AHHH, Yes you are right about C. niveus,. I keep pollen frozen in vials for this very reason. On 2/24/12, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> wrote: > Rick wrote, > today I pollinated C. niveus x C. reticulatus, >>C. tommasianus roseus x C. niveus, Crocus baytopiorum x C. >>chrysanthus 'Blue Pearl' etc etc. >>Just wondering if other members are cross pollinating, and what >>results they may have had. > > You could not have cross-pollinated anything today with Crocus > niveus, because it is fall-blooming. You must have another big white > crocus misidentified (C. malyi?). > > Also, I don't know that C. baytopiorum would cross with 'Blue Pearl' > (which is not C. chrysanthus, but either a selection of C. biflorus > or a hybrid of that with C. chrysanthus) as they are in different > sections and have different chromosome numbers. And if you have > enough C. baytopiorum to work with, you should just self it, because > it is precious. > > Before embarking on a crocus hybridizing project, one should try to > obtain the out-of-print (and ridiculously expensive, if you ever find > it) "The Crocus" by Brian Mathew, which will help one verify the > identity of one's plants in the first place, and understand their > relationships. It is quite startling how many different chromosome > numbers can be found in this genus. Brian Mathew told me he didn't > think crocuses hybridized much, but other experts have told me they > feel that hybrids are somewhat likely in a large collection. I think > I have had volunteer hybrids in Section Crocus, with C. > cartwrightianus as the seed parent. > > Jane McGary > Portland, Oregon, USA > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >