mis-ID'd colchicum
Russell Stafford (Fri, 16 Jan 2004 05:30:39 PST)

I can sympathize with Dave, especially because we unwittingly sent him some
of the misidentified colchicums to which he refers. This is why we no
longer directly resell colchicum corms unless we are certain of their
identity -- which means we are now trying to figure out a way to grow and
identify thousands of their corms. This -- unlike the cultivation of
crocuses, oxalis, and the like, many of which we grow in containers -- will
take some tillable acreage. Some colchicum species and cultivars can be
identified by their corms -- C. speciosum 'Album' and C. byzantinum being
two. Others -- particularly the hybrids -- are a morass. I have yet to
receive a true 'Giant' from a grower. Then there are the absolutely
laughable substitutions -- C. 'Dick Trotter' labeled as C. atropurpureum,
for example (even I figured that one out pretty quickly). The colchicums
are a beautiful but at present muddled tribe.

As for the monograph -- anyone got some grant money?

Russell

At 10:09 PM 1/15/2004 -0800, Dave Karnstedt wrote:
Bingo! In the last couple of years, I have bought a great many colchicum
and have been quite disappointed with respect to just how mixed they really
are. A few sorts are so distinctive, however, that mix-ups are rare, e.g.,
the few doubles.

Russell Stafford
Odyssey Bulbs
8984 Meadow Lane, Berrien Springs, Michigan 49103
269-471-4642
http://www.odysseybulbs.com/