Crocus, Sign of Spring

Saturday, September 25, 2010 03:42 AM

Crocus flowers are one of the earliest signs that spring is on its way. These tough little flowers can be seen blooming through late spring snow and freezing temperatures, and will come up year after year with very little attention.

The cup shaped tubular flowers come straight out of the ground and seem almost stemless because what looks like a stem is actually the slender tube part of the flower, and the short stem part of the flower is underground.

The flowers come in colours of purple, blue, white, yellow, light apricot, and bi-coloured and grow 3-4 inches above the ground. The green foliage is thin and grass like with a silver stripe that runs on the upper part of the leave.

Crocuses are bulbs (technically corms) and are planted in the fall so that they can bloom the following spring. The bulbs are available in the garden centres now and should be planted in September early October so that the bulb can form a good root formation before the frost sets into the ground.

When choosing bulbs look for large sized bulbs as these will give bigger flowers, because the flower is already in the bulb just waiting for the right conditions to come out.

The expression good things come in small packages is not entirely true for bulbs because the bigger sized bulbs will give bigger flowers!

It is important to plant crocus bulbs in areas where they will receive full sun. This is because the flowers will not open completely if there is not enough sun. They also need to have a well drained soil. If the soil is too wet the bulb will rot. They need moisture in the spring and fall, but drier conditions in the summer.

For the best affect, you get a better show if crocuses are planted in mass plantings of 20-30 bulbs .

Plant the bulb10 cm deep and space them 10 cm apart. When planting the bulb sprinkle some bone meal in the bottom of the hole before placing the bulb with the pointed end up and the root side down. Cover the bulb with soil and then water it in.

Crocuses are ideal for naturalizing and can be grown under deciduous trees and shrubs because in early spring there are no leaves so it will be sunny. They look good in rock gardens and can even be planted under creeping thyme or phlox as well as the lawn. If you plant them in the lawn you cannot mow the lawn until the crocus foliage has yellowed because after the bulb (corm) has finished blooming the old corm is forming new corms and then the old corm is finished. If this process is not completed there will be no flowers next year. You also need to be careful when using herbicides as these can damage the crocus bulbs especially when they are actively growing.

Crocuses are easy to grow and need very little care. They can be eaten by rodents and so if they are planted a little deeper (10cm) it may help deter the rodents.

If or when the bulbs become overcrowded they can be dug up, divided and replanted in September. They can grow for many years making them a pretty, good investment for the landscape!

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in Prince George: