How to grow crocuses in your garden

Crocuses attract summer residents and owners of personal plots with their unpretentiousness, the beauty of bright flowers and the fact that they appear first in the flower beds, when the snow has not yet melted. This is truly a spring primrose, pleasing to the eye after winter. Our site will tell you how to grow crocuses.

Immediately, we note that there are crocuses that bloom in early spring, in April, and there are autumn ones. The timing of planting will depend on their type, so the moment is very important. In the spring, Crocus Narrow-leaved, Pickwick, Remembrans, Jeanne D’Arc, Little Dorrit, Crocus Light Yellow, Largest Yellow will bloom on the flower beds. In autumn you will be pleased with the Beautiful Crocus, Crocus Sowing and Crocus Beautiful.

Do you know that crocuses are, in fact, saffron, a very popular, expensive spice? Yes, it is from the yellow stigmas of crocus that saffron dye or saffron seasoning is made. So these flowers are very useful, and they are called crocuses only in ornamental gardening..

So, let’s start landing. If you have chosen a crocus variety that blooms in early spring, then you need to plant the bulbs in early autumn – in September or early October. For autumn blooming, plants should be planted in July or early August..

Crocus is a bulbous plant. It is important to pay attention to the appearance and condition of purchased or pre-collected bulbs from the flower bed. Their average diameter is 5–8 centimeters, the shape is round with a concave part at the bottom.

The place for saffron should be sunny, although they also tolerate a little shading well, but in this case, in the spring they can bloom a little later. Crocuses can grow well in one place for up to 5 years, but then it is advised to transplant to another site. The soil is suitable light, drained, without stagnant water, dry. We advise you to add rotted (in no case fresh!) Manure or compost, a little ash, if the soil is clay.

Important! Crocuses can be grown indoors using small, wide pots and neutral loose soil. But not all varieties are suitable for home conditions! Most crocuses just won’t bloom at home. Choose large-flowered hybrids.

By the way, most often crocuses are grown in pots at home by March 8th. To do this, from August to January, you should purchase the bulbs, gradually increase the storage temperature – this is called forcing, and then plant in a pot, providing proper care.

In the open field, experienced flower growers advise planting large crocus bulbs to a depth of 10 centimeters, medium ones up to 6 centimeters, and small ones, children up to 3 centimeters. Maintain a minimum distance of 10 centimeters between the bulbs. Flowers planted too close will be smaller.

Crocus care is very simple, which is why all summer residents love this flower:

1. In the spring, you need to apply mineral fertilizers to the flower bed. You can just walk in the snow. Crocuses like potassium and phosphorus and should be in the mix. The second time you need to feed the plants when flowering begins;
2. Periodically, you will have to remove weeds from the flower bed, carry out weeding;
3. Loosening the soil will not interfere, very carefully so as not to damage the plants;
4. Abundant watering is not needed. Remember that most crocuses bloom in the spring when the soil is still saturated with moisture from the melted snow. Therefore, it is not necessary to water them during this period! Exception – if the winter was snowless or there was little snow, then watering after planting is necessary.

You need to dig out the bulbs only after the ground part of the plant has completely dried. You don’t need to do this every year! For the first three years for the winter, simply mulch the flower bed with bulbs to protect it from severe frosts. The dug out bulbs are stored in a dark, cool place before planting, gradually lowering the storage temperature, and then also gradually raising it. Corms are pre-dried in the shade.

The portal wrote in detail how to create a long-flowering flower bed so that flowers would replace each other. It is saffron that can become the first flower to decorate such a flower bed in early spring..