Buyer Beware -Part 2
Rodger Whitlock (Sat, 13 Sep 2003 12:10:44 PDT)
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