I missed the flurry of messages on autumn crocus, but I finally caught up a little bit and posted a bunch of crocus photos to the PBS Wiki. I posted photographs of the following crocus on the FallBllomingCrocus page at: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… C. asumaniae (2 photos) C. goulimyi (3 photos) C. niveus (2 photos) C. pallasii ssp. pallasii (3 photos) C. sativus (2 photos) C. serotinus 'Poseidon' (1 photo) C. speciosus (2 photos) C. speciosus xantholaimos (2 photos) C. tournefortii (3 photos) I also posted two photos of Colchicum cupanii at: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… This autumn has been rather mild, and the autumn crocus just keep on coming. This past weekend, it reached 65 degrees F each day (18 C) with strong sunshine to coax the many crocus blooms open. This has to be the latest season in recent memory, with 6 crocus species still in good bloom. Let me add a few notes about the crocus I grow. All of my crocus are planted outdoors, under my "tree rings"... at the base of deep rooted deciduous trees and shrubs. I noted Jane McGary's PBS Wiki entry on C. tournefortii, mentioning that this species has taken 26 degrees F, and is best under a greenhouse or cold frame treatment. I can give assurance that this species is perfectly hardy here, surviving long winters with extended deep freezes (we had a week of -17 degrees F last winter) and it never fails to open those exquisite open chalices of pearlescent gray-lavender with faint purple veining, golden centers, and outlandish divided styles in hot orange red. Crocus pallasii ssp. pallasii: This I received from John Lonsdale, and it's among my favorites. It comes from Turkey. The flowers appear in a "bunch", like a posey, a beautiful silvery lilac color, with a deep purple ring at the center. The flowers are powerfully fragrant, and are unique in their ability to stay open on dark overcast days and evenings, a welcome attribute shared with C. tournefortii. Like many crocus, it produces a long succession of blooms over many weeks. Crocus goulimyi seems very variable, and photographs from various sources reveal many different dispositions of this species. Mine came from John Lonsdale, and I do think it's the most beautiful form of the species I've seen. The tepals are very broad, rounded, and overlapping to form a substantial goblet-like appearance. Also, the inner 3 tepals are white, while the outer 3 are a lively lilac, giving an eye-catching two-toned appearance. The 3-part symmetry of the flowers is vaguely similar to C. banaticus. The flowers of C. goulimyi are nicely fragrant. Crocus sativus: last September (2004) I bought a package of corms from Home Depot, and planted them out. They didn't flower the first season, which is understandable. This year, only 3 corms flowered. The flowers are large, richly colored, heavily veined, fragrant, and inelegantly spreading. I liked the allied species that I got from Jane McGary better, namely C. asuminiae... a delicate beauty, and fragrant too (I get lots of grass and mud stains on my pants from lying down on the grass low enough to catch a wiff of these perfumed autumn sprites). Crocus niveus is among the first to bloom and the last to succumb to the advancing fall/winter season... such an amazing succession of flowers for weeks on end. The blooms are huge and substantial, the long yellow tubes startling from a profile view. I grow both the pure white form, and the lilac-tinged form. A must have species that's extra reliable in the garden. Crosus serotinus 'Poseidon' is rather late to flower. It's the most dwarf of any of the autumn crocus I grow (C. asuminiae takes a close 2nd) with small but rich violet-purple flowers. Sometimes I've seen this listed as C. serotinus var. clusii 'Poseidon'... can anyone clarify regarding that taxonomic rank. I also added photos of plain old (yet gorgeous) C. speciosus with it's huge open flowers, and C. speciosus xantholaimos (I think, from Jane McGary) with richly veined blooms and prolific flowering. Very nice. Lastly, I added two photos of Colchicum cupanii. I notice that on the PBS wiki, there are lots of photos showing variants of this species and some subspecies. It is such a tiny plant, much smaller than any of the autumn crocus, but high on the cute factor nonetheless when lots of the palest pink starry flowers, dotted with darker anthers. Regarding Crocus corms being eaten by squirrels, my solution has been to plant bulbs very deep, and covering with a good 2" mulch of pine bark. I have bevies of squirrels burying acorns from nearby oaks, digging holes evey few inches on center, but I have not lost a single crocus planting from such diggings. I don't fuss with wire cages to plant the corms in either, because the deep planting seems to do the trick. Perhaps the deep planting also adds to the hardiness of these crocus, as some are rated as USDA zone 6 or 7, yet they survive my zone 5 just fine. In spite of several nights of deep freezing, many of these autumn crocus continue to push up blooms, as does Colchicum cupanii and Cyclamen cilicium which continue unabated. Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5 ============================================== >> web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ <