On 10 Sep 03 at 8:59, Jane McGary wrote: > Jim Waddick mentioned Photoshop-doctored photos in a bulb catalog. > ...And as for the colors they think up to paint the crocuses -- > there was one catalog I got recently that showed some fall species > as bright rose pink. Probably Crocus kotschyanus (syn. C. zonatus), which is actually rather pretty, a pale lavender/mauve with some yellow in the throat. This species is notorious because the clone usually sold is nearly non-flowering. I've had a few of those and the petals were distorted, suggesting a viral infection. (Whatever happened to phytosanitary certification? Isn't a virus a disease?) But there are forms of C. kotschyanus with quite big, showy flowers. There is a patch by a certain bus stop here, presumably a relict of an old garden, and they are much, much better than any commercial form I've ever seen. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island