How To Grow Crocuses

Crocuses are beautiful and hardy perennial flowering plants that were first grown in Greek and Egyptian gardens all the way back in 2100 BC. Crocuses have cup-shaped blooms that come in a variety of different colors: purple, yellow, white, and lavender; with some varieties having white stripes on the leaves. Crocuses are good empty-space fillers for your garden and also some of the earliest blooming flowers, so when you are most desperate to see blooms, crocuses will be there for you.

And not only are they highly attractive, one variety of crocus has a practical quality as well. The crocus sativus produces a flavorful and colorful spice known as saffron. This spice is commonly used in cooking and was also used as a perfume in ancient times.

Crocuses are originally members of the Iris family and are indigenous to Asia and Southern Europe. Heiroglyphics found in Egypt, and pottery in Crete, along with various frescoes and tablets dating back to 1600 BC, all included illustrations of crocuses. Even the earliest documented gardens of the Greeks and Egyptians had crocuses springing up, so they’ve been here for a long time! Below is a brief guide to getting you started growing crocuses.

Many people think crocuses grow from bulbs, but they actually grow from ‘corms,’ which are flat bulb-like stems. (It’s possible to grow them from seeds, but it will take over three years for them to bloom.) Corms are compressed underground stems with buds at the top and they have all the energy the plant needs to survive – inside of corms you will see starchy white cells. They are similar to bulbs in that they can be dug up and planted. Every year one new corm will form on top of the old one, along with smaller ones growing around the base, which are called cormels.

Fall will be the proper time for you to plant your crocus corms. Order ones that are about the size of a garlic clove. The best soil to plant them in will be sandy and rich with good drainage. Corms will rot if left standing in wet soil. Make sure the location you choose will get at least four hours of sunlight every day – dappled shade also works well. Add plenty of compost to the soil along with a healthy dose of bulb fertilizer. You can plant the corms singly or in groups. Insert them in the ground with a typical bulb planter or a trowel, or you can just push them into the dirt with your hands. The buds on the corms should be face up with the wider side down. Add a little mulch on top if you desire. Keep the soil moderately moist throughout the fall and spring. But note that in summer, crocuses prefer drier soil. Plant them in a spot where you can observe them from a window. You won’t want to miss it when they first bloom. You will see leaves appear the next year in springtime and then full blooms later on in the fall. About every four years you will have to dig up the corms and separate them. Allow the foliage to completely wither after blooming, so the corms can get packed with all the nutrients they’ll need for the next blooming season.

Since crocuses are very prolific and multiply rapidly, you shouldn’t plant too many of them close together. After a couple of years, a major clump of crocuses will often develop, no matter how many you started with, but they do tolerate overcrowding well. Also, crocus foliage is thin and dissipates quickly, making it easy to deal with.

Occasionally certain varieties will bloom too early, when snow or frost is still on the ground. If this happens, most likely the crocuses will start to wilt and even die from the cold. But most are tough and survive the frost. This is why one variety is called “snow crocuses.”

“Crocus” is a Greek word that means saffron. And the saffron spice is extracted from the crocus sativa variety, which blooms in the fall. To get the spice, they take the stigma of the crocus sativa (each bloom has three) and dry them out to get saffron. It requires about a thousand stigmas to get one ounce of saffron spice. The smell of saffron is a rich spicy odor, and it contains a natural dye that will color things gold. Saffron is mainly used in Spanish, Indian, Arabian and a few Italian dishes. If you want to grow your own crocuses to harvest saffron for recipes, grow them as outlined above, but plant at least ten saffron corms for every recipe you make.

Three qualities that make cooking with saffron desirous are flavor, coloring, and aroma. Saffron has a slightly earthy and bitter flavor that many people find pleasant. Concerning its scent, as previously stated, some cultures have used it as a perfume, so it must be good. Saffron also provides a golden yellow coloring to foods, which increases their appearance.

Fortunately, insects and diseases are not common to crocuses. But chipmunks and squirrels will be your most common pests. You may see squirrels digging up your newly planted corms for snacks. If this happens, simply put some chicken wire down over the soil.The plants will have no problem growing up through the wire. And if for some reason that doesn’t work, the ‘Tommies’ variety of crocus is the most resistant to rodents. Tommies are lavender blue and highly attractive.

You can also plant crocuses right into your lawn. If you decide to do this, wait six weeks to mow after you see the foliage sprout, so the crocus leaves can develop cormels for proper flowering the following year.

There are more than 80 different species of crocuses. Here are a few of the more common varieties:

• Dutch (crocus vernus) - most common type with large blooms and a height of 4 to 5 inches.
• Saffron (crocus sativus) - hardy, fall-blooming crocus that grows to about 4 inches; the saffron spice is extracted from the stigmas of this variety.
• Cloth of Gold (crocus angustifolius) - grown since 1587, it’s also known as the Turkey crocus and it opens wide in the sun; bees also love this variety.
• Crocus chrysanthus - a first bloomer in early spring that grows only 2 inches tall. Cultivar types are the ‘Advance’, which has peach colored petals with violet on the outside; ‘Cream Beauty’ - a yellowish cream colored type; and ‘Prins Claus’ with white petals and purple blotches around the outside.
• King of the Striped - striped white and purple petals giving a patchwork quilt design.
• Crocus sieberi - a short variety that blooms in early spring. Very easy to grow with colors mainly in blue or purple, and yellow centers. The ‘Firefly’ cultivar has white blooms with lilac on the inside; and ‘Tricolor’ has yellow centers with white bands in the middle, and lilac edges.