Crocus

Look! They're starting to bloom!

One more shot

Wow, that is really pretty- looks just like a catalog photo! I hope mine will grow and bloom, planted them kind of late and it hasn't been really cold here. How cold does it get in FW, Steve?
Susan

Well thanks Susan - I am sure you'll get flowers too. We've been in the 20's and 30's for lows quite a bit but the past couple of nights has only dropped into 50's. Got into teens (19) only once so far this winter. Got up to over 80 today, a record! Typical winter lows are around 30 or so in January and highs in low 50's.

Pretty one Steve, looks like Pickwick but there are others similar now. I have a stray Pickwick and a few others in flower, the bulk yet to come.

Some of the small species types have opened too, they are usually earlier than the large ones.

Our weather has been mild for this time of year, after a very cold year, we have a few days warm then a colder spell but the warm days are up to 12C (54F). Same temp. as we had in mid July!

This is a species from somewhere (neighbour I think) which set itself, now it's bulking up fast. It's one of the first to open too.

HI Wallaby,

Those are a beautiful blue color. I am going to buy more species croci (?) each year until I have some nice clumps. I love that blue! You're right - the one pictured above is Pickwick.

BTW you always have the most impressive Crocus colonies - I admired all of your pictures last year.

Thanks Steve, those areas still need a clean up but I guess will get done some time. Until they all appear again it's always difficult to imagine they will! When they start in earnest I will be pushed to do it, on good days I have had seeds to sow so far.

Those crocus (I think that is plural too, lol!) are a soft pinkish lilac but come out a little more blue in pics. I couldn't take pics of that with my old camera, the colour must have ultraviolet to confuse as it always blurred with a halo around.

This one was open a week ago, it's strange to have the odd few big ones, I wondered if they had been pushed up by moles.

Nice Steve to start this thread about these wonderful spring harbingers.

Wonderful heavenly blue colour on these specie crocus Wallaby!

Many of mine have simply flopped over as they got discouraged getting no sun (that's almost the case with me too, lol)
Managed to take a reasonable pict. today of some that showed a little more enthusiasm even without sun but with warmer t°

Wonderful flowers! Wallaby, I love that blue! It was 68F here this morning and my lilies are pushing up, so it shouldn't be long...

Lovely colour crocus bonitin! They can be difficult to take a pic of without sun, we had some sun today with 10C and cool winds, I feel I should be cleaning up all the rubbish but I take pics instead, lol, still time.

Wow Susan, it's early for lilies.

I took a pic today with sun shining through the crocus, these don't flop as easily as the large ones. This is closer to the colour,

Lovely! they just glow!
I'll have to take a photo of the lilies, they came up early last year too, and some got nipped by a hard frost.
Today I'm spending in/on bed, just brought one of our dogs home from the vet and have to keep her still and quiet- hard to do with the other dogs around.

Susan, I have a handful of lilies that I planted this past fall that have sprouted...but we've had some hard freezes since then and they did not fare well. Fortunately, most of the lilies I planted have not broken ground except for about three or four Asiatic Lily "London" (I did plant 50 of those, however!) Our temperatures reached 77 on Sunday and 81 on Monday, which was a record! Back into the 30's at night and 50's during the day, thankfully.

Bonitin and Wallaby, lovely crocus you have. I just love the transluscent blues you're sporting. Sometimes lack of sun can be a good thing....ask Susan and me in mid-summer when we're frying in our southern heat!

Here are some species crocus....mix of colors.

Here is "Flower Record" I believe...

You have some whites in your species mix Steve, I got my mix as a freebie with an order and they are purple and yellow, not sure if my purple are species though. Still pretty, they are at the base of the retaining wall of built up bed under the tree.

Your second one looks like my Flower Record, posting a pic of a large flopped one I took today.

Today was 12C, with sun, perfect for crocus pics!

Some of my species mix by the wall.

Nice job Steve, Janet, and Bonitin! That's an "in my dreams" bulb down here--but sure like looking at yours!
=)

Yellows

Thanks Deb, guess we will have to post more pics for you!

This is another self set I thought was the same as the bluish lilac one, but found it has some paler outer petals.

Closer, it was difficult to capture in the shade.

I have a self set amongst Flower Record which looks like it has crossed with Pickwick, but could also have crossed with the large violet-purple one I posted above which is Grand Maitre. Or it could be a seedling from that one as it's just over the path, and it may have crossed with the blue-lilac species as it has a white stem.

With a bud of Flower Record behind it, which looks dark blue in the shaows.

The group of species looked wonderful today fully open in the sun.

Of course I had to play with it..

yes Janet--all of you will just have to post more pics! =)

Janet, don't you have that one 'Carpathian Wonder'? I thought I remember seeing one of your pics on that last year--Its a form of C heuffelianus; introduced by Janis Ruksans (but I think he sold it to the dutch). He and Arnis Seisums have beautiful species Crocus. I got quite addicted doing the book review on Janis Ruksans book. Tempted to try to force some next winter--very expensive annuals! lol

Can you do seeds on them there?

This message was edited Feb 7, 2008 7:44 PM

I have C. heuffelianus which is still in a pot in the greenhouse, only 3 bulbs and one of those seems to be missing. Something had dug holes, food for the mice, squirrels, I don't know but two are growing. I wanted the form with really dark tips but talked myself out of it!

Could there be some which would live in your climate? Under shady trees they might, that's where these species are. They like to be dry in summer.

Ah seeds yes, I haven't really noticed them on the blue-lilac one but they will make seeds, it has grown new corms nearby. The seeds are at ground level, it doesn't take them long to flower from seed either. I will try to remember to keep some for you.

They might work if I dug them up about Oct and chilled them in the fridge for 8-10 weeks. I might try next year. Keeping them dry is not the problem, lack of cold is the problem.

Sternbergia does good--some of them are from the same area. Janis has a pdf catalog I have a copy of if you need/want it--he does ship to all EU countries. If you dmail me, I can send you a copy of the latest bulb magazine (IBS). His nursery is featured as well as Aussie crinums--I got extra copies for the book review.

Thanks dmj...but Wallaby's crocus collection puts mine to shame - she grows the most phenomenal colonies in every color/type you could imagine!!!

The Crocus Vernus varieties do OK for me but the species types really come back strongly for me and do quite well here. I love all types of crocus though!!

Steve yours look very nice too! The ones in the lower left corner look alot like C versicolor to me (of course its easy with Janis' book open in front of me--lol).

Species does much better at almost all kinds of bulbs down here--Narcissus about the only exception.

hi,
i was just reading about certain crocus not doing well in warmer areas. i was not aware that they needed a chilling period like tulips. now i am really worried! i planted over 800 species crocus in my yard here in east texas and now i am wondering if they are going to give me a show or not. anyone have any info? none of mine have even put out leaves yet, none that i can see anyway. i did find one at the top of the soil, must have dropped it, and it was budding, but no real leaves yet.

tracie

Yours will increase given time Steve! I don't have that many types of crocus, in fact the species I have in another place are dwindling, set too many seedlings around and get dug up by moles . Some day I need to revamp the area and split them, it's C. tricolori, Snowbunting and Princess Beatrix, all pretty.

Thanks Deb, I will.

:~))

Tracy--
Chilling is recommended in Houston--but Lufkin gets a lot colder in the winter than we do! I've had one freeze here this winter, a couple of near freezes (32-34F).
Debbie

i glad to hear that! it has really been colder this year, we have actually had a real winter! a few days ago it was almost 80 and then got down to 28. i think we have had more freezes this year than in recent memory.

tracie

aggie, I don't know if you have enough cold for them, your zone is not much higher than ours but you may not get enough length of cold. I could almost fit into zone 8b but we can on rare occasions get harder frosts, we do get lengthy cold periods though.

Crocus when first planted need a bit more time to establish so hang in there.

In addition, aggie, the species varieties are much better suited to warm climates than the Vernus vaierties, which are the ones requiring significant amounts of cold. Species varieties include Chrysanthus and Tommasinianus crocus among others. I think you're safe and in good shape to do well with them.

Now you all have me eager with anticipation for the 300 crocus I planted this last fall-since I'm in a colder zone, not sure when I will see mine!! Thanks for all the pics to drool over!!

Thanks Deb!

Today was the first day I finally could enjoy seeing my crocus opening as we had a lot of sun, yesterday too but unfortunately I couldn't be home the whole day.
Thank you Steve for sharing your beauties, I love the white ones beside the 'Picwick', perhaps 'Jeanne D'Arc' ? They go well together.

wallaby your pics are so inspiring, I specially love the blues.
The self-set ones are gorgeous!

I only have specie crocus in my garden, many I don't know the names of, only two I ordered last autumn with the names C. imperati 'De Jager' and C.tommasianus 'Roseus'.

This one I don't know its name its dark purple when closed but is lighter inside;

the same, but fully open;

another unknown one;