[pbs] Crocus speciosus cultivars
Jane McGary
janemcgary at earthlink.net
Sat Oct 21 13:44:25 EDT 2006
Crocus speciosus is the one fall crocus I always recommend for general
garden use here in the Pacific Northwest and for planting elsewhere in
North America, since it's tolerant of summer water and cold winters. In the
garden I have 'Cassiope', 'Conqueror', 'Oxonian', 'Artabir', and 'Albus'. I
also have a pot of 'Lakeside Beauty', a Janis Ruksans selection that I'm
trying to bulk up. All of them persist well and, because I plant them near
the house where there are fewer rodents, they don't get eaten too often.
They also self-sow.
John Grimshaw wrote, "The great fault of C. speciosus is that its flowers
soon fall over, but in
>any sort of still weather they stay up for several days and give a glorious
>effect."
I wonder if this falling over, which also occurs in Colchicum, happens when
the flower is pollinated? It would make sense: once it's done its job,
there is no reason for a flower to keep standing and attracting pollinators
that otherwise would visit other flowers of the same species. Falling over
would seem to be a strategy for increasing the number of flowers on a
clone, or in a local population, that are pollinated and produce seeds.
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA
More information about the pbs
mailing list