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Crocus
About Crocus
Crocus is popular with gardeners because, as one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring, it signals the end of winter. This flowering plant is a member of the iris family and is a hardy perennial. The flowers are delicate, cup-shaped blooms in shades of yellow, white, purple, and lavender. Many selections have bi-colored blooms. Crocus have grassy leaves that usually have a white stripe along the center. Also See: Flowers
The most commonly grown bloom in the spring, but there are some species that bloom in the fall. The name is derived from the Latin crocatus, meaning saffron yellow. The spice saffron is obtained from the stamens of Crocus sativus, a fall-blooming species.
Description
Crocus grow two to six inches tall, with a spread of three to six inches. The leaves are grass-like. The flowers can be yellow, white, purple, or a mixture of these colors.
This type of plant grow from corms, which are short, compressed stems similar to bulbs. Corms are more flattened and have eyes, or buds, at the top from which shoots emerge. Each year a new corm forms on top of the old one, and tiny corms, called cormels, form around its base. Each corm produces from one to five blooms. When planted in proper conditions, most self-sow and produce plentiful offsets.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom - Plantae
Division - Magnoliophyta
Class - Liliopsida
Order - Asparagales
Family - Iridaceae
Genus - Crocus
Cultivation
Crocus should be planted in full sun to partial shade. They prefer well-drained soil and have good drought tolerance. The grassy leaves will die back after the plant blooms.
Spring-blooming crocus should be planted in the fall. Fall-blooming crocus should be planted in late summer or early fall.
Plant the corms with the wide side down and the buds facing up. Place them 2 or 3 inches deep and about 3 or 4 inches apart. They will fill in as they multiply. If the bulbs become too crowded after a few years, you can dig them up after their foliage browns and divide them.
Uses
Flower gardens, naturalizing, forcing
Because they like well-drained soil, plant crocus in rock and wall gardens. They are beautiful planted in drifts in flower beds or allowed to naturalize in lawns. If you grow them in the lawn, wait to mow the grass until six weeks after blooming; plants need their leaves to produce cormels large enough to flower the next year.
Be sure to plant where you can see them from a window of your house. You don't want to miss the first flower of the year.
Varieties to Grow
There are over 80 species, about 30 of which are raised commercially. For a longer display of blooms, plant a variety of species and cultivars. Here are some of the more common species.
- Crocus vernus, the Dutch, has the largest bloom and is the most commonly planted. Dutch is a good choice for naturalizing in your lawn, because it spreads readily. Plants reach 4 to 5 inches tall. Many cultivars are available, including ‘Jeanne d’Arc’, a pure white; Pickwick’, showy lilac flowers with purple stripes; and ‘Mammoth Yellow’.
- Crocus chrysanthus is one of the first to bloom in late winter or early spring. Plants reach just 2 inches tall and also naturalize well. Cultivars include ‘Advance’, with peachy yellow petals inside that are violet on the outside; ‘Cream Beauty’, a soft creamy yellow; and ‘Prins Claus’, with white petals with dark purple blotches on the outside.
- Crocus sieberi is also fairly short and blooms very early. It is very easy to grow and to naturalize. Most varieties are in shades of blue, mauve, or purple, with yellow centers. ‘Firefly’ has blooms that are white on the outside and lilac on the inside; ‘Tricolor’ blooms have a yellow center, a middle white band, and an outer lilac-blue edge; ‘Violet Queen’ has amethyst-violet flowers.
- Crocus tommasinianus, another early-bloomer, comes in shades of purple. It produces lots of flowers and also spreads by itself. ‘Ruby Giant’ bears red-purple flowers.
- Crocus sativus, the Saffron, blooms in the fall and is hardy to zone 5. Plants are about 4 inches high. Foliage emerges in the spring, and plants bloom in September and October. This variety is best replanted after about 2 to 3 years.
Problems
If squirrels like to munch on your bulbs, try securing chicken wire over soil after planting. The crocuses will grow right through it in the spring. Squirrels have been found to dislike the taste of some species, such as C. tommasinianus.
Crocus Pictures
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from the Victorian Gardener
Crocus Altavicus
Crocus Altavicus - The flowers of this new Asiatic species are white, yellow towards the throat, the outer surface of the outer segments being freckled with rich purple. It is a free-flowering species, but from its early-flowering time, January and February, it can only be grown to advantage under a cold frame. A white variety without external purple freckling is not uncommon. The leaves are produced at the flowering time in early spring.
Crocus Aureus
Crocus Aureus - A handsome plant from the Banat, Transylvania, European Turkey, Greece, and W. Bithynia, generally at low elevations, flowering in February. It was one of the first introduced to cultivation, and is the parent of our yellow garden or Dutch yellow Crocus, and of a number of old varieties-lacteus, sulphureus, pallidus, striatus, etc. the history of which is unknown; they are not found wild, and are sterile. The wild plant varies considerably, from unstriped orange to varieties striped with grey lines, like those in the Dutch yellow Crocus. The stigmata are short, unbranched, pale yellow, and much shorter than the anthers; in the Transylvanian plant the stigmata are occasionally orange. The anthers are wedge-shaped tapering towards the point, and notably divergent. The unstriped form readily produces seed when in cultivation, but the striped Dutch yellow is sterile, though effete capsules are occasionally formed. C. Olivieri resembles C. aureus, but is smaller.
Crocus Banaticus
Crocus Banaticus - Common in the Banat, Hungary, and Transylvania, where it takes the place of C. vernus, to which it is allied. It is highly ornamental; the flowers are a rich deep purple, occasionally varied with white, with a darker purple blotch near the end of the segments. The throat is glabrous, which easily distinguishes it from C. vernus. It is cultivated in several Continental and English gardens under the name of C. veluchensis-a distinct species. Flowers in February and March.
Crocus Biflorus
Crocus Biflorus - The Scotch, or Cloth of Silver, Crocus is a large variety of the typical form, and is abundant throughout a large portion of Italy. The segments vary from white to a pale lavender, the outer surface of the outer segments being distinctly feathered with purple markings. In var. estriatus, from Florence, the flowers are a uniform pale lavender, orange towards the base. In var. Weldeni, from Trieste and Dalmatia, the outer segments are externally freckled with bright purple. In C. nubigenus, a very small variety from Asia Minor, the outer segments are suffused and freckled with brown; C. Pestalozzae is an albino of this variety. In C. Adami, from the Caucasus, the segments are pale purple, either self-colored or externally feathered with dark purple. C. biflorus is an early-flowering spring species, and is high ornamental for border decoration.
Crocus Boryi
Crocus Boryi - Flowers white, but bright orange at the throat. Abundant at Corfu and in the neighborhood of Patras, flowers in October, but it does not bloom freely in cultivation, and requires the protection of glass for the development of its flowers.
Crocus Byzantinus
Crocus Byzantinus - ee C. iridiflorus.
Crocus Cancellatus
Crocus Cancellatus - A beautiful autumnal species, varying from white to pale bluish-purple. The flowers are generally veined or feathered towards the base of the segments. They appear without the leaves, which come in spring. The flowering time is from the end of October to December. A robust species, easy of culture, but, like many late autumnal species, is seen to best advantage under a cold frame. It is known as C. Schimperi, C. Spruneri, C. cilicicus, and C. damascenus. The western forms are nearly white, and the eastern are either blue or purple; but the differences of color are not sufficient to distinguish them as species.
Crocus Chrysanthus
Crocus Chrysanthus - A vernal Crocus, flowering from January to March according to elevation, which varies from a little above the sea-level to a height of three or four thousand feet. The flowers are smaller than those of C. aureus, and are usually of bright orange, but occasionally bronzed and feathered externally. A white variety is also found in Bithynia and on Mount Olympus above Broussa; this species also varies with pale sulphur-colored flowers, occasionally suffused with blue towards the orange throat. There are four varieties of this Crocus, distinct in coloring; they are fusco-tinctus, fusco-lineatus, albidus, and coerulescens.
Crocus Imperati
Crocus Imperati - One of the earliest vernal species, abundant south of Naples, and said to extend to Calabria. Lilac. Very variable in color and markings. Two varieties occur near Ravelle-a self-colored white and a clear rose. The outer surface of the outer segments is coated with rich buff, suffused with purple featherings. Its robust habit and early flowering make it one of the most valuable species for spring gardening. It flowers a fortnight and three weeks before C. vernus. Similar to it is C. minimus, abundant on the west coast of Corsica, the neighboring islets, and in parts of Sardinia; it flowers from the end of January to March. The flowers resemble those of C. Imperati in miniature, but are of a darker purple and heavily suffused with external brown featherings. Although perfectly hardy, it is not robust enough for gardens. C. suaveolens is also closely allied to C. Imperati, and flowers in February. The flowers are somewhat smaller and the segments more acute than in C. Imperati. It is hardy and free-flowering, and under bright sunshine is a good ornament to the early spring garden.
Crocus Iridiflorus
Crocus Iridiflorus - The Banat and Transylvania. Bears in September and October bright purple flowers before the leaves. Remarkable for purple stigmata and the marked difference between the size of the inner and the outer segments of the perianth. This beautiful plant should be secured if possible. It is often sold as C. byzantinus.
Crocus Laevigatus
Crocus Laevigatus - A pretty species from the mountains of Greece and the Cyclades. The flowers vary from white to lilac, being distinctly feathered with purple markings. Its usual flowering time is from the end of October to Christmas, but through the winter to March under cultivation. It does not flower freely in cultivation, and, like the allied species, it is seen to best advantage under a cold frame.
