fall crocus

John Lonsdale john@johnlonsdale.net
Wed, 11 Aug 2004 17:32:59 PDT
<One difficulty with fall-winter flowering crocuses is that the
flower tubes of some species are very frail. This is especially the
case with C. speciosus. Have a short spell of wind and rain, and all
the tubes are broken, the flowers knocked over. The results are
not sightly.

The thing to do is grow C. speciosus in moderately rough grass, so
the dry stems of the grass support the flowrs. There may be twiggy,
low-growing shrubs that would do the job equally well, but I can't
name any off the top of my head.>

That's why Crocus niveus is so valuable outdoors - it has a large flower but
also a very strong tube, so it stands up to the weather beautifully.  Crocus
robertianus behaves similarly.  C. tournefortii flowers on a very short tube
so also performs very well.

J.

Dr John T Lonsdale,
407 Edgewood Drive,
Exton, Pennsylvania 19341,  USA

Home:  610 594 9232
Cell:  484 678 9856
Fax:   801 327 1266

Visit "Edgewood" - The Lonsdale Garden at http://www.edgewoodgardens.net/

USDA Zone 6b
 



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