Crocus

the same;

detail of the same;

Very nice bonitin--love the 2nd picture with the rocks. =)

the colour changes with different light..

Thank you Deb!

This one is very hard to get focused;

The same, open and with a visitor!

another unknown;

This must be the C.tomassianus 'Roseus' I guess..
Its the same from the first pic. I've entered in the thread but open;

Another unknown that looks bronze yellow when closed and has beautiful purple blue inside..
I had one completely open but it was half eaten up..

A lot of lovelies you have bonitin! I think we found the ID of C.tomassianus 'Roseus' last year, it's very nice.

Such a strange combination the last one, I don't think I have seen one like that. Now I'm wondering what it is.

I think we decided what the purple one was too, maybe a form of C. tommasinianus? Ruby Giant?

I found some species pics, there was a link or two with many more on last year's thread too.

http://www.thealpinegarden.com/thumbnailindexcrocus.htm

Just read through last years thread! I had forgotten all about the names! Didn't note them down. Shame on me! I had ordered the C.tommacianus 'roseus' last fall without realising I already had it, but I noticed once they started blooming.
But I don't think the dark purple one is C.tommassianus'Ruby Giant' as the flowers are fairly small to fit that name.

I'm also curious to know the ID of the strange colour-combined one.
I don't know how I got it. It's the first year I see it emerging and I am sure I didn't buy it. So far there are only three of them, one was eaten, the second also damaged in the bud stage and the third still has to open fully, but there are still many crocuses in early-stage bud, so there might still appear some more..

Thanks for the wonderful Lonsdale Collection link!

thanks for the encouragement, guys. i am really excited to see how my 800 species crocus look in the lawn!

tracie

Wow! That's a lot, Tracey!
The same in an early stage, taken some days ago, I first thought it would be a yellow one that sneaked in with the last ones I bought..

I hope it will still be there tomorrow as I have to leave again for the whole day..

The yelllow became more subtle getting older;

and another pic. of tommassianus 'Roseus'

I had noticed that there was a hole bitten in the side of the flower bud this morning before it opened, but didn't expect to find a caterpillar in there that seem to have an appetite for Crocus!

Pretty caterpillar, lol, I had one small C fuscotinctus with a little nibbling on it.

They opened today, we had bright sunshine and it felt like spring!

""

The large fowering ones at the edge of another bed are in a hurry, I must get it cleaned soon!

Warm cheery colour on the C fuscotinctus !
It felt like spring here too for 3 days in a row.
The birds think so too!

A side view that doesn't show the damage;

I love the colour combination of that one, the stripes down the petals set it off nicely!

I can't believe we are having this lovely weather, lol, I think it was about this time last year we last had good weather! Oh yes, the birds here are going spring crazy, checking out the nesting sites.

..and singing their heads off!..
specially the blackbird who's sooooo.. enthusiastic he wakes me up at an 'indecent 5am' in the morning... But I don't blame him!

Oh you guys give me hope that spring will actually arrive! I just love
those tommassianus... I ordered a collection of those from Van Engelens
a few years ago. They are just so pretty as they open.

Just discovered the name of the last 'mystery crocus'; it is
Crocus imperati 'De Jager' and that's the one I had ordered last year!

http://images.google.be/images?hl=nl&q=Crocus+imperati+De+Jager+&btnG=Afbeeldingen+zoeken&gbv=2

Lol, one day you will catch up with yourself!

This was taken two days ago, the sun was getting low and gleaming over the top of the bank on which these are facing east.

Yes, lol, I feel a little embarrassed..
Lovely picture!

Very nice pictures of your Roseus crocus, Bonitin! I planted just a few of those but do not think they've bloomed yet, so I'll be watching for them.

Wallaby, I have lots of the yellow ones like yours coming up right now. Hyacinths are sending up leaves too, and I can see the flowerheads in the holes!!

Lol, my Hyacinths have flower heads in the little holes too Steve! They have been visible for around a month now.

Yellow Crocus like these? This was 5 days ago when we had sun.

Thanks Steve. My Hyacinths also have come up about a month ago, haven't peeped into the holes yet, lol!
Strong bold colour combination, Wallaby, I like the effect of the sun and shadow on them..

This is one growing in my brother's garden, he bought it under the label 'Blue Pearl' but it is different from mine which was also labelled the same, perhaps mine is princess Beatrix instead (but I prefer the more poetic name 'Blue Pearl') I'm still waiting for mine to bloom..

the warm heart of a crocus;

It's not Princess Beatrix either, it's white inside with a yellow eye. I saw a lot of 'Blue Pearl' pics from sellers using Princess Beatrix pics. My PB came from deJager when they had a catalogue, but I think they only grow wholesale now. I was going to put an entry in PF but got frustrated at the mix of pics already in Blue Pearl, and the mis-use of PB pics.

I can see why they will use PB for Blue Pearl, as it has a darker blue patch which is more attractive, but obviously the name doesn't attract the same as you have noted, and it could be that Blue Pearl is easier to propogate.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/5012/5484.html

the crocuses are beautiful. i transplaned mine to the new yard last week. they are the first thing to bloom and i just couldnt leave them behind.
Vicki

Janet--are you thinking of this guy?
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Lauw%20de%20Jager

He still sells retail too, I think. I've stumbled on and used his web site researching a few things.

I love all of the pictures, ya'll!
Deb

I have his site in my favourites Deb, I was looking a few days ago and wondered if it was the same lot. deJagers had a catalogue here a few years ago, I didn't buy anything for two or three years then never got another catalogue. The stock doesn't often vary enough to justify more purchases from some catalogues.

I had searched the net for them a year or two ago, the only thing I found was them listed in the south of England as growers.

Bulbargence does have a few things I would like later in the year, and I can order from them. Lycoris sprengeri is one, I wanted to order it before but the few things I wanted didn't justify the postage as they were two different shipping times. Maybe next time!

These photos are superb! I am definitely adding some species crocus to my bulb shopping list.

Perhpas Crocus ancyrensis 'Golden Bunch' which Western Gardening says will bloom in early winter in my climate(same time as my paperwhite narcissus, I hope). Has anyone had experience with Golden Bunch?

Chris

Maybe it's interesting to compare bulb-selling companies;

The one I bought my C.tomassianus 'Roseus' and C.emperati 'De Jager' from seems to be much cheaper!

http://www.eurobulb.nl/index.php/shop/34/Spring+flowering+bulbs/Crocus/small+flowered+crocuses+%28botanical+crocuses%29.htm

than;

http://www.bulbargence.com/m_catalogue/index.php?id_categorie=25

The postage to here for eurobulb is a minimum of 15 euros, or 50% of the actual cost. I have wanted to order from them, but there is no credit card facility that I could see. It seems you order then pay by bank transfer which would be very expensive on top of the postage!

Bulbargence only has the straight species for those two, but they do have online ordering with credit card facility. I think I will stick with those I find here! The good thing about deJager when they were here was the rarer species of Crocus and Lilium, but one doesn't always want to spend the money!

Well, I had to pay 11€ postage (to Belgium) and have paid by bank transfer (have no idea what that costs) and yes it is strange they wouldn't offer the way of paying by credit card. I've just written them an e-mail in Dutch to ask why...

Hey Chris--
I think I might try Crocus flavus. From what I can research I'm thinking that one comes from an area with the longest, hottest summers and the warmest winters. I'm still looking for ones that possibly might work. Are you from Northern CA? There's a lot of PBS and IBS Crocus growers from zones 9 right along the Pacific coast. You might have better luck than me.

I'm trying to find some from the same areas that Tulipa clusiana is native to--T clusiana is dependable here if put in the right situation (really poor soil and bone dry in summer--although they will take a little water--I have them shoved almost next to the cement house foundation and under deciduous shrubs that suck what little moisture that is in the soil out in the summer)
Debbie
=)

This message was edited Feb 16, 2008 1:26 AM

Just a little note to say that i got a friendly response on my e-mail to Eurobulb that they offer all the facilities of credit card payments Paypal etc.. since years...

A 'Blue Pearl' from last year