Fall Crocus
Jane McGary (Sat, 16 Oct 2010 17:34:35 PDT)

Arnold wrote,.00

Like many other Crocus species, and indeed like many bulbs, C.
speciosus grows naturally in turf, so it has the support of grasses
and other plants around it when in flower. My old garden (still for
sale!!) has a nice group of it that comes up through the prostrate
gray-leaved heather 'Sister Anne'.

I think that crocuses naturally flop over, rain or no rain, once
they've been pollinated and no longer need to hold up their flowers
to attract bees. They have no stem above ground (only a floral tube);
the seeds generally develop below the soil surface and in some
species pop up on a short stem once ripe.

Crocus speciosus is indeed a wonderful, widely adapted plant, but
it's hard to acquire because of its fall-blooming habit, which means
it doesn't ship along with all the other Dutch-grown bulbs. There are
several named varieties, such as 'Conquest', 'Oxonian', and
'Cassiope', and one I have from Janis Ruksans is called 'Lakeside
Beauty'. Among American suppliers, they can sometimes be had from
McClure and Zimmerman.

Mine, at the moment, are flowering in a pot, and I'm waiting for the
irrigation installer to finish his trenching next week so I can know
where I can plant almost anything.

Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA