Muscari and relatives

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John

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Muscari and relatives
« on: July 16, 2011, 10:19:42 AM »
Muscari macrocarpum is a species which has fleshy large roots that are functional until the next growing season. They are also contractile which occurs in certain other bulbous plants. It is possibly due to the eventual loss of moisture that the large roots effectively shrink. In the close up of the root to the left the contraction has caused the outer surface to concertina which will gradually pull the bulb down in the soil. This is also evident in the other roots but not so clear especially in such a small picture.
« Last Edit: January 09, 2012, 08:33:44 AM by Alisdair »
John
Horticulturist, photographer, author, garden designer and plant breeder; MGS member and RHS committee member. I garden at home in SW London and also at work in South London.

pamela

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Muscari blooming
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2012, 07:53:48 PM »
I am new to planting Muscari and planted a number last autumn  Muscari macrocarpum is in full bloom with lots of young flowers in the pipeline but the M.armeniacum has only leaves and no sign of flowers.  Is this what I should expect??
Our Leopoldia comosa which we have had for a few years does appear much later.
Jávea, Costa Blanca, Spain
Min temp 5c max temp 38c  Rainfall 550 mm 

"Who passes by sees the leaves;
 Who asks, sees the roots."
     - Charcoal Seller, Madagascar

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John

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Re: Muscari blooming
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2012, 11:57:40 PM »
Yes I would say that Muscari macrocarpum is quite an early plant. It is in full flower in our greenhouse though I have to say I haven't checked if it is flowering outside at work. It has grown successfully on the rockery outside for quite a number of years now and has flowered every year.
John
Horticulturist, photographer, author, garden designer and plant breeder; MGS member and RHS committee member. I garden at home in SW London and also at work in South London.

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Alisdair

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Re: Muscari and relatives
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2012, 08:36:46 AM »
Pamela, so as to keep it easy for people to find topics, I've merged your muscari blooming question with the earlier thread where John was drawing attention to M. macrocarpum's contractile roots.
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

pamela

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Re: Muscari blooming
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2012, 07:56:54 PM »
Alisdair ....by merging I think it has got lost.
« Last Edit: January 19, 2012, 07:59:59 AM by Alisdair »
Jávea, Costa Blanca, Spain
Min temp 5c max temp 38c  Rainfall 550 mm 

"Who passes by sees the leaves;
 Who asks, sees the roots."
     - Charcoal Seller, Madagascar

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Alisdair

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Re: Muscari blooming
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2012, 08:05:13 AM »
Well, we'll see. We are trying to keep the main plant topics together so that for instance everything to do with Muscari sits in a single place.
If no-one adds anything to John's comment, we can try again later, perhaps under cultivation.
By the way, a point for everyone; when you add a message to an existing topic, the Subject comes up by default with the topic's main heading, but it's easy to change it to your own heading if you want - as I've changed this message from "Muscari and relatives" to "Muscari blooming". Always worth thinking about!
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

ezeiza

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Re: Muscari and relatives
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2012, 05:05:40 AM »
"Muscari, Leopoldia, Bellevalia, Hyacinthella, etc."

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John

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Re: Muscari and relatives
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2012, 10:59:57 AM »
I would think in the long term it would be better just to list plants in their own genera. Lumping this lot could get quite large.
John
Horticulturist, photographer, author, garden designer and plant breeder; MGS member and RHS committee member. I garden at home in SW London and also at work in South London.

ezeiza

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Re: Muscari and relatives
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2012, 01:52:45 AM »
Someone mentioned them as "the blue dwarves"

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John

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Re: Muscari and relatives
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2012, 08:54:21 AM »
I would think that that isn't PC.
John
Horticulturist, photographer, author, garden designer and plant breeder; MGS member and RHS committee member. I garden at home in SW London and also at work in South London.

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Alisdair

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Re: Muscari and relatives
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2012, 11:56:59 AM »
In the UK some people call all that lot "little blue jobs". We'll keep them together for the time being, then if it does get too congested, I'll split them into genera as you suggest, John.
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

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Alisdair

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Re: Muscari and relatives
« Reply #11 on: January 23, 2012, 11:44:36 AM »
In this thread, Alberto asked John such an interesting and rewarding question about how deep he finds bulbs and corms etc growing in the wild that I think it's best to split it off as a separate topic, which you can find by clicking here.
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

plantsman50

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Muscari armeniacum
« Reply #12 on: March 22, 2013, 07:05:44 PM »
A small group of Muscari armeniacum. A scented harbinger of spring for me, always look forward to giving the first Muscari a good old sniff !

Martin
Martin Froggatt - Ripley, Derbyshire UK. Member of RHS and Alpine Garden Society. Grows an eclectic selection of plants in a very well drained south facing loam. Quality Manager by profession and enjoys photography and visiting gardens.

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Alisdair

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Re: Muscari armeniacum
« Reply #13 on: March 22, 2013, 08:44:02 PM »
Gorgeous, Martin!
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

Re: Muscari and relatives
« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2013, 06:36:31 PM »
Oron, could  you put a name to this little Muscari I found in the garden this morning with no label. Probably one I have grown from seed and forgotten about.

cheers

Michael.