Growing Crocuses

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When it seems like winter will never lose its icy grip, the dainty crocus pushes through the snow to put on a show of colorful revival. If you are not planting this perennial bulb, you are missing an early season of delight. Here’s how to plant, grow, and care for crocuses in your garden!

From snow crocuses (the first to bloom) to giant Dutch crocuses, all just 2 to 4 inches tall, these blooms offer a variety in color (pinks, reds, oranges, yellows, purples, blues, and more) that stand out against the bleak late-winter landscape. Many have strong perfumes that lure bees out of their hives in February or March.

Small bulbs like crocus not only provide winter garden color, but they naturalize, meaning that they spread and come back year after year—with minimum care—for an ever-larger display. As a bonus, deer, squirrels, and rabbits rarely bother early little bulbs.

Planting

Before the ground freezes in the fall, early bulbs can be planted most anywhere, except in the dense shade on the north side of buildings.
Ideