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The violet coloured form is a very beautiful plant, but it loses the 'astonishment factor' that makes the blue
form so wonderful. The plant received a preliminary commendation from the Alpine Garden Society in 1996 when shown by Fred Hunt at the Stirling show. In the bulletin he says: "Together with its fellow versions of the Chilean blue crocus trio, Tecophilaea cyanocrocus and the variety leichtlinii, the purple flowered 'Violacea' is a must for all bulb collections, thereby completing the set for this species. It shares the high price tag of the other two but has not proved difficult to grow. Before the autumn is out, the smallish corms will each have produced two or three narrow, channelled leaves, then in late winter or early spring come the funnel-shaped, 3cm wide deep purple flowers, usually carried singly on rather thready stems up to 10cm long. Although fairly hardy in some areas, it is all the better for the protection of the alpine house, especially in colder regions, as the young shoots in particular are easily nipped by a severe frost. During their summer dormancy, I prefer to keep the corms on the dry side, with only the moisture provided by a damp sand plunge below the alpine house bench to keep them ticking over. They are repotted annually in early autumn, in a compost of John Innes no. 2/3 and enough grit to ensure faultless drainage; on the whole they are treated like most other spring-flowering bulbs, rewarding these efforts without fail six months later. Small offestes are produced by the parent bulbs; these are easily detached and grown on to flower in their third year. Seed is also set, particularly following artificial pollination but, in my experience, germination is somewhat erratic. There are no recent reports of this species in its Chilean homelands: luckily it has taken well to life in exile." In 2002 it was shown at the Edinburgh show, again by Fred Hunt. It was awarded a First Class Certificate. In writing it up in the Bulletin, Robert Rolfe says: "With a garden history of at least 130 years, and numerous records os spactacular successes to counterbalance the litany of failures, this is an indispensable early spring flowering bulb, now available in several versions. Since the sumptuously deep, dusky violet clone to which the award was given is so well-known, and has been discussed at length in quite recent Bulletins, we are content to print the exhibitor's slide of his flower-smothered clump, which was one of the highlights of the Edinburgh show." |
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| 26th February 2011 | ||
