From the category archives:

Colchicums

‘Zephyr’

September 14, 2004

I actually purchased this from Odyssey Bulbs in 2002. It bloomed nicely that fall, and if I remember correctly, the leaves came up in spring. But after that, it was no more. Since I planted that first one, I’ve come to realize two things. The first is that the ell of the house, where I [...]

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Colchicum speciosum ‘Ordu’

September 10, 2004

Sigh. Whenever I see this flower, I immediately think of a ballerina, slender and graceful, with a touch of pink. According to Russell Stafford, ‘Ordu’ is “the hardiest C.speciosum cultivar, named after the Turkish district whence it came.” And yet, I can’t help thinking of the enchantress Orddu from the Prydain Chronicles created by Lloyd [...]

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‘Violet Queen’

September 10, 2004

Colchicum ‘Violet Queen’ is also blooming now. It started a day or two after ‘Autumn Queen.’ Last year, ‘Violet Queen’ and ‘Autumn Herald’ bloomed at the same time. This year, VQ is blooming its head off, and AH has yet to make an appearance. I sure hope it’s not a goner. This year, I cut [...]

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Colchicum autumnale ‘Album’

September 10, 2004

This is the tiniest colchicum in my collection. I just got it in this autumn’s order from Odyssey Bulbs, and it was in full bud in the bag, a bit surprising since both Bowles and Russell Stafford say it blooms later than the straight species. I hope, as Stafford claims in his catalog copy, that [...]

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Autumn Queen, revisited

September 3, 2004

It’s that time of year again–colchicum season. I thought that this year, in addition to talking about my new acquisitions, I would try to focus on the ones I didn’t get around to posting on last year, and avoid deluging you with photos unless they were clearly better than last year’s. And having thus firmly [...]

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Colchicum atropurpureum

January 27, 2004

Yes, colchicums again. Or still. I can’t help it. When I start a project I like to finish it. And the box with all my colchicum books and notes has been banging around first the dining room, and then the living room, for far too long. Ask Collin, who has to clean the dining room, [...]

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Harlequin

November 29, 2003

Colchicum ‘Harlequin’ is apparently new enough that only Odyssey Bulbs, from whom I bought it, has any information on it: “With their pointed, twisted, creamy-white segments, blotched irregularly with purple toward their bases, the flowers (borne in September) of this aptly named and utterly distinctive cultivar really do give the impression of a jester’s hat [...]

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Lilac Wonder

November 21, 2003

The first time Colchicum ‘Lilac Wonder’ bloomed for me, I wondered if perhaps I didn’t plant it deep enough, it flopped so. I think I even made a note to dig it up when dormant and reset it deeper. It’s just as well I didn’t, because, as Bowles describes, “‘Lilac Wonder’ has a very long [...]

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Colchicum bornmuelleri of gardens

October 21, 2003

According to John Bryan in Bulbs, “the plant usually grown under this name is a form of C. speciosum with yellow anthers.” Elsewhere he also says it has a white throat. I’ve looked at the photo of the “true” C. bornmuelleri, and I definitely have the impostor. It has yellow anthers and a white throat, [...]

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Nancy Lindsay

October 18, 2003

Colchicum autumnale ‘Nancy Lindsay’ bloomed quite a while ago. She only threw forth two exquisite blossoms, and I somehow didn’t get out there with a camera in time. It would have been worth it, for Russell Stafford rightly describes her as having “abundant, bright-pink, purple-stemmed blooms . . . in September and October. Vigorous.” Yes, [...]

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The Triplets: Impostor Colchicums

October 18, 2003
Colchicum speciousum

I think of these colchicums as triplets because, even thought they are supposed to be three distinct plants, I can’t tell them apart. In the photos they appear to have more difference in color than they do in real life. The supposed ‘Album’ is in shade when the other two are in sunlight, so I [...]

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Colchicum byzantinum

October 3, 2003

These are the plants that started my fascination with colchicums. They were growing all around some peonies when we moved here. The foliage came up in the spring, very wide, about a foot tall, and bright green. I kept waiting for them to bloom so I could figure out what they were . . . [...]

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Autumn Herald and Violet Queen

September 30, 2003

These were the next two to bloom after ‘Autumn Queen’. ‘Violet Queen’ I’ve had for a while. According to E. A. Bowles in Crocus & Colchicum, which is considered to be the definitive book on colchicums, ‘Violet Queen’ “has long pointed segments closely tesselated [that means checkered] on a bluish lilac ground contrasting pleasantly with [...]

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