The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Bulbs (including other geophytes with corms, tubers, rhizomes etc) => Topic started by: Alisdair on September 27, 2011, 07:06:38 PM
-
For John Fielding's photo of autumn-flowering Crocus cambessedesii click here (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=202.msg1484#msg1484).
-
One of my favourite autumn flowerings bulbs is Crocus pulchellus, a small crocus which I have often seen in the Holomondas, a small mountain range in Central Halkidiki not far from our place. It is a native of this part of the Balkans, it is pale lilac with darker veins and it has three snow-white and three orange anthers, the latter are split in threads and are quite impressive.
-
Crocus speciosus oxonian
-
Crocus pulchellus albus
-
Crocus pulchellus
-
Crocus goulimyi
-
Lovely pictures, Mike, and all excellent for mediterranean-climate gardens - thanks!
For people who don't know it, a striking thing about C. goulimyi is its shape, like an unusually long-stemmed wine goblet:
-
Seen on Taygetus near Arna at the end of October 2010
-
Crocus boryi, Hilary.
-
I had thought it might be Crocus laevigatus.
The book I have says that Crocus boryi is on Crete
We saw this in the south Peloponnese
-
I found some Crocus sativus bulbs in Thessalloniki the other day and just had to buy some. I am looking forward to seeing how they'll be doing here, maybe I will be able to show some photos on this forum next year ?
-
Hilary, Crocus boryi is very widespread in the Peloponnese, certainly the commonest crocus at low to medium altitudes in our part.
-
Thanks, I will write a little note in the book I have
-
C. boryi is relatively rare on Crete and mostly restricted to the far eastern end at low altitudes. It doesn't occur in the west of the island. Or should I say it has never been found there!
-
I have never seen it around here.
-
C. Boryi is quite common here in Corfu. Usually blooming by mid October.
-
A few today.
Crocus boryi in the morning
Crocus boryi in the afternoon
Crocus goulimyi
-
Crocus cambessedesii
Crocus medius
Crocus cancellatus damaescenus
-
Very nice, Michael, thanks for sharing them with us! (And helpful for people searching for identification...)
-
Took this yesterday. Crocus tournefortii from seed collected on Monte Smith, Rhodes, Greece. With a feint scent this has the unusual character of not closing it's flowers once opened. On Crete some plants which I took to be obviously this species turned out to be hybrids with C. boryi and they did close their flowers at night.
-
Crocus Laevigatus
Crocus Laevigatus fontenayi x 2
Crocus speciosus albus
-
Lovely soft colouring on that laevigatus fontenayi, Michael: thanks!
-
Crocus longiflorus
-
Nice, Michael - showing clearly the plant's relationship to the saffron crocus (apparently in Campania, Italy, people do collect the styles of C. longiflorus to use as saffron, as it contains much the same flavouring chemicals as C. sativus).
-
Here's a Crocus sativus that I photographed this week.
-
For Ori's photos of Crocus pallasii and C. hermoneus among other mouth-watering bulbs in bloom at the moment in Israel, after rains, click here (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=539).
-
Here also some Crocus are in flower.
-
Crocus suaveolens, taken yesterday.
-
Lovely, John - and surely early, even for your relatively mild garden?
-
Hi Alisdair, this one is perhaps the last to flower as the other clones I have of this species flowered a few weeks ago!
-
Golly!
-
Janis Ruksans book "Crocuses - a complete guide to the genus" has been reviewed in 'The Alpine Gardener', Dec11, pp.455-457; and in 'The Garden', Sep11, p.579.
-
Prompted by John's posting (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=629) about Crocus sieberi flowering in London now, here is a photo taken just now of one which has just opened here in Sussex.
The next two photos, also Crocus sieberi, were taken in the Peloponnese a few years ago, in March, up by the snow melt - the bottom one includes a robust white form, which you do see occasionally there.
-
As here one can see many crocuses I think that a C. veluchensis could be added too.(well anyway I hope it is C. veluchensis)
-
Hi Ina, was the bicolouring typical or just the selected flower you photographed?
-
Hi John, there as far as I remember there were a few with this colour but most of them looked like the following ones. I will have to find the CD I have saved the pictures in and maybe I have some more there that could be of some help.
-
I said that the C. suaveolens had finished flowering already and indeed most have but this seedling has just flowered and has quirky petals which have some sepal markings in them. This may of course not be a stable feature!
-
wonderfull picture John!!
I roamed through my pictures and I only saw a few of those with the two coloured petals. the rest are as the ones in the second picture I posted. What do you reckon?
-
this topic continues not to disappoint with its photos!
-
Ina, I think your bicoloured C. veluchensis is very attractive and well coloured. Many Crocus produce distinct forms amongst the more typical ones. I remember seeing a lovely range of C. sieberi on Mount Helmos in the north of the Peloponnese, where Alisdair went. There were a few albinos and others quite like the cultivar 'Tricolor' occasionally with even more banding.
-
I have also seen some C. sieberi in Mt Chelmos and many of them were close to the observatory. Unfortunatelly I don't remember seeing any albinos :( ...Have a nice day!!!
-
John, The pictures I posted of Crocus sieberi including a white form were actually from the south of the Peloponnese, in the outer Mani.
-
So there are white forms of subsp. nivalis. Were there many?
-
Alisdair regarding 7501 taken in the UK was that the colour of is it just too blue?
-
More C.sieberi images from Mt Helmos
-
No it was that blue, but had only just opened. Last Tues, before I left UK, it had been fully open for at least a week and was rather more purple but still a very deep colour (I had picked it out specially!); also from S Peloponnese.
-
I have moved Ina's nice picture of a good white form of the very crocus-like Romulea bulbocodium to a new Romulea thread here (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=690.0).
-
Much admired crocus grower and garden writer Augustus Bowles wrote about the joy of going down to his flowerbeds each day to see what surprises he had in store in the seedling beds... I don't have seedling beds.. just a few too many pots of seeds but I'm sure that the thrill of getting your first crocus flowering from seed you've sown is just the same.
Here I've got C boryii sown in 2009. One bulb flowered last year... this year other's have added to the rush..
I must urge those with suitable climates for these autumnal crocus to try and get more by growing from seed. Now that these are flowering size they'll join others in the garden.
-
The autumn crocus are starting in our garden.
Crocus niveus x2
Crocus asturicus (syn C. serotinus salzmannii)
cheers
fermi
-
Lovely colour combination, with the C. asturicus - what is the ground cover?
-
Lovely colour combination, with the C. asturicus - what is the ground cover?
Hi Alisdair,
It's a prostrate, shrubby Artemesia which had been known in Australia as A. schmidtiana "Nana" but that is a herbaceous species so it's possible that ours is actually Artemesia caucasica,
cheers
fermi
-
Thanks, Fermi! If Artemisia caucasica could stand much heat and dryness it would be an exceptional ground cover for mediterranean bulbs.... but I should think it would need at least some water through the summer?
-
Hi Alisdair,
we don't go out of the way to water it and this bit is in a part of the garden which is not watered artificially but I think it would survive better with an occasional drink over the summer.
Its major drawback is it's propensity to flower with typical dingy inflorescences which then die off to be even dingier! At which point it needs a good clipping back,
cheers
fermi
-
Some of the winter flowering crocus at our place:
1) Crocus imperati (? ssp imperati?)
2) exterior of C. imperati;
3) Crocus rujanensis, exterior;
4) Crocus rujanensis, interior;
5) Crocus olivieri ssp olivieri in bud;
cheers
fermi
-
Fermi, I thought you might enjoy this picture I took of Crocus olivieri in the mountains of the Greek Peloponnese a few years ago:
-
Thanks, Alisdair,
At least that means that it comes from an area that has frosts! ;D
cheers
fermi
-
Clear and sunny today, so there is an open flower on Crocus olivierii ssp olivierii
cheers
fermi
-
Thank you Fermi for the lovely photos. They convey coolness which for us is most desirable in the heart of Summer.
-
This is Crocus gargaricus ssp garganicus grown from seed from Goteborg originally from seed collected in Turkey by Jim Archibald (J&JA 344090).
cheers
fermi
-
Crocus minimus 'de Bavella' from Hillview Rare Plants
cheers
fermi
-
What a beautiful blue!
-
Wow!
-
We got this Crocus flavus under a different name but someone else identified it for us.
We need to move them because they are under the Mexican Hawthorn which drops its fruit at the same time - see the second pic!
cheers
fermi
-
Crocus garganicus ssp garganicus from July this year - from that first sole flower in 2018, this year there were half a dozen!
cheers
fermi
-
Crocus cartwrightianus ex 'Halloween' grown from seed from SRGC Seedex 2015 sown in May 2016
cheers
fermi
-
It is wonderful Fermi. The contrast in colours is so striking. It makes you want to take a second look.
-
Crocus etruscus putting up its first flower. Seed from The Crocus Group 2016 sown April 2017
cheers
fermi
-
Crocus rhodensis grown from seed from the late Marcus Harvey,
cheers
fermi