Crocus Longiflorus
Crocus Longiflorus - Abundant in the south of Italy, Sicily, and Malta; flowers in October. The flowers are light purple, yellow at the throat. In general aspect it somewhat resembles C. sativus, especially in the stigmata, which are usually bright scarlet and entire, but occasionally broken up into fine capillary divisions. In Sicily the stigmata are collected from the wild plant for saffron. It is free-flowering and very ornamental.
Crocus Marathonisius
Crocus Marathonisius - One of the finest white-flowered autumn Crocuses; slightly tinged with yellow at the base. It comes into flower late in October and continues well into November. The plant is fully 6 or 7 inches high.
Crocus Medius
Crocus Medius - A beautiful purple autumn-flowering species, limited to the Riviera and the adjacent spurs of the Maritime Alps. The flowers are produced in October before the leaves, which appear in the following spring, and rarely exceed two or three to a corm; the blossoms are bright purple, veined at the base; the stigmata bright scarlet and much branched.
Crocus Nudiflorus
Crocus Nudiflorus - A pretty and well-known species. Pyrenees and north of Spain. Naturalised at Nottingham and elsewhere in the midland counties. Its large bluish-purple flowers are produced in September and October before the leaves. Where established it is difficult to eradicate; the corms produce long stolon-like shoots, which form independent corms on the death of the parent, and the plant soon spreads to considerable distances.
Crocus Ochroleucus
Crocus Ochroleucus - ars many creamy-white flowers, with orange throat, from the end of October to the end of December. It well deserves a cold frame, to preserve its showy flowers from frost and rain.
Crocus Pulchellus
Crocus Pulchellus - An autumnal species, invaluable for the garden. The pale lavender flowers, with bright yellow throat, are freely produced from the middle of September to early in December. Seed.
Crocus Serotinus
Crocus Serotinus - South of Spain. Flowers in November. The blossoms are more or less distinctly feathered with darker purple. C. Salzmanni is closely allied to C. serotinus, but is of larger stature, flowering with the leaves in October and November. It is robust and readily multiplied. As the flowers are liable to injury by frost and snow, it is seen to best advantage under a cold frame. C. Clusi closely resembles C. serotinus, and flowers with the leaves in October.
Crocus Sieberi
Crocus Sieberi - A vernal species common in the Greek Archipelago and the mountains of Greece. The flower is usually bright lilac, orange at the base, but the form found in Crete and the Cyclades presents a great variety of color, from white to purple, and these colors are mottled, intermixed, and striped in endless variety, contrasting with the bright orange throat. The Cretan variety is of exceptional beauty. It flowers in cultivation from the end of February to the middle of March.
Crocus Speciosus
Crocus Speciosus - Among the handsomest autumn Crocuses, flowering at the end of September and early in October. Ranges from N. Persia, through Georgia, the Caucasus, and the Crimea, to Hungary. The perianth segments, 2 inches high, are rich bluish-purple, suffused with darker purple veins, with which the bright orange much-divided stigmata form a beautiful contrast. It has been long in cultivation, and readily multiplies by small bulbels at the base of the corm.
Crocus Susianus
Crocus Susianus - The well-known Cloth of Gold Crocus, an early importation from the Crimea. Both the orange and bronzed susianus are among the earliest vernal Crocuses, flowering in the open border in February. C. stellaris is an old garden plant somewhat resembling C. susianus. The flower is orange, distinctly feathered with bronze on the outer coat of the outer segments. It is sterile, and never produces seed. It flowers early in March.
Spring Crocus
Spring Crocus (Crocus Vernus) - One of the earliest cultivated species. Alps, Pyrenees, Tyrol, Carpathians, Italy, and Dalmatia. Naturalised in several parts of England. Remarkable for its range of color, from pure white to deep purple, endless varieties being generally intermixed in its native habitats, and corresponding with the horticultural varieties of our gardens. Flowers early in March at low elevations, and as late as June and July in the higher Alps. The parent of nearly all the purple, white, and striped Crocuses grown in Holland.
Crocus Versicolor
Crocus Versicolor - A species long been in cultivation. The flowers present a great variety of coloring, from purple to white, and are variously striped and feathered. It differs from the two preceding species in having the whole of the perianth segments similarly colored, and the external buff coating of C. Imperati and C. suaveolens is absent. Its flowering time is March.
Crocus Zonatus
Crocus Zonatus - Mountains of Cilicia. Bright vinous-lilac flowers, golden at the base, abundant about the middle of September. It is highly ornamental and free-flowering, and easy of culture. The flowers come before the leaves, which do not appear till spring. It has been in cultivation about fourteen years.