Grow
Written and Photographed by L.A. Jackson
Bloom
Impatient? Plant Autumn Crocus For any impatient gardener, crocuses are great bulbs to grow. Planted in the fall, their thin leaves start peeping out of the ground at the beginning of February, if the winter is mild, and bright, cup-shaped flowers soon follow, serving as extra early beacons that, indeed, another spring is on the way. However, for the really, really impatient gardener who doesn’t want to wait until winter to enjoy cheerful, springlike blooms from fall-planted bulbs, there are crocuses. No, I didn’t just repeat myself. While most gardeners typically grow the common crocuses that pop up in late winter, backyard growers in the know double their pleasure and plant them as well as a special cousin known as autumn crocus (Crocus sativus). As advertised, planted this month, autumn crocus bulbs won’t dally in the dirt because they will usually be in bloom be58 August/SEPTEMBER 2021
fore Thanksgiving. No kidding—last September, I dug in a handful and had flowers by early November. While autumn crocus bulbs shouldn’t be too hard to find locally, if you are addicted to online shopping, at least stay regional with Southeast nurseries such as Terra Ceia Farms (terraceiafarms.com) and Brent and Becky’s Bulbs (brentandbeckysbulbs.com). And, no, these bulbs aren’t expensive—a year ago, I snagged two dozen for about 10 bucks. Happy autumn crocuses will naturalize, meaning their early bird displays will bed-spread over the years. And just how do you keep them happy? Plant in a sunny spot that is amended and (especially) welldraining to help prevent bulb rot. Raised beds are obvious options, but smaller plantings can be shown off in pots. Autumn crocus blooms are a pleasing light purple, but if you look into the center of one of the flowers, you will find three
bright red “strings,” which are the blossom’s stigmas—and the source of the popular spice saffron. Suddenly have visions of starting a saffron farm? It takes at least 13,000 hand-picked, tiny stigmas to produce an ounce of saffron, meaning you will probably go cross-eyed before you get rich. I mention this tale of saffron not only as an interesting factoid but to add a caution: There is another similar bulb known as “autumn crocus” that also blooms in the fall. However, all parts of this pretty plant, botanically tagged as Colchicum autumnale, are poisonous. So, plant it as well now, if you would like, but consider it only as a feast for the eyes. L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener Magazine.
