Three easy autumn blooming crocuses

Here are three crocuses blooming here today; shown here are, top to bottom, Crocus kotschyanus "my acuminate form", Crocus longiflorus and Crocus goulimyi. Each of these is well adapted to local conditions. Crocus kotschyanus is perhaps the most widely sold autumn crocus - and almost always the least expensive. However, many of the forms in commerce are not worth having because they either do not bloom freely, or, if they do bloom, they produce malformed flowers.
The form of Crocus kotschyanus shown here I'm calling "my acuminate form" because the forms of Crocus kotschyanus usually grown do not have prominently acuminate tepals (acuminate here refers to the points at the tips of the tepals). The history of this plant is discussed briefly here:
http://mcwort.blogspot.com/2008/10/crocus-kotschyanus-with-acuminate.html

The second image shows Crocus longiflorus, a species worth growing for its fragrance.

The third image shows Crocus goulimyi. This species did not become widespread in cultivation until relatively recently, perhaps within the last thirty years, and when stocks began to be available there were complaints that it lacked cold hardiness. It's from southwestern Greece. As things turned out, at least in this garden it's probably the autumn -blooming crocus best adapted to our conditions.

These autumn blooming crocuses are a fleeting presence in the garden, and heavy rain can quickly destroy the flowers. But a patch of them blooming in a sunny spot in the late garden, especially the very fragrant ones, is an invitation to lie down, stretch out on the ground and enjoy the pleasure they have to offer.  

Crocus longiflorus

Most gardeners seem to be vaguely aware that autumn crocuses exist, but few seem to realize that they have a long season of bloom; in mild years they bloom right up into the season of the earliest of what we usually think of as winter blooming crocuses. Some forms, such as Crocus laevigatus, have forms which seem to straddle the distinction we try to make between autumn and winter flowering crocuses. With a bit of cold frame protection, it’s possible to have an unbroken succession of crocuses of various sorts in flower from late September until well into February or early March.

The one shown here, Crocus longiflorus, has long been a favorite here. It’s known for its fragrance, a quality it shares with many other crocuses. Fifty years ago, when I was first learning my crocuses, this plant was not readily available, and my eventual acquisition of a few corms was a highlight of my gardening year at the time. At the time I grew Crocus speciosus, C. sativus and C. kotschyanus; I regarded the acquisition of C. longiflorus as a big step into the seemingly ever widening world of lesser known crocuses.

The Last Day of the Year

As the weather allows, I’m still working out in the garden. Temperatures today reached the mid-forties and it was sunny. Ordinarily that would be good weather for garden work, but today the wind was terrific and relentless. I spent about two hours in the early afternoon working with the plants in the protected cold frame. It was good to see that many of the Narcissus of the cantabricus-romieuxii sorts are budded and should be in bloom soon. Two of the tazettas, 'Ziva' and Narcissus pachybolbus, have scapes up, too.

There are fresh flowers of Crocus ochroleucus in one of the unprotected frames, and some Crocus longiflorus on their last leg are still colorful. All of the fall-blooming crocuses were plated very late this year, and so in effect I lost this year of bloom (although some are still trying).

Tomorrow I’ll do the official New Year’s Day count. I’m not expecting much: the temperature is expected to drop into the low 20s F by morning.

Lycoris aurea of commerce has produced a thick clump of foliage this year, and that’s raising hopes that it might bloom next fall. This grows in the protected frame: the foliage will typically not survive our winters in the open ground. Several of these have been acquired from various sources during the last two years; they all agree in having yellow-green foliage. The plants grown in the past had much darker foliage. All of this adds to the anticipation of the first flowers.