Identifying Colchicum

[janemcgary]

Finally this fall I have a useful way to confirm the identity of the many Colchicum species I've raised from seed over the years. "Colchicum: The complete guide," by Christopher Grey-Wilson, Rod Leeds, & Robert Rolfe, Royal Horticultural Society (2020), is a big, expensive volume. It may not be the last word on this still problematic genus, but it helps. The elaborate keys are easy to use; if you don't know the lexicon, there is a glossary in the back matter. Once you've spotted possibilities, you have to read the individual entries to see exactly how similar species are being distinguished. There are good color photos for most species, which give you a sense of the general habit of the plant. So far I've identified a stray one that got into the rock garden as C. baytopiorum, and one grown from seed as C. peloponnesiacum is almost certainly C. troodii. One that had lost its label when I lifted part of the bulb house this summer is definitely C. stevenii, which I knew I had somewhere. Some others seem to be true to name. It's not too hard to look at colchicums in flower because almost all the diagnostic parts are above ground.

[OrchardB]

Do you find C. baytopiorum increases very readily for you? In large pots I have maybe a 100 or more, but only get a few flowers every 4-5 years or so. Mainly I suspect because they get starved because of their rate of increase. Maybe I should insert into my rough lawn grass and see what happens. I currently have some buds showing in one pot, which I suspect were the larger bulbs I selected last season. At present I only have a few C. autumnale speciosum album, Waterlily, and C autumnale left in flower. The larger hybrids are all finished flowering.
It is fungus in the lawn/rough grass time here. All brown types with a hollow top; edible ??
Brian SE UK 17C today; again

[CG100]

Just one word...........

Androcymbium

[janemcgary]

To OrchardB's question, Colchicum baytopiorum does flower well for me, but I don't keep it in a pot. I have some in a rock garden and some in a bulb lawn. It can increase by short stolons, so it's probably very unhappy in a restricted space. Some of the very small colchicums will do well if restricted, but the larger ones are more likely to expend their energy trying to get their corms  somewhere else. (C. baytopiorum I would call a medium-sized species.) They can descend to remarkable depths if restricted horizontally but given a deep substrate.

[OrchardB]

I will try and find a suitable place for some in the garden. Colchicums don't get grazed by visiting wildlife. I have several of the larger specie/forms where the later leaves don't become a problem. Even some autumn crocus have survived this year although I have seen a squirrel investigating them. No deer for some months; maybe it is them normally who do the damage.

[OrchardB]

So this is what it looks like ;-)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHdnGkb7lRzLXsiU6FK9vT_jv1ksnqwmYVvI_yq-p4wEjphISMf3KRmyq4_3icCyW6T5l14XynOgqpzxNHj-YGmbh6BQmtGgO5CA1M52YYQN1ZvFAwvBj3HCrDte08icwdL3drtCegeuiBmNPJ3obunCuXTnsez_MEgCjrRUsh49uisG06S4AZbzLTnXAxlGKhNpK2tnA9Y4wdji80j3S__15d9SkZSCsVYFtrXs8OJs6jYU_HxFB8QLzl9zF0t8ySi1F31lTrOMUl8xmSI9vOxck2eRFm0dSqJFhMrmut56op7q9x2TsLwsHzPxH_aCGW7rOGvF2iXDEO6jgvIkX-pxKg2EajwQ3rfPY6uy1pibPXfM-aVbgGxPhCm1ohUnI64QGuPVPXOx2JeOIccAR3LblFYod7WB0qnBmT1FHazjRC3QAHtent2KQjGbTCV2ezDKPe_ncGOb4vAG9AIFRltSfwRUsWfj5dRIAaTNzfVI7gxxqT6JNO8030io3657CtAc9oE0oO02p0ac1W4crILuzfzJMVN05ufCMWGQDIfmVt1EzGn2BTGv-FzsikuOFqPSC0U5AE4iqopjGO2JSYKic55pPasNTI-olybHBvdPi6DZ1wwkPPoHT491FWv1V5n8QqY-pl_lSnzSegLdHCBCTmE7fqED-PMZR3mwUuSZSkTR36QvkUtMKZIFgJazZ8LdYABVVZieM6Tkc6nY4nTnEojlZ72GbHHGQZjK1fWNLT_nQZlgoru5brd1PgJXBO5EKOk0ZXCd1V8lzbCeqbmzBEI8hVue2sla1qh8t9nqkZ5foqR5sG_0XwpHVQKS9X2UojTpq9Kjdev90rrOlYKM5Z9rMgHoTeIfM6Q8ykOg0Hhfu37x9X5XlEgXn7xKs2YMVV31nQuLDCmod4_6_g=w675-h900-s-no?authuser=0)
I have cleared an area  by removing Iris 'Jane Philips' which had stopped flowering. With a bit of soil amending it will now have a number of colchicums. The pot is 5" diameter.

Brian. Autumn started with sudden drop of 10  C in temperature.

[Martin Bohnet]

I actually prefer you upload your images here instead of whatever format that was....

oh. that's a nice, slender one. Beautiful! Like Jane I prefer my colchicums in the open ground - though they are heavily grazed by my least-favorite wildlife: slugs.

[OrchardB]

Apologies. I saw it correctly when I was sending it, so thought it would be the same for all. It was a copy and paste from Google photo storage. I sent it to myself first to check. Needs more thought I see., Brian

[gastil]

Question for someone gardening in coastal central or southern California that grows Colchicum:

In the ground or in a pot, which is better? I was lucky to receive a Colchicum 'Glory of Heemstede' bulb in our latest BX 493. I have not grown Colchicum before but I've seen them succeed in others' gardens, although I did not take note of those species or varieties. Those were in the ground, under trees. I read these do best in the ground, but that was Arnold's New Jersey, completely different climate than here in Santa Barbara (like zone 10 or Sunset zone 24 except there is frost in my neighborhood.) I figure these are ok with frost. I do plan to find a place for this special bulb in the ground. But, unlike a pot, I cannot move it around after planting. So, full sun? Morning sun? Maximum frost location? And do gophers eat these?

Or maybe I should plunge a pot. There is a bit of room still left in the plunge beds.

Also, I'm pretty sure this photo shows my bulb upside down, that the flat end goes up and the pointy end is an offset, yes? Grid is 1 cm bold, 1 mm lighter grid.

[Arnold]

Gastil

Yes, the toe is planted down

[Uli]

Hello Gastil,

As you know, I am not in California but my Mediterranean climate may be comparable.
I stopped growing Colchicum because I found my spring is too short to maintain the massive foliage for long enough without irrigation. So they went dormant too early and bulb size decreased and there were no flowers. So I recommend to plant your bulb in the open ground in a place with sun but shaded from hot midday sun. And make sure it gets plenty of water until the foliage yellows, not from thirst like mine did but naturally. I would not worry about frost, Colchicums are hardy plants. I am pretty sure that a large Colchicum will not be happy in a pot. The bulbs naturally sit quite deep in the ground, the foliage is massive so there must be a lot of roots which probably prefer a free root run. 

Uli 

[gastil]

Thank you Uli.

I planted it in the ground, in a raised bed adjacent to my patch of lawn. That way it can reach moist soil with its roots when it needs to but not get the bulb wet in summer. I placed it to the NW of a large ceramic planter to shade from afternoon sun. I put it 5 inches deep. My soil is loamy sand (not sandy loam) so it is easy for bulbs to push through. 

It took some courage to plant directly in the ground my entire collection of Colchicum - consisting of this single bulb. 

And thank you Arnold for the toe-down tip. The white tip you see in this photo is not the toe.  

[Arnold]

Gastil

I can send you a couple when I dig them next fall.

I unfortunately have no idea what they are.

I've sent then to the BX's numerous times.

[gastil]

Well Arnold when your unidentified Colchicum bloom and we post those pics here for the experts, you will have spliced back together this forum thread 'Identifying Colchicum' that I split with my question. 

I may not add any more Colchicum, at least not until a blue hybrid appears. 

[Arnold]

Gastil

I must have 5-6 unidentified Colchicums in my garden.

I've planted them in a bed that I augmented with pounds and pounds of gravel.

They must like it because they have multiplied very well.

I've sent bulbs to the BX for 4-5 years.