Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Autumn Crocus (Crocus goulimyi)



Autumn Crocus
Crocus goulimyi
(KROH-kus) (goul-LIM-yee-eye)

This was growing in the Alpine house at Wave Hill. It looked so delicate. I am fimiliar with the False Autumn Crocus (Colchicum speciosum) but I hadn’t seen this native of Southern Greece before. The bulbs were planted in a small clay pot that was sunk in gravel. I looked them up on the net and found out that they like to grow over limestone. They are often found growing in old abandoned fig and olive orchards. I couldn’t find how hardy these are but one site did say they will grow in the UK with winter protection. I guess that leaves growing them in Connecticut pretty much out.


I am going to be planting quite a few bulbs next week. I have order a couple hundred of mixed Muscari, some Daffodils, 200 Giant Crocus, Globemaster Allium and even a few Tulips. I ordered most of the stuff from White Flower Farm in Litchfield, Connecticut. They didn’t have many Tulips left but I was able to snag 24 really nice ones. The customer wanted something funky and I ordered some weird ones. This surprised me because I though she was much more of a traditionalist. It is funny because I hadn’t planted any Tulips in years because of the deer problem. Boy do the deer ever love Tulips. I once had them breaking down some temporary fencing that I put up to eat every last bulb. It is a luxury to have two fenced in yards to work in. I am planting 350 Tulips at another house with some Azaleas!

Here is an abstract of the Crocus.

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