Help identifying flower

[zakharin]

We have a new flower that I don't recall seeing before. I have two photos of it, but, unfortunately neither is very good at showing the inside of the flower itself, as it has not fully opened today as it has yesterday when it was sunny, but I did not have a chance to take a picture. Anyway, it's at

additional info: It looks sort of like a tulip, but the leaves are not tulip-like at all. The petals are entirely wihte, while the inside is yellowish orange. It is growing on the east side of the house, and so has almost no direct sunlight. We are located in southern New Jersey and it came up just recently (early to mid March). Does anyone have any idea what it might be?

Thanks, Boris Zakharin

[Bill R]

It looks like a Crocus to me.

[enigma]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

it's a crocus.

lee

[Jangchub]

I like the nasturtium on page 20. What variety is that?

v

[David E. Ross]

While I've never seen a white crocus before, the narrow dark green leaves with the light stripe down the middle are definitely from a crocus.

[JXStern]

Then without even looking, doesn't that pretty much mean crocus?

J.

[Fluffball]

purple or white, but I also have some more interesting purple ones with white stripes and some yellow ones with brown stripes.

They are usually better planted directly in your lanw, because they are long gone before you really need to cut it and they look fantastic in the spring with the backdrop of green.

BTW: the picture is most definately a Crocus!

[enigma]

"David E. Ross" wrote in news:KNOdnX9HZoRBeEDanZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

you haven't? they're fairly common. most have a yellow center inside, but not all. i have some pure white ones that pop up. they seem to bloom a bit earlier than the yellow & purple ones. i have no idea what variety they are, as they came with the house. lee

[enigma]

JXStern wrote in news: [e-mail]:

without looking, it could be snowdrops. they bloom before the crocus. but it is a crocus :) lee

[Bill R]

V,

It is a variety called "Strawberry Ice". I bought the seeds from Thompson and Morgan. Their web site is

[John McGaw]

Definitely a crocus, as others have said. The date of bloom, the location, the grass-like foliage with a light stripe are pretty definitive. I've never paid much attention to varieties with these plants -- they are all "inexpensive generic early spring bloomers of unpredictable color which survive almost anything" to me.

That said, I'd be happy if a few more of the hundreds of yellow and purple ones in my yard were of the white variety. I could count the white ones on the fingers of one hand and might have fingers left over. I theorize that the white ones are just a little less hardy and prolific than the other colors. Or perhaps they naturally revert.

[Jangchub]

like this nasturtium though. I can only grow it in winter here. It melts in our spring or summer heat.

[zakharin]

Maybe so, but I'm really quite an amateur at this. I try to identify all the flowers growing around the house (including those I plant myself, of course), but I'm far from an expert. There are still a few I don't know and I haven't seen this one in the 9 years since we moved in.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

[Tom J]

Sounds like you got squirrels? ;-)

Tom J

[zakharin]

Boy, do we ever! Chipmunks too. They try to eat everything, even the tulips (the flowers themselves and the bulbs).