New Seed list~World Premiere
Author: Gary BuckleyContributor(s): Hill View Rare Plants
Published on: Sep 16, 2002
As promised, regular readers of Alpine and Bulbs now have first digs on Marcus Harvey's Seed List.
By now we have all had time to prepare in advance our seed frames or screes. Remember, each packet will include 25 or more seeds unless indicated on the individual item. Germination and ongoing cultivation notes will be included with each item. I hope that there is something in this catalogue that fits into your personal "must have" list of plants and tempts a try..
September, 2002 Marcus Harvey's Hill View Rare Plants 400 Huon Road South Hobart Tasmania, 7004 Australia. Phone: (03) 6224 0770
mailto:hillview400@hotmail.com
For overseas customers: . All prices are in Australian dollars. . I can accept cheques in all Western European, Canadian, American, Japanese and New Zealand currencies but please use the current exchange rate. . Just write a personal cheque and add A$7.00 for bank charges to convert funds to Australian dollars. . I can also accept international postal money orders or international money orders.
Currency conversions: http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Seed List 2002/2003
Hill View is a small mail order nursery specialising in bulbous plants and this list is mainly the result of a seed collecting trip through the Mediterranean earlier this year. A high degree of confidence is placed on the identification and provinence of nearly all the items on offer and many of these will not be readily available elsewhere. There is a strong emphasis on crocus and fritillaria with an additional list of choice selections from Tasmania's flora.
Growing from seed may seem like an unassailable challenge to the novice however many of the species listed here germinate freely and quickly and there are some important advantages in raising a batch of plants from scratch. The grower gets to know better each species' requirements as well as having the opportunity to develop and hone one's gardening skills and has a range of individual plants from which to select superior forms and try in various garden situations - all at a fraction of the cost of a smaller batch of purchased bulbs.
One packet will include 25 or more seeds unless indicated on the individual item. Germination and ongoing cultivation notes will be included with each item. I hope that there is something in this catalogue that fits into your personal "must have" list of plants and tempts a try.
COLCHICUM:
A large and diverse genus which includes autumn, winter and spring flowering species. Superficially similar to crocus in flower shape though restricted in colour from white to pink and rosier hues. Not given the attention they deserve, in Australia at least, mainly because the available garden hybrids have large flabby leaves. This list includes some really splendid plants which don't present this problem to the gardener.
COLCHICUM BIVONAE Mt Taygetos, Lakonia, Greece. 1000m Large heavily tessellated rosy purple bell-shaped blooms in autumn. Widely distributed in southern Europe and into western Turkey and one of the best. $5.00
COLCHICUM BURTII Honaz Dag, Denizli, Turkey. 1200m Early spring flowering species with broadly star-shaped white to lilac flowers with striking black anthers. Narrow recurved spreading leaves. $8.00
COLCHICUM ? CUPANII Nafpaktos, Sterea Ellada, Greece. 800m Not seen in flower so this is an educated guess. A widespread dainty autumn flower with pale pink to deep purple-pink funnel to star-shaped flowers, purple-brown anthers. $6.00
COLCHICUM GRAECUM Mt Parnassos, Sterea Ellada, Greece. 1000m Mid-sized funnel-shaped, un-tessellated pink flowers in autumn followed by broad short leaves. $5.00
COLCHICUM ? LIGULATUM Mt Parnitha, Attiki, Greece. Not sure on this but strap-like to oblong leaves and sheathing 'neck' on black-brown corm appears to match. Mid-size funnel to cup-shaped autumn flowers of pale to deep rosy pink, sometimes faintly tessellated. $6.00
COLCHICUM PARNASSICUM Mt Parnassos, Sterea Ellada, Greece. 1750m A recently discovered species found only on Parnassos and one other adjacent mountain. Pale pink broadly campanulate flowers in autumn, erect lance-like leaves later. $5.00
COLCHICUM SFIKASIANUM Nr Agios Fokas, Mani, Greece. 50m Allied to C. lingulatum but has a smaller corm and broader leaves. Deep purple-pink autumn flowers somewhat campanulate in shape and faintly tessellated. Endemic to the Peleponnese though fairly abundant there. $6.00
COLCHICUM ? STEVENII Mt Falakro, Drama, Greece. 1100m Unsure of this collection, could be C. lingulatum as the remnant leaves were broader and slightly twisted but I will stick with C. stevenii at present. Bright rosy-pink goblet in autumn. $7.00
COLCHICUM TROODII Elali, Antalya, Turkey. 1200m Autumn to winter flowering species with somewhat spreading narrow grey-green leaves and a succession of pale purple to pink starry flowers. $8.00
COLCHICUM ? TURCICUM Lake Abant, Bolu, Turkey. 1100m Not absolutely certain on this collection either but in the right area. Has extended sheathing 'neck' to the corm, fairly strap-like erect foliage twisted at the apex. Red-purple narrowly campanulate flowers in autumn. (20 seeds) $6.00
COLCHICUM VARIEGATUM Ambelos, Samos, Greece. 1000m A strikingly beautiful autumn-flowering species from western Turkey and the adjacent Agean islands. Solid heavily chequered flowers in rich reddish-purple and white with starkly contrasting black anthers followed by neat wavy ground-hugging grey-green leaves. $6.00
CROCUS:
A wonderfully diverse genus bearing their goblet and cup shaped flowers from early autumn right through to spring in a riot of colours. Here in southern Australia they present no problems in germination and can be easily grown in the garden given sensible siting and soil conditions.
CROCUS ABANTENSIS Lake Abant, Bolu, Turkey. The incomparable blue crocus found only at this one location. Broad thickly textured flowers in striking mid to deep lapis blue with yellow throats in mid spring. Grows in short damp turf in a cool wetter area of Turkey so should do well. An exquisite beauty which is rarely collected. Here's a chance for super fresh seed. $8.00
CROCUS BIFLORUS ssp CREWII Denizli, Turkey. From collections made on Honaz Dag and Kizilijilabuk. A rarely collected member of the biflori group that for many years was confused with the Green autumn flowered C.b ssp melantherus. A large spring flowering species always white with variable exterior stippling and striping. (15 seeds) $8.00
CROCUS BIFLORUS ssp MELANTHERUS Arcadia, Peleponnese, Greece. 800m An endemic race confined to the central and north of the Peleponnese and only one of two autumn flowering species in this group. Fine upright goblets always white with variable exterior markings and shares with C.b ssp crewii striking dark maroon anthers. $5.00
CROCUS BILFORUS ssp PULCHRICOLOR Ulu Dag, Bursa, Turkey. 1500m A spring flowering race producing a succession of deep violet blue, yellow throated goblets from tiny corms. Easy in the garden and a real eye-catcher. $5.00
CROCUS BILFORUS ssp PULCHRICOLOR x CROCUS CHRYSANTHUS Ulu Dag, Bursa, Turkey. 1000m Seed collected on Ulu Dag in the lower meadows where Tony Willis* reported observing a mixed population of C.b ssp pulchricolor, C. chrysanthus and their hybrids. Should be interesting! $6.00 *Crocus Group bulletin no. 26, Summer 1998.
CROCUS BORYI Taygetos Mts., Peleponnese, Greece. 1200m Large creamy white goblets with striking orange-red feathery styles in the autumn. This collection is at considerable altitude for this species which appears to have a much wider range than at first determined (20 seeds). $6.00
CROCUS CANCELLATUS ssp MAZZIARICUS Several collections in the Saronic Gulf islands, Attica and the Taygetos Mts. in the Peloponnese considered so similar to not be worth splitting. This autumn flowering taxa has the largest blooms in its group and considered to have the most ornamental value. Nearly always white in these lower parts of it's range though often darkly veined. $4.00
CROCUS CARTWRIGHTIANUS Collections from Serifos, Cyclades and Marathon, Attica, Greece at low altitude. A spectacular autumn flowering species variable in either white or lilac with massive lolling bright scarlet styles. Most plants in cultivation come from much earlier collections so a chance at some fresh 'blood'. $7.00
CROCUS CHRYSANTHUS Mt Parnassos, Sterea Ellada, Greece. 800m A widely distributed species from Albania, the Balkans into central Turkey. At its most southerly stations here. Beautiful bright yellow flowers with large thickly textured segments in late winter. The "unimproved" parent of many of the garden hybrids. $6.00
CROCUS GARGARICUS ssp HERBERTI Ulu Dag, Bursa, Turkey. 1700m Produces a blaze of bright orange goblets in spring and once established will increase its early season splash of colour through its stoloniferous habit. Only known from here, the type race only growing at Goktepe in Mugla province in a much drier habitat. $8.00
CROCUS HADRIATICUS Arcadia, Peleponnese, Greece. 800m Another striking autumn flowering Greek species found growing alongside C.b melantherus here in Virgil's Paradise! Glistening white with a hint of deep yellow in the throat and erect scarlet styles. A lovely thing. $6.00
CROCUS HADRIATICUS ssp PARNASSICUS Mt Parnassos, Sterea Ellada, Greece. 800m The white throated variant of the type found on Mt. Parnassos and it's hinterlands. I have found lilac forms here and white throated forms on the Peleponnese - maybe the taxonomy is more complex than our present understanding. $6.00
CROCUS HADRIATICUS ? ssp PARNASSICUS Likoriki to Amfissa, Sterea Ellada, Greece. 1000m Here is a collection for the students of the genus, will they have yellow throats or not ?? Close enough to Mt Parnassos to ask the obvious intriguing question. $6.00
CROCUS LAEVIGATUS Nr Karystos, Evia, Greece. 50m Late autumn to winter flower only found in Greece and some of it's islands. Variable over its range in flower size, shape and colouring. In this area the tendency is towards large white to lilac flowers boldly stripped metallic purple externally. $6.00
CROCUS LONGIFLORUS ex M. Salmon Collection A lovely and very easy autumnal species from Italy and Malta. These are from Monte Stella, Calabria, Italy. Large, delightfully scented lilac to deeper purple flowers over an extended period. Some albinos have been produced in this tribe. $4.00
CROCUS NIVEUS Kosmos, Mani, Greece. 800m Autumnal chalices in either pure white or faintly bicoloured with lilac. An unusual collection because of the uncharacteristically high altitude and also the locality, this species being most commonly found in the central "Prong" of the Peleponnese at lower levels. $5.00
CROCUS OCHROLEUCUS LARGE FORM ex Tel Aviv Botanical Gardens, Israel. A white flowered autumnal species from Israel and Jordan generally known for it's small starry flowers. This form is so large and substantial it could be mistaken at a glance for albino forms of C. pulchellus.$4.00
CROCUS OLIVIERI ssp OLIVIERI Lakonia, Peloponnese, Greece. 750m Widespread spring-flowering type species found in scattered populations below 1500 metres right across the Balkans, Greece and northern Turkey. Bright orange flowers devoid of external markings, open radar dish flat to the sun. $5.00
CROCUS OLIVERI ssp OLIVIERI Lake Abant, Bolu, Turkey. The Turkish form of the same species found here growing on the drier stonier slopes not occupied by the moisture seeking C. abantensis. $6.00
CROCUS OLIVERI ssp BALANSAE Samos, Agean Islands, Greece. 1000m Similar to the type but has broader more erect leaves and flowers are attractively striped or suffused purplish brown. Rarely collected so here is a chance for some fresh seed. $6.00
CROCUS PALLASII ssp PALLASII Samos, Agean Islands, Greece. 1000m Large pale lilac sometime almost white flowers with bright red styles. Found growing in cracks on flat limestone slabs with Iris sp. and Colchicum variegatum. Will need a dry summer rest. $6.00
CROCUS PALLASII ssp PALLASII Kiziljilabok, Denizli, Turkey. 1100m Found growing here with C. baytopiorum and Colchicum burtii on stony slopes above and within breaks in the pines. $6.00
CROCUS PULCHELLUS Ulu Dag, Bursa, Turkey. 1200m Large elegant autumn goblets of lavender blue with a touch of yellow in the throat. Here on Ulu Dag there appears to be a high percentage of albinos which make equally beautiful garden plants. $4.00
CROCUS SIEBERI ssp ATTICUS Pendelikon, Attiki-Pireas. 800m Type race from the locus classicus rarely collected and thus barely in cultivation. Restricted primarily to the mountains around Athens it has coarsely netted corms, broad leaves and wholly lilac-blue or violet spring flowers with a yellow throat. $5.00
CROCUS SIEBERI ssp NIVALIS Lakonia, Peleponesse, Greece. 1000m Mathew has given subspecies rank to this race which grows at higher levels in the Taygetos Mountains. He makes the distinction between this and the closely proximate C.s ssp sublimis on the basis of a smooth throat and slight differences in the tunic. My experience is that it is the largest flowered, consistently darkest and easiest to grow of all the tribe. $5.00
CROCUS SIEBERI ssp SUBLIMIS Mt Parnassas, Sterea Ellada, Greece. 1200m The most widespread race of this group bearing lilac blue flowers with yellow throats in early spring. An easy and rewarding species and a must for the novice seed raiser. $5.00
CROCUS SIEBERI ssp SUBLIMIS forma TRICOLOR Mt Chelmos, N. Peleponeese, Greece. 1200m Striking variant form found around the areas of Mt Chelmos and Mt Killini. Large spring blooms of the richest lilac-blue with deep yellow throats surrounded by a white halo. $5.00
CROCUS SIEBERI ssp SUBLIMIS x CROCUS VELUCHENSIS Mt Parnassos, Sterea Ellada, Greece. 1600m A collection made at a higher station in the exact area where Alan Edwards found and photographed a population of very beautiful hybrids between these two species. Some of these had large, exquisitely shaped blooms in white or pearly white. Check this out for yourselves. AGS Bulletin, September 1998, p.362. Crème de la crème ! $7.00
CROCUS THOMASII ex M Salmon Coll. in Southern Italy. Native to there and the Adriatic coast. Large mid to deep lilac flowers in autumn superficially resembling C. cartwrightianus with its striking bright scarlet styles and broadly spreading petals. $6.00
CROCUS TOURNEFORTII Serifos, Cyclades, Greece. 50m A close relative of C. boryi and C. laevigatus this delightful species never 'puts it's feet' on mainland Greece choosing to hop the islands instead. Wide open lilac blue flowers deeply veined violet with a yellow throat and frothy orange stigma in mid autumn. $7.00
More offerings to follow in our next Article due out today.
Enjoy Marcus and Gary.