Crocus minimus id verification
Rodger Whitlock (Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:14:55 PST)

On 30 Jan 2013, at 10:45, Bulborum Botanicum wrote:

No need to phone. The Dutch bulb trade has earned, quite justifiably, a very
bad reputation for silent substitutions of cultivars. Plant a supposed blue
flamed crocus (C. isauricus 'Spring Beauty') and you will ge a blue flamed
crocus of some sort, but it may very well be some other cultivar or species
with the right general look. C. minimus, for example, in this case.

I've seen this happen so many times over so many years that it isn't due to
accidents. I suspect it's because the demand for many forms is considerably
greater than the supply, so the wholesalers, loath to let a sale go by for lack
of stock, do the substitution quite knowingly.

If you look into the pages of the AGS bulletin from abt. 1950 when the Dutch
bulb trade was getting back on its feet after the War, you will find vociferous
complaints of exactly the same tenor. Nothing has changed in 63 years. As I
say, not an accident.

And this substitution is NOT due to careless customers "mixing the bulbs".
Almost all dry bulbs sold in late summer and early autumn come pre-packaged now
and no substitution is possible at the consumer level.

One might as well buy the very cheap mixed bulbs of various categories from
Walmart. At least you won't be overly surprised when they come up.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Z. 7-8, cool Mediterranean climate