cultivated and produced, seems that in the USA, it is produced in California (no surprise there), but also in Pennsylvania... which isn't terribly far from here, so I guess the New England climate is suitable for it.  With the heat, drought, and total baking it had this summer, it should be very happy.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Saffron_crocus_sativu...

Very nice Dave, the whiteness of the first two remind me of my garden today, after a fresh 6" of snow ;D  For many years I grew a form of Colchicum cupanii; it was one of my favorite little treasures, but sadly it disappeared a few years ago. 

19 C...I'm lucky to see that in summer let alone autumn.

Wim, I don't know about the "autumn bulbs just beginning" statement: there sure seems to be a lot of them! And they sure are beautiful! 

Especially since you have so many colchicum to compare, can you rate them for flower "stem" strength?  (Is it really a stem, or is it a long perianth tube?)

Michael, both are delectable.  Wim, loved all the Colchicum too.

The leaf markings are fantastic on Cyclamen mirable! 

The feather-edged petals aren't too shabby either...