RARE BULB NURSERY. LATVIA
by Dr. Janis Ruksans & Liga Popova

Now some crocuses blooming now in my greenhouse.

Some of unusual reticulata iris hybrids raised by Alan Mc'Murtrie and grown by me.

Two days ago I returned from Portugal trip. Unfortunately I got some flu and only yesterday for few minutes visited greenhouse for some pictures. In this entry some Crocus korolkowii seedlings of unusual colour. Possibly they are hybrids. All were marked last spring.

Regardless of minus 13 C outside I'm not out of crocuses. I'm shortening time which will be needed in summer. I'm always at collecting and harvesting collecting corm tunics, too. Now is time to open small packets, to check them and to make pictures + description on matrix, used for each sample. Now I'm working on last seasons Iranian gatherings. Between corm shells in one packet I found excellent seed pod, collected in Iran, so it was possible to add picture of seed pod and seeds and to describe them in my notes. Will it be new species or will be identified as Crocus iranicus, without leaves and flowers I can't judge now. This stock was observed on steep slope growing in dense grass near very large Anemone field of various colours. Seeds were cleaned and sawn. Fortunately I had several pots with soil prepared for some unexpected or late coming seeds. Pots were frozen but I brought them into cool veranda, where they defrosted, saw the seeds and several times put on top large snowball - to water seeds with snow-melt water, as it happens in nature. Some are telling that this stimulates germination. I don't know, but it is easy way when you have outside 35 cm of snow. View to one part of garden this morning on the last picture.

After ~50 years finally officially published name of Tulipa sp. discovered by me in Kazakhstan - Tulipa berkariensis - see p. 26-39 of International Rock Gardening, # 109, January, 2019.

see link: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Jan241548361044IRG109January2019.pdf

Here started real winter. A night before temperature dropped down to minus 24 C at my locality. Wonderful view outside - see attached pictures - flowers designed by frost and sun only.
Inside greenhouse - you can see my bulb house for potted plants on 2nd picture - temperature during night dropped to minus 13 C only. The "warm" was kept in due snow cover on roof. All beds are covered now with glass-wool and below cover at top of pots (below crocus leaves) temperature still is around +1 C, but at bottom of pots +2 C, so I'm still not worried. All the day temperature stayed at around minus 14 C, but in late evening and during last night was some "warming" and temperature didn't fell below minus 7 C. You can see covered crocus beds in my earlier entries, so I not repeat them here.
The 3rd picture shows outside fields. Snow level is good - more than 20 cm and only tops of sticks separating stocks and hare footprints are visible.

Servers of my home-page were attached and for 3 days it was impossible to open it, but this morning everything is repaired and again works. A little changed layout - the basket now opens on left side of screen instead of top as it was before, but there are no problems now with ordering and registering.

We here had snowing and snowing during last days - already twice our entry road was cleaned from excessive snow and temperature is slowly dropping, tonight we had minus 7 C, for next night even minus 13 offered, then something less but still around minus 5-7 C. Of course nothing blooms. In greenhouse when it is sun - temperature rises up to + 10 C, but everything is covered and below cover at top of pots is +0.5-1.0 C, at pot bottom + 1.5-2 C. Some days ago I returned glass-wool sheets to protect against harder frosts.

I hope that in March will be possible to open covering, because I announced OPEN DOOR days 16-17 th of March. Usually most of crocuses then are in flowers. Last year we had around 800 visitors and everyone will be welcome this year, too.

Today I got nice mail from Germany with attached photo of pink Crocus alatavicus (I'm attaching it here). In 2017 I sent abroad 2 corms of it - one was sent to Japan, another to Germany. With me left the smallest from 3 what I had. This picture inspired me to visit greenhouse where some days ago I took of the cover, because in became too warm below it. Today in greenhouse was + 4 C (outside +1-2 C). Checking my pot with my corm of pink alatavicus I found 2 noses just-just at soil surface, so I hope again for 2 corms this season. But most of crocuses still are sleeping. Only one more flower of C. caspius came out, started blooming one acquisition of C. laevigatus and still are blooming C. cartwrightianus cretense, laevigatus, pumilus and few boryi. From so named spring bloomers - only 2 pots with hittiticus - others only showed tips of leaves. Last year at this time they were in full bloom. Leaves of mine newly published C. hatayensis at present are around 20 cm long, whilst kotschyanus just just show noses on few pots. Weather broadcast warns about dropping of temperature up to minus 12 after 2 days, so after tomorrow most likely again will cover plantings. Frost wave will be around one week and then again + temperatures are announced for most of January.

One of my customers seeing that his orders number on home page is around 950, asked me about chances to get ordered bulbs. But it is not so dramatically.

On homepage you can see total number of orders since I started my homepage some years ago and finished editing of printed catalogues. Computer simply gives new numbers in line as they comes from the very start. After receiving of order by e-mail, I’m registering it manually on another program which is not joined with home-page and there I’m giving numbers from start of season. Every new season starts with number 001. Number’s 000 are given to those who remained in debt or paid more than necessary in previous year. When new order came from this customer, the number is changed (actualized) but on invoice is  included debt  or credit from previous season. At peak of my activities I served up to 250 orders in season, now I try to limit at 100-130 – depends from orders size for not to exceed limit of income allowed to keep small nursery status and simpler book-keeping. Last year I stopped accepting of orders at end of April and had slightly more than 100 orders only. It allowed for me to despatch orders already in June-July. I’m now in 73 year and not more so powerful and I’m working only by myself using some help only to make soil mixes and some other heavy jobs or watering and fertilizing when I’m out of home in mountains.

Oh those weather broadcasts. I more and more can accept laws from Medieval times who weather predictors punished with death... I'm usually checking 3 companies from which most trustable (and most acceptable ) seem to be meteoblue. Most horrible prognosis usually came from Russia on Gismeteo site. Not so horrible, but not so nice as meteoblue comes from yr.no.
Meteoblue predicts that next week temperature could drop for some nights down to minus 7 C, yr.no - down to -9-10 whilst gismeteo - minus 15-19 C. All my beds were open from winter cover. Again to cover with glass-wool? Heavy job and not the nicest. Then I remembered that my Estonian friend and bulb grower Sulev Savisaar told me, that he covers his outside crocus beds where are planted species forming leaves in autumn  for winter  with plastic film used for protection against night frosts. With such cover he protects such species as Crocus goulimyi, which with me (not using such protection) invariably died in winter.
So yesterday I went to my local farmer-shop and bought 160 meters of 1.6 m wide night-frost protection film. It is very light and not expensive at all. So on attached pictures you can see how looks my Crocus beds now. On second picture you can see how this film covers very long leaves formed already by C. goulimyi, niveus, tournefortii etc.
On last picture thermometer showing temperatures - "in" on screen means temperature of air in greenhouse; "out" - is temperature between pots. I bought 4 such thermometers (they are quite expensive - almost same sum as I paid for night frost film) and each shows different temperatures, but difference is not larger than +/- 0.5 C.

Seems that it is the most silent time in crocus greenhouses. Everything and everyone fell in winter sleep...
Less than month ago following meteo-news about coming of hard frost from East with temperature falling down to minus 18 C, after 2 nights with temperatures minus 10-12, I called help from friends and we covered all beds for winter (picture 1) - but frost didn't came. When I again checked temperatures - below cover was +5, in greenhouse +2 C. So again sounded alarm call for help and all covers were removed (picture 2).
In the pause I built up small shed just side by side with greenhouse, for not to bring covering sheets long distance. So now again I'm waiting and ready for new frost wave. At present only dropping of temperature down to minus 7-8 C at weekend and for short time is forecasted. So crocuses are again exposed. On pictures green leaves on left side are Sternbergias, further seedlings. On the right side - the green masses are formed by leaves of autumn blooming crocuses. Still some boryi, laevigatus, melantherus, pumilus, and spring hittiticus are in flowers. In front part the green blotches are from some Ornithogalums, Muscari and some other runners.
But I used the time for ordering garden notes, preparing of research program for following season, and, of course maid new catalogue. Last summer I re-potted almost all my pot grown plants (only reticulata irises were not repotted) and in total it was 9000 pots! Incredible number. I started in May and finished in October. Looking back I can’t understand, how it was possible to offer to my customers every year at least 600 items, sometimes even 700. Now, when I made this current list, at first approach it again reached 600, but I gave me strong rule - not more than 400 items and then started very difficult task - shortening of list. What to stripe out - to be or not to be - that is the question. Total number of grown samples still exceed 6000, so you can image how much still left outside. New offer will be open on my home page 22nd of December - just before Christmas, and it is my Christmas present to all bulb and especially Crocus lovers.
But before New Year, most likely at Christmas, new Crocus species from me will be published in International Rock Gardener.

YESTERDAY I FINISHED REPOTTING! So left only to plant mine own tulip cultivars which hadn't place in my large greenhouse and will be planted in the ground. I will start this on Monday when I will have helper to dig rows and to fix in soil wooden sticks separating stocks. Soil is hard and heavy hammer is needed to do this but I have some irritation in my right hands elbow and I can't do this by myself. During last 4 months more than 9000 pots were taken out of beds, taken off bulbs, corms etc and then again filled with substrate and placed on my rised beds - each pot 2-3+ kg in weight. Still left place for 15 pots as some corms/bulbs still didn't come from abroad, but I hope to get them next week. But yesterday it was possible to use second half of day with sun for pictures and here the first of them (some really were fantastic and surprised even myself).

The first is Crocus gilanicus from Iran. In several places it is growing together with some of Crocus speciosus group as you can see on 2nd picture where at planting was not noted difference in corms - both are collected in same place at altitude 2073 m. I still didn't compare this "speciosus" with other Iranian's so I can't judge about its status.
Beautifully blooms Crocus ilgazensis - this is really true species just from Ilgaz-dag and it always is carefully hand-pollinated as otherwise ilgazensis can hybridize with pulchellus and several commercial stocks represent such hybrids which by the way are fertile in most cases.
One of the best "speciosus" of course is Crocus ibrahimi from Turkey in Europe. I really can't understand how former botanists overlooked this one regarding it mostly as pulchellus, sometimes as speciosus or as hybrid between both. The last certainly is not truth as no one pulchellus or speciosus were seen in proximity.
Crocus puringii from Ai-Petri yaila Crimea, Ukraine (at this moment occupied by Russia) is another one which surprises me for overlooking in earlier years. It was well known since 1983 that it has completely different chromosome number and their morphology what means that it can't be identified with type C. speciosus, although looks very similar to it by flower (as all speciosus group species - there still are many unidentified and unnamed both in Turkey and Iran, may be even in Greece).

Darkness push inside from greenhouse every day earlier and earlier, so I have more time to sit at computer and can show you some crocuses.

Crocus scharojanii flavus of course suffer from such unusual hot and stay short. Today in greenhouse was + 36 C.

Unusually early started blooming of Crocus dispathaceus.

Crocus hadriaticus is one of brightest white at this moment.

Seem that very hot weather induced appearing of double flowers - here two such curiosities - Crocus turcicus and Crocus cartwrightianus

Today I maid herbarium of fantastical autumn bloomer from Turkey with tiny flowers, tunics as in cancellatus group but with only 3-branched (?) stigma as in pallasii. Makes up to 5 tiny (less than 25 mm long) flowers per corm. There are some other Turkish species, too – description of one is almost finished, two still need some data. Today started blooming one superb Greek crocus from near Macedonia. So I decided to go to Greece in the 2nd half of November and just to Central and North Greece, not to Islands as I planned before.
Returning to Rhizoglyphus mite. I think that I have minor problems (I only once found this mite on single died corm got from ...) for several reasons. At first it is sanitary, then my growing style - repotting and immediate replacing of pots in greenhouse where temperature this summer reached even +54 C. Mite stop increase in temperatures over 25 and dies at 44 C. Pots are kept dry up to temperature falls down in autumn to 10-15 C. But mite again inactivates at such temperatures. So there is very short period when it can increase and damage corms. I agree with Henrik Zetterlund that mite makes damage only together with fungal disease, especially with Fusarium. If your bulbs are healthy - no problems.
More problems I had with Scilla and Muscari, having perennial bulbs. This year I found some bulbs of Scilla armena with mite (?) damage and some of Scilla bifolia looked poor, too. Last year I treated all suspicious pots watering after repotting with 0.2 % solution of Actellic (pirimifos-methyl). Some bulbs in each pot were lost (may be they were more invaded) but those which alive now looked perfect. So this year I replaced acaricide to another - Dimetoat and instead of watering, sprayed with its solution after placing in pot and then covered with soil. I did this to all Scilla, Muscari, Ornithogalum species. I’m joking that I use “mite Novichok” as the medical treatment if you accidentally became poisoned with dimetoate is the same what was used to save life of Skripal in Solsbery.
But weather here is still dry and hot. How looks our waterlilies - you can see in attached foto, they are 1 m over water level in pond. Last summer all the summer water satayed over banks and few rowan trees planted in adjacent meadow died.

Here some cool nights (temperature "only" + 9 C) encouraged start of blooming, but new hot wave is coming from Wednesday. But the reason for this entry is amazing finding in my former garden place. As I wrote before there were some species which were very poor this season and the poorest were Crocus veluchensis (all stocks) and C. banaticus (again all stocks). I repotted them but I'm not sure that there many will come up in spring.

In my old garden still are my bee hives and a week ago I went there for so named "autumn revision" - checking of winter food reserves, taking of last surplus honey (yielded additional 10 kg in average from family) and was really shocked seeing under trees where used potting mix were always deposited two brightest white flowers of C. banaticus albino. By shape they looks as cv. 'Snowdrift'. Unfortunately I hadn't camera with me and when some days later I revisited the place both flowers wilted. I carefully opened soil around dry flower stems. It was absolutely dust dry! No signs of minor moisture. There were in total 3 corms - laying only some 7 cm deep. All abundantly rooted and roots were around 5-6 cm long. Both were carefully together with soil taken out, not damaging roots and carefully potted. Another one confirmation that may be request for moisture during summer rest is not so important as suspected. Excellent crop of pelistericus and scardicus left in greenhouse without watering all the last summer and quite poor crop when they were brought outside and exposed to summer rains in former years. Up to now only one species really benefit from bringing outside was C. abantensis. So for next year I will build up roof over my summer pot deposit place to protect plants from summer rains. Will see the results...

On attached picture seedlings from 'Snowdrift' pictured in greenhouse 2 years ago, most likely at repotting time some corms escaped my attention and were thrown away together with the old used potting mix, but may be they were just cv. 'Snowdrift'.

Here still far too hot for good blooming. Yesterday in greenhouse I had +32, a day before +36 C. Only cyclamens, Acis (autumn leucojums) and some colchicums blooms well. Crocus autranii came out with already wilted tips of flower segments. C. suworovianus came out and end blooming in two days, only some cancellatus last longer, but still not started mass blooming. Next week is offered something cooler and then may be will start  more abundant blooming. By myself I'm still harvesting. Fortunately still left only collection of Alliums (some 300 pots) and Anemone blanda, biflora and Central Asian species. Anemones I watered for the first time yesterday - for tubers will soak up in soil making them larger and easier to repot. Up to now repotted only one new species which I will hope to publish next spring.

But I was really shocked yesterday, when I went to work with my bees in my former nursery place. As you now - I'm repotting crocuses every year and completely changing substrate and even pots. Used soil goes to places in open garden, mostly in grass or in shrubs - to spots where must be raised soil level. Of course, always some bulb/corm escapes, especially when seedlings with tiny bulbs/corms are repotted for the first time. As I wrote before, one of species which mostly suffered from last summers hot was crocus banaticus, It is very possible that this species could be almost lost (will see in spring). Here banaticus is not growable outside, it almost never blooms as cold came too early. And yesterday I spotted two marvellous purest white flowers of banaticus under large oak tree where used soil was scattered. Flowers was intermediate in size between 'First Snow' and 'Snowdrift', so they were seedlings. Both were well marked to be harvested at end of next season and I hope that my
C. banaticus stock will be rebuilt from them. I cross-pollinated both. It only confirms that most likely I was keeping my banaticus too wet in former summers. In wild I collected it under large beach trees where soil in summer must be completely dry and cooler than in greenhouse. May be next summer I will built some roofed place under trees for placing of those crocuses which hate too high temperatures in summer.

Still hadn't time to prepair pictures. May be later today... or tomorrow?

The last day of July. For me it was short relating plants. Outside was 34 C (in greenhouse + 54 C), almost impossible to work, but I was going to buy new pots - just got call from my supplier that new party of Poppelman pots from Germany came - 15x15x20 cm. I just became short with them. By the way I visited TV Studio where was recorded some short talk of me about history of our freedom fighting 30 years ago.
But in early morning hours I finished repotting of current Crocus bed - there were C. tournefortii, hadriaticus, thomasii, oreocreticus, but I started with Cretan pumilus. Crop of those were more or less good. Some losses between hadriaticus and again mostly between stocks bought from other growers in West. From mine own gatherings I was mostly disappointed with so named C. hadriaticus form from near vil. Papigo near Vikos Canyon in NW Greece. It is most beautiful, comparatively dwarf form, but the worth grower from all hadriaticus. I even suppose that it could be different taxon, but for this is needed further research and comparing. May be this autumn I will revisit locality and surroundings.
Greatest part of crocuses are repotted - left around 15%. Hope to finish at start of the next week. In general left only autumn crocuses, but always appear some mis-placed and earlier unnoticed spring blooming stocks. Today such was my cultivar 'Yalta'. It is very famous crocus seedling got from C. tommasinianus seeds, which I collected during visit to Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Yalta. I donated some 20 corms to Dutch bulbgrower Jan Pennings and he is growing it on few acres and it became most popular and widespread of crocuses raised by me. But I hate its name! Why? The Yalta for all people of Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) associates with Yalta conference where Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt at end of 2nd World War sold Baltic states to "Papa Jo" - Joseph Stalin.  My usual custom was to name cultivars after locality from where they came - so there was given name 'Yalta'. Under such name it is registered and known and I can't more to change its name. At that time I didn't associated it with Yalta Conference (it was during deep Soviet Years when different history was teached in schools).

I want to give you possibility to watch one more fragment from our XXVI national Choir Festival (the first was in 1873). It is fragment from cantata written by Latvian composer Lucia Garuta "God, Your Land is on Fire". It was written in 1944, and the first concerto was in church of St. Gertrude in Riga few days before Soviet Army reoccupied Riga, naming it as "liberation". The church was full and people staying on street. Singed choir of most famous Latvian Singers. Riga was bombed by soviet army, old Riga was in flame. Just after concerto singers runned to the last ship for refugees leaving Riga. The main theme is question to God - why you left us in hands of Eastern barbarians? What we did so bad, that you left us? If you will open link you will hear dramatical music of organ followed by choir who sings " Paternoster ". When I'm singing it and hearing this music I can't stop tears in my eyes, and you will see close-ups of many singers with tears on face (my close-up is at very end - when sounds "Amen". You can watch and hear this small fragment of cantata, which we singed during Festival, following link:

https://replay.lsm.lv/lv/ieraksts/ltv/134940/starpspele-un-lugsana-musu-tevs-no-kantates-dievs-tava-zeme-deg-1943-dziesmu-svetki

Yesterday I started with crocuses from Israel, Syria and Jordan. They grew so well as never before. I never got so huge corms of Crocus ochroleucus, but they formed no one cormlet (forms got from Oron Peri and collected by myself in Israel). Single exception was ochroleucus got from Potterton & Martin - there were many cormlets and main bulbs were smaller, too.
Then followed species from kotschyanus group. Again I was surprised for the long shoots formed by C. cappadocicus - you can see those on attached picture - gridlines 5 mm). But in general cappadocicus and hakkariensis (especially the last) didn't grew very well - there were quite great percentage of died, mummified corms.
Absolutely shocking was corm size of Crocus kotschyanus. I'm using pots of size 15x15 cm and it was impossible to place in such pot 9 corms! So huge they were! Unfortunately I forgot recharge battery and it was impossible to picture them. Typical kotschyanus grew perfectly. I have around 10 different stocks of them from Turkey and from Syria. The largest were just those from near Hatay and from Syria. More northern populations formed smaller corms.
Next were Crocus pallasii group - starting with Crimean, type pallasii, then following with Greek populations and plants from Greek Islands. And as always there were schockingly great losses... New formed corms simply died. Why? I can't understand. There were few where mother corm had two shoots, so formed two replacement corms - both large, well formed and - one of them absolutely perfect, another dried out. In some pots more than half of new corms mummified. Dry rot form of Fusarium? But from where it could come? All crocuses every year are repotted in new, earlier unused pots. Expensive way, but I'm so afraid against Rhyzoglyphus, that keeping of collection is more important than money. Substrate completely replaced every year with soilless mix made from  coarse sand and peat moss - both sterile. And same in seedling pots and even in pot  where I planted 16 corms last spring collected on Samos and potted immediately after returning, 2 were mummified. If I would not hand-pollinate all my pallasii stocks every autumn and sawing seeds of those I think that after few years I would not have more species from this group. Only exception was with Tiurkish dispathaceus, haussknechtii from Iran and so named pallasii from Israel - there were few losses, but minimal, not more than in average.
Crocus goulimyi grew well, although corms were smaller than should be and there were no splitting, but no losses, too. All looked perfect, shiny, clean, only sometimes even smaller than planted.
Last autumn I collected few C. goulimyi at very South end of Mani peninsula. To keep them living I brought them to home packed inside native soil ball - squeezed around corms wet (there were heavy rains during our trip), native dark red clay. Collected corms benefit from this and I harvested nice crop. But I used occasion having their native soil for checking of the pH.  Up to last I used very expensive (around 100,- Euro) tool from Holland, but recently, when I maid current soil mix and checked its pH, it showed 5.0. I was shocked and added to my standard portion of mix additional 40 kg of chalk. Next day checked again - but still were 5.0. Something was wrong and I went to laboratory - there pH was 7.1. I immediately bought special indicator liquid - in home it showed same ~7.0 for my mix, but I decided to check what is pH of C. goulimyi native ground - it was around 7.5.

Yesterday I finished repotting of Central Asian crocuses - alatavicus, michelsonii and korolkowii. Corms look very good, although smaller than usually are. Lost were only around half of cultivar 'Apricot'.  A year ago I lost many selections from this group and several were lost forever. Seem that reason was Fusarium, but from where it came? Every year my crocuses are repotted in fresh soil and in new pots, but season 2016/17 was catastrophic for several of korolkowii and some alatavicus.
I suppose that infection came from corms bought in Holland. Last year 'Apricot' was lost completely, I got replacement, and even those were very poor this year. Similar situation was with cultivar 'Albus' from Varzob valley, but it this year looked much better. Some years ago I lost my cultivar 'Lucky Number' from rodents and I asked for some corms Dutch grower to whom I presented half of my stock many years ago. I got 10 horribly looking corms, but during 3 seasons they recovered and now again I have this nice cultivar of C. korolkowii. When I visited the Dutch grower of this and some other crocuses, I was really shocked for bad quality of plantings - they all looked ill and I suppose that only huge amounts of fungicides allows to get some crop. But fungicides only are stopping infection, but not makes plants healthy. It stay in corms and only waits for favourable conditions. So now I decided - nothing more from Holland! For mass production by machines you are paying with quality. Now grower is separated from seller - and you pay for this loosing quality. How nice were bulbs, corms in my youth when each grower was selling own plants and he well knew that bad quality can ruin his business. But I think that will come days when all will turn back... But now left only small nurseries, small growers to whom you can trust...

Outside is heavy rain and I can't reach my greenhouse after lunch. So few pictures from today. Today were repotted some autumn bloomers - Crocus haussknechtii, damascenus, dispathaceus. Crocuses never will stop surprise me. This season that was size of corms. Shortly ago I wrote that I never before had so tiny corms of C. veluchensis, but now I can tell that I never before saw so huge corms - this is autumn blooming Crocus haussknechtii from W of Iran - diameter of corms reached 40-45 mm (gridlines on photo 5 mm).
Not great surprise that local people use Crocus corms for food and they are sold on markets in huge amounts but during ;las trip to Iran I even observed this by my eyes (not the process, but what left after lunch of locals. Mountain side was full of holes where Crocus damascenus was dug out, and on roadside left shells and still few corms. By the way, I picked them up and few turned undamaged and today were potted. See on the last picture.
But not only crocuses can bring surprises. Here two other autumn bloomers - they suppose that autumn already came - Prospero autumnalis - sample from Crimea, Ukraine (at present occupied by Russia) and another Colchicum paschei from Central Turkey, Nemrutdag Mount in Malatya Province (blooms already quite long, only today accidentally noted its flowers, the first flowers already wilted).

Today I harvested Crocus gembosii and its hybrids. Excellent crop regarding size of most of corms - pity, almost no splitting, so selected clones remained of last years size - from only 1 corm up to 30+. Now I'm harvesting C. chrysanthus s.l. stocks. Last year I finally rebuilt corm size of mine selection 'Goldmine' with semi-double flowers - and after long interruption again saw some semi-double flowers. Hoped more for next year, but - all corms split in two and are too small for forming of semi double flowers. They were planted too shallowly. Now I'm carefully looking for corms would be placed at least 10 cm deep in my 20 cm deep pots.

I'm still living into impressions of our choir concerto. For you can get minor impression how it looks and what we are feeling - I'm attaching here link, where you can see only one song (twice on screen you will see me, too - between singers). The name of song is "Broken Pines" and its is about our fight for freedom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYhymdd7Pl8

Crocus development this season was extremely strange. At start of July I checked one pot with Crocus suworovianus - there some corms had even 4 cm long new shoots. Incredibly early.

Crop is strange, too. I wrote in Crocus Forum of SRGC that species from high altitudes formed smaller than usually new corms, but really shocking was crocus veluchensis, where replacement corms were in average only pea-size and few stocks from Northern Macedonia were even lost. Another species, which grew poorly was Crocus thirkeanus (herbertii), where again corms were much smaller than usually could be, but absolutely catastrophic was situation with Crocus banaticus. I repotted approximately only half of numbers planted last autumn, and they didn't look perfect, too. But absolute opposite situation was with Crocus pelistericus. I never before had so large and perfect corms as this season! And they were staying all the time in greenhouse where temperature in hottest days reached 45 C, and never even watered during rest. So recommendations to keep them all the year moist is wrong. Similarly, although not so good (my stocks are very small, so not easy to judge) was situation with C. scardicus and C. gotoburgensis. Both were kept completely dry and grew amazingly well, only seed pods remained between leaves although seeds were well formed and ripe. When I discussed this with Henrik Zetterlund, he told that in Gothenburg they are keeping those crocuses inside greenhouse all the year round and occasionally are watering only sand in which are plunged pots. But they use clay pots. For plastic pots this don't work. Quite poorly grew Crocus cvijicii, too. But excellent crop was formed by atticus, sublimis and some others. In general autumn bloomers which forms leaves already in autumn grew far better, than those which start vegetation only in spring. Sudden hot wave stopped development of many species.

I returned to my crocuses after almost full week long absence. Here I'm showing some pictures before I left home for our grand Song and Dance Festival (UNESCO World Heritage - you can see fast version of Dance concerto here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROhNDdTM-64).

I was too busy with all preparings, despatching of very last orders, that hadn't time to download pictures.

As you may be remember earlier I wrote about small sizes of crocus corms this season. One of the last pots harvested before leaving home was this Crocus suworovianus. I never before saw so large corms of this species - diameter up to 30+ mm (gridlines on picture 5 mm). New shoots already started to appear, too.

But harvesting goes in its way. The first bed already finished, plantings registered and pots covered with stone chips and started next bed - still not registered and for better seeing of labels, still not covered with stone chips.

Full version with music of Dance Festival (18 000+ dancers in last final dance together) you can watch here: 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Erg-4FRjY

The bus traffic, coming time and police work was incredibly well organized - busses came one by other without any crowd. Left singers and dancers and immediately drove away to large parking spots where waited for manifestants to bring them late night to home. Our region was between the firsts and we started walking at 14-00 but new busses still came and came. The distance was 2 km long and the lasts passed it around 8 o’clock in evening, then was official opening of Festival and special concerto for participants. Huge sporting hall was transferred as eating hall and all those thousands got meal without staying in queue longer than 5-10 persons. It was free, but without choice.

Actually transport organisation immediately called in my memory this spring’s Iranian trip, when on mountain pass just on Iraq-Iran border we observed how are brought to pass hundreds of mules - in each lorry 2 or 3 mules with guide and immediately loading them off and going away to make spot for next car and so around an hour. There were bribed border guard chief and on border was open “window” for contraband. All border guards were called off… Mules simply run to Iraq for returning some days/s later heavy loaded with alcohol and other goods for Iranian underground merchants. The sum paid as bribe was incredible huge. It only shows how profitable is this business.

This morning I still looked for some special crocus corms for special customers and tomorrow morning last two orders will be posted, but today just after some hour in greenhouse I dressed in my ethnographic dressing and went to main road where soon was picked up by special bus for large manifestation. There were more than 1000 buses (provided by government) bringing from all corners of Latvia 18000 singers and 18000 dancers to Riga for our main event - once in five years. As there are no crocus pictures to be shown - I hope you would like those few from our very windy manifestation.
On the first I'm together with both conductors of our choir - next year we will celebrate 155 anniversary of choir - eldest still working in Latvia\
Two other pictures I copied from Facebook (foto Edijs Pālēns) - they shows you weather during manifestation - I had similar battle with wind keeping standard of our choir in hands - so no time was for pictures, but, as my wife told, I was several times shown on TV screen.

I will be between singers, but our granddaughter Paula - will dance.

Dear Friends - as you saw, I stopped accepting of orders. This year it happens much earlier than last year. Your interest in my bulbs was so great, that I reached allowed amount for keeping of status of small nursery much earlier than last year. And my nursery really is small - all my bulbs are planted in around 8000 pots, placed in poly-tunnel of 400 sq. m. size. The number of different samples decreased too and now there are “only” around 5000 samples, and maximum what is planted is 4 pots from sample, not more. Unfortunately number of crocus samples raised and last checking showed a little more than 1600 samples, but general principle the same - not more than 4 pots from sample, but in 4 pots can be planted up to 60+ corms.

You still can order bulbs if you agree to send payment in cash. I simply can’t exceed my official total sum of sells, controlled by bank, which informs tax people. To change my status and all book-keeping system now, when I’m 72, my needs are limited, all necessary things are built up and nursery established, is not worse of trouble. Sorry.
And I got very nice comment on this from France: “The same system, with quota, exists in France too for agriculture and horticulture. And I understand after all these years of labours you now aspire to a more peaceful life. Indeed we don't need a Ferrari to enjoy life.” An Yann is right - I have simple Skoda car, everything is built up and all what I need - to pay current bills for living, glass of wine in evening and a pair of trips in year for searching of some new crocuses up to still I’m capable walk on mountain slopes. Of course in mountains I’m again looking for cheap hotels, renting ordinary car etc. Actually I can’t understand those rich-mans  who need top model cars, 5+ star hotels etc. All this only approximates end of life on our green Planet.

You can see some pictures from my greenhose at top of Crocus blooming following those links:

http://www.delfi.lv/majadarzs/darzi-latvija-un-pasaule/foto-raiskuma-pasa-zenita-zied-lielaka-krokusu-kolekcija-pasaule.d?id=49855933

 and here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10213466488795488&set=pcb.10213466509716011&type=3&theater