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Where
the garden meets the wild
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CROCUS SPRING-FLOWERING CROCUS Iridaceae (Iris family). |
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| Return to Plants Index Bulbs Index Autumn-flowering crocus Colchicum Tecophilaea | ||||
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Crocus dalmaticus Petrovac Strain: early, easy and beautiful in all its variations. Photograph © Paige Woodward |
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These corms send up their lovely flowers as winter flees. Please click on our pictures to enlarge them. Crocuses are wonderful in swathes. Most are easy to grow outdoors in sun or part-day, deciduous shade, given porous, well drained garden soil. Some do better under glass or in a cold frame. Please order for shipping in Autumn. While you are thinking of spring crocuses, take a look at our Colchicum species. Some of these so-called "autumn crocuses" bloom in spring, too! And don't forget Sternbergia and the Chilean blue crocus, Tecophilaea. |
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| Resources | ||||
| In the complex world of Crocus taxonomy and appreciation, connoisseurs rely on a handful of experts. | ||||
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Photograph © Tony Goode
Photograph © Leonid Bondarenko |
Crocus
abantensis Turhan Baytop & Brian Mathew. Blue as the sky
of early spring, this crocus with a golden throat is named for Lake Abant,
an alpine resort in Bolu province in NW Turkey. The red-orange style is divided in 3.
Blooming in February-March,
this is a very good garden plant when given a warm, dry summer. Our
seed-grown stock descends from corms collected in Bolu. Height 7-8 cm (3"). Zone 6-7.
Corm (Fall shipping only). $12.00 |
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Photograph © Oleg E. Kosterin
Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Crocus alatavicus Regel
& Semenow. Flowers shaded externally with silvery speckles open in February-April
to reveal a pure white interior with a yellow heart. The orange style is
divided into 3. This species needs a dry summer. It is native to high mountain meadows in Central
Asia and W China. Our corms descend from a collection made by Jánis
Rukšáns
in the Chimgan Range of Uzbekistan in 1977 at about 2000 m (6500'). Our
top photograph was taken in SE Kazakhstan, in the Alatau Range, where a
huge population of alatavicus blooms in April as the snow melts.
The crocuses vanish by summer, when sheep arrive to overgraze the area
(and fertilize it heavily). Height.
7-10 cm (3-4"). Corm (Fall shipping only). $10.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog
Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Corm (Fall shipping only). $3.00 |
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Photograph © Tony Goode |
Crocus biflorus Mill. subsp.
tauri (Maw) B. Mathew.
Corm (Fall shipping only). $4.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Crocus chrysanthus
(Herb.) Herb. 'Blue Peter'.
Midnight blue outside, palest blue within, this gold-hearted beauty with
large, globular, scented flowers was selected by the Dutch plantsman C.J.H. Hoog.
It blooms in February-March. Height 8-10 cm (3-4") with a short perianth-tube.
Zone
4.
Corm (Fall shipping only). $5.50 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Crocus dalmaticus
Vis. Petrovac Strain.
Year after year, through storm and sun, this Crocus
shines. Its large, lilac-blue flowers, blooming in January-March,
have an exterior that is variably cream-amethyst-violet with amethyst hairlines.
It is native to the
Balkans. Our plants descend from corms collected by Paul Christian, David
Elliott and Antoine Hoog in deciduous woods near Petrovac, Montenegro
(Yugoslavia) in 1982. Height 10-12 cm (4-5"). Zone 6. Corm (Fall shipping only). $3.50 or 3/$9.50 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Crocus fleischeri
J.E. Gay. This very short, very distinct species is native to rocky,
alkaline slopes and scrub in S and W Turkey and the E Greek islands. Our corms are of garden origin. The starry white flowers, their exterior often striped
purple, open in March. Their
lacquer-red style is much divided, charming in contrast with the white
sepals. This is the only crocus with finely
woven corm tunics and yellow corms. Give it alkaline soil and a dry
summer. Height 3-5 cm
(1-2"). Zone 6.
Corm (Fall shipping only). $2.50 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward
Photograph © Arnold Trachtenberg |
Crocus x jessoppiae Bowles.
We dote on this little Crocus. In his Handbook of Crocus &
Colchicum, E.A. Bowles says that it "appeared in some seedlings
and offsets I gave to my neighbor the late Miss Euphemia Jessopp." The
style is divided into 3. The flowers, white as milk, have a throat
full of sunshine and a blue blotch at the base of the outer segments. They
are plentiful, long-lasting, apparently storm-proof and bloom in
March-April. Brian Mathew suggested in The Crocus (1982)
that one parent is C. reticulatus. Height 7-10 cm (3-4"). Zone
6. Corm (Fall shipping only). $3.50 |
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Photograph © Leonid Bondarenko
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Crocus korolkowii Regel ex
Maw. Celandine crocus. This gold-flowered species is
widespread in the mountains of Central Asia, blooming in February-March.
The outer perianth segments are speckled, often with beige, mauve or
grey. Our stock, selected by Leonid Bondarenko, is heavily dusted with maroon and very
floriferous. The style is divided into 3 long arms. Zone 5, perhaps colder. Corm (Fall shipping only). $2.50 |
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Photograph © Tony Goode |
Crocus
pestalozzae
Boiss. var. caeruleus arr. Petite, charming, lavender-blue
flowers with a yellow throat bloom in March-April.
In the throat there is a black spot at the base of each filament. This
blue form of pestalozzae seems to be faring better in
cultivation than the white one. The species is native to open, stony ground and waysides
in NW Turkey. Our corms descend from material collected by Ray Cobb. They
want a cool, moist winter and a dry summer in porous, open soil. Height
3-6 cm (1.25 - 2.5"). Zone 7.
Corm (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog
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Crocus vernus Hill 'Uklin
Strain'. These corms descend from a variable population discovered in
1979 by Jānis
Rukšāns in western Ukraine, on the Uklin
Pass in the Carpathian Mountains. From this population several cultivars
with dark-tipped petals have been selected. We offer unselected corms that
are beautiful in their own right. More forms worth naming will undoubtedly
be found; among the corms you order, perhaps?
Corm (Fall shipping only). $2.75 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Crocus versicolor Ker-Gawler.
Another favorite here. The glowing flowers, violet to lavender and white, are distinctively
marked ~ both inside and out ~ with purple feathering and stripes above a
pale throat. The
outer segments are silver to buff. The style is divided into 3. Bloom time is
February-March. Native to
S France, Monaco and W Italy. Our plants descend from corms collected by
Jeannine and Michael Hoog in Provence in 1982. Height 5-8 cm
(2-3.5"). Zone 5. Corms (Fall shipping only). $2.00 or 5/$8.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Crocus vitellinus Wahlenb. The name means eggyolk-yellow and
these flowers are, indeed, a rich, free-range gold. The feathery style rises
from a red-gold heart. The outside is
dusted with maroon. This species, native to Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, is usually considered an early-winter bloomer. Our plants bloom
in February-March, but their identity has been verified by the Crocus specialist
Erich Pasche. They are very floriferous and descend from corms collected in
Lebanon by the
French botanist-missionary Paul Mouterde (1892-1972). Height 5-8 cm (2-3.5"). Zone 6.
Corms (Fall shipping only). $2.00 or 5/$8.00 |
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These references stand out.
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| This page was updated March 21, 2008. | ||||
