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‘Geoff

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

WHILE WORKING in one
of our local garden centres,
I was consistently disap-
pointed by my inability to
sell the fall blooming crocus
and colchicums.

’ These are true treasures, worth
hunting for, and yet I used to
have difficulty in even giving them
away.

Every year | would purchase a
decent selection of these little
beauties, only to end up putting
the majority of them off at half-
price at the end of the season.

And I would still be faced with
an unsalable quantity by the end

. of November.

In che hopes of generating some
interest in those very worthwhile
plants, | offer the following
glimpse into their qualities and
care.

While most refer to the col-
chicum by its common name of
autumn or fall crocus, in fact, it is

"steel insulated front entry door
“limited quantities

SPECIAL

Hf Reg. $1280 Now °900

UE Ser Erk aKa

44 The big differences appear in spring

when the foliage finally shows up.99

not even remotely related to the
species.

Jt comes to us from out of the
liliaceae family (lillies, etc.), while
the true crocus is from the
iridaceae clan (iris, etc.).

The two plants closely resemble
each other while in bloom with the
exception that the colchicum’s
flower is generally much larger.

. The big differences appear in
spring when the foliage finally
shows up.

They are totally dissimilar in
that the true fall crocus possesses
the typical grass-like appearance
of the species while the col-
chicum’s broad, cabbage-y leaves
are six to 10 inches in length,

The common colchicum is c.
speciosum, the hybrid forms of
which’ will produce clusters of
four-inch flowers.

C.s. ‘‘Album’”' is a single white,
c.s. “Lilac Wonder’’ a large,
lilac-pink with white stripes, and
c.s. ““Waterlily’’ is a large, mauve
double.

Take the time to find some of
the harder-to-find varieties such
as c.'autumnal ‘*Roseum-
Plenum,’’ which is a rose-pink
double.

Both are well worth the extra
effort needed to find them.

Pick a sunny site to grow col-

" chicums, one with average soil and

good drainage.
Place six to eight corms in

groupings six inches apart and
three and four inches deep.

Water only during the drier
periods of the growing season and
feed with bonemeal in fall.

You must not remove the leaves
of this plant until they have com-
pletely died back.

As leaves take a long time to
mature, an overplanting of an
early annual such as pansies will
screen the unsightly leaves until
the flowers appear, at which time
the pansies will move past their
prime.

The true autumn crocus is
available in many forms.

Crocus speciousus is very easy
to grow and has mauve, striped
flowers appearing in October.

The hybrid c.s. ‘‘Albus’’ is pure
white, while c.s. ‘“Conqueror”’ is a
deep sky-blue and c.s.
“Globosus”’ is a fragrant blue-
violet.

C. kotschyanus or c. zonatus
flower lilac-pink in September
through October and c. pulchellus
is lavender with a bright yellow
throat. .

See True page 19

FUCSHIAS HANG in beautiful baskets along a covered
walkway at Park and Tilford gardens. -

It's our year end and we must count our inventory
but we'd rather seil it than count it. °

UEEN SIZE
ATTRESS SET

ALL SIZES AVAILABLE & ALL

MATTRESSES ON SALE

‘Dinettes from

Swivel Rocker
i. ° Choice of Colours

on sale ‘til Aug. 31/93