Dear All, We haven't heard from Jane McGary so she must be away or busy as she grows quite a few Crocus species. I ordered a few from her surplus list last fall and really enjoyed them. I have had no luck at all with the fall blooming ones staying on in my climate. They bloom the first year and maybe the second and then I never see them again. At least that has been my experience growing them in the ground. I have tried ones that were supposedly Mediterranean in nature, but I've wondered if they just need more early water then they get for me or maybe I don't have enough sun. I'm thinking maybe I'll keep the ones from Jane in containers and start watering them in August and see if that does the trick although I'd rather have them in the ground. When we have discussed this in the past on the old IBS Forum people thought the autumn ones would work better for California. Since Jane isn't responding I am going to repost the topic of the week introduction she made for me when I was doing the old IBS Topic of the Week since it is a very interesting one. Mary Sue Mary Sue asked me to prepare a TOTW introduction on the genus Crocus, but since it's so large, I will just address those of interest at this time of year, the fall-flowering species. Some forum members have mentioned that they don't grow crocuses because they live in very warm areas where the common kinds (derived from C. vernus, C. chrysanthus, and C. biflorus) don't flower well. If you have that problem, you will find fall species that are much better suited to your climate, since many of them come from warm Mediterranean regions and are not very winter-hardy. The remarks about hardiness below reflect my experience growing them where average winter lows are about 12-15 F (around -12 C), with colder spells about every fourth year. I grow all of those mentioned in the open as well as in bulb frames, except for Cc. goulimyi, boryi, laevigatus, longiflorus, nudiflorus, and tournefortii, which do well in unheated bulb frames. The soil in my garden is mostly very well drained, and it gets quite dry in summer except where artificially watered. One problem with obtaining these plants is the fact that they must be shipped earlier than the usual fall-planted bulbs in order to survive well. Therefore, they are expensive and sometimes arrive in bad shape from being stored too long. It is best to order from a firm that will make an early shipment in late summer. All the fall crocuses are lavender-blue or white (except C. scharojanii, a snow-melt species which is very difficult to grow). Most of the blue ones have white forms in cultivation. C. banaticus is the most unusual-looking of all crocuses and has sometimes been placed in its own genus. Its two sets of tepals are very unequal in length, so it looks like a little iris. It comes from Romania and is hardy to about 0 F, and it enjoys deciduous shade. The white form is extremely lovely. C. boryi from the Peloponnese has large, substantial white flowers. It is probably hardy outdoors to about 25 F and increases very slowly for me. C. cancellatus has bright violet flowers with striking dark purple "feather" markings on the exterior. It is a rapid increaser, hardy to perhaps 10 F, and wants a very gritty, scree-type soil, with a dry summer. C. cartwrightianus is believed to be the ancestor of C. sativus (see below). It has smaller flowers, and the scarlet stigma is almost as large as in the Saffron Crocus. The white form is probably more common in cultivation than the type, which is lilac-blue. A warm summer and soil of moderate fertility suit them; they are hardy to at least 10 F. C. goulimyi has a distinctive flower form, more bowl-shaped than goblet-shaped. It is another one from the Peloponnese, and it is not very winter-hardy (despite the claim in catalogs that it is hardy to Z4!). It should be perfect in California. The typical form is soft lavender; there is a beautiful (and expensive) white form. These both increase fairly well. A friend here bought corms under this name from a US distributor which turned out to be C. kotschyanus, a hardier species. C. hadriaticus has several botanical forms and cultivars. Also from the Peloponnese, they are remarkably winter-hardy (to at least 10 F) and extremely floriferous. Most forms are white, but f. lilacinus is flushed lavender. This species self-sows readily and is very easy to raise from seed. C. kotschyanus is present in many gardens, but the form commonly distributed is notoriously shy-flowering; it seems to put all its energy into offsets. There is a white form, also shy-flowering. Two clones, 'Reliant' and one distributed under the collectors' initials JRJK, flower much better, and they also increase reasonably fast. The corms are unmistakable in their very flattened, asymmetrical form. This species is pretty cold-hardy but needs a dry spot, both summer and winter. It has grown here for many years under the south overhang of a deck. C. laevigatus is a true midwinter bloomer from the Greek islands. The one usually grown is the clone 'Fontenayi'. It has bright blue-lavender flowers with darker veins and flowers from about Dec. 1 to Jan. 15. It is a bit hardier than one would expect, but should be grown in pots in most areas, if only to enjoy the flowers indoors at Christmas. I think it would survive outdoors to at least 15 F. for short periods. C. longiflorus has large, very fragrant lavender flowers. It does not offset much and therefore is hard to obtain. C. medius is widely available. It comes from mid elevations in the Italian mountains and is hardy to at least 10 F. The flowers are rich red-violet and very shiny, borne in profusion. 'Millesimo' is purported to be more vigorous than other clones, but seems about the same to me. C. niveus has pure white flowers that are remarkably large. It is moderately hardy (perhaps 10 F) and increases very slowly but usually sets seed. It seems to enjoy a very dry summer dormancy. C. nudiflorus is also large-flowered, and is bright violet. The leaves do not emerge until spring (hence the name), so this is a good choice for colder areas. It is native to alpine meadows and should not dry out too much in summer, but must have excellent drainage. It is another slow increaser. C. ochroleucus from southern Turkey and Lebanon is quite a surprise, having survived -6 F (about -22 C) here. I think it did because it grows very deep in the soil, even though both corms and flowers are small. The flowers appear in late November and persist through all weathers, but only open on sunny days; they are white with a prominent gold base. It increases fast and once established, will probably always be in its site. C. pulchellus is a medium-sized species that is quite easy to grow in temperate gardens. Several clones have been selected, notably 'Zephyr' and 'Michael Hoog'. It increases fast and produces a lot of flowers. It also sets a lot of seed. C. sativus is the Saffron Crocus, grown for the culinary flavoring and dyestuff for millennia. It is a sterile triploid, though several clones undoubtedly exist by now. It has dark-veined purple flowers and the well-known long scarlet style that is the useful bit. It needs a warm summer to flower well and appreciates freshly prepared, rich and gritty soil. It should be planted fairly deeply and divided every third year. C. scharojanii is the only yellow-flowered species. It comes from alpine meadows in the Caucasus and is only rarely seen in cultivation. Mine, grown from wild-collected seed, have not yet flowered, but I do not despair of seeing it someday. It hates disturbance and apparently never becomes fully dormant. C. serotinus has several subspecies; one, subsp. clusii, is sometimes grown as C. clusii. It comes from Spain and Portugal and is moderately winter-hardy (perhaps 10 F), but the leaves are susceptible to frost damage. The flowers are various shades of violet or lavender, with orange stigmas. The corms increase rapidly. C. speciosus is the hardiest fall-flowering species and can be grown in the US Northeast. It is also one of the showiest, with large flowers borne as high as 8 inches from ground level on long tubes, so it can be planted among groundcovers. The first ones are just coming into flower here now, but it mostly blooms from mid-October on. All the named varieties I've tried are vigorous and persistent, including the very striking 'Albus'. It does well in half shade or sun and seems to enjoy a cool soil and water in summer. This is one everybody should try. C. tournefortii, from Mediterranean islands, is unique in that its flowers do not close at night or in dull weather. It is one of the "bluer" fall species, a low-growing plant that increases moderately in a pot in an unheated bulb frame here. The flowers are sweetly fragrant of honey. C. vallicola is distinguished by its white tepals with long threadlike appendages on the tips. It is a Turkish alpine plant and has done well here outdoors on a raised bed in part shade. It increases slowly. Though expensive, it is worth obtaining for its hardiness and tolerance of summer water. Jane McGary Estacada, OR (SE of Portland) Mary Sue Ittner <msittner@mcn.org> California's North Coast Wet mild winters with occasional frost Dry mild summers