On 27 Oct 2009, at 11:17, Jim McKenney wrote: > . . . in bloom, if you can call it that, is that very annoying form of Crocus > kotschyanus which produces deformed flowers of a pale gray-white. Over the years > (and it’s been around for decades: don’t the growers ever look at these things > when they bloom?) I’ve bought this as Crocus zonatus and C. zonatus albus. If > forms comparatively large, knobby corms . . . When I first had my own garden to play in, nearly 35 years ago now (how time flies when you're having fun!), I bought C. "zonatus", probably from Dutch stock in a local garden center, and received a somewhat different form: small flowers, but not deformed. The flowers were, iirc (if I recall correctly), about the size of those of C. ochroleucus. Shortly after moving to my present place in 1988, I again bought C. "zonatus" and that time received the same form you are moaning about. It's clearly very badly virused, so much so that I'd rogue it out if I still had it. At this late date I can't recall if that's what I did or whether it decided my heavy damp soil wasn't to its liking and took care of the matter on its own. These days I have a very fine form of C. kotschyanus derived from a naturalized stand of them here. The flowers are as large as those of any crocus, and given how it's spread where naturalized, it's clearly fertile, though I haven't seen seed capsules I can attribute to it. The flowers are pale lilac, but in some lights (i.e. late afternoon) may appear almost pink. The color varies, but so far no pure white form has arisen. So there is hope for you, Jim. A decent form of C. kotschyanus does indeed exist. Perhaps to commemorate your travail we should assign the cultivar name 'McKinney Deformation' to that badly virused version of what is actually a very nice crocus. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island http://maps.google.ca/maps/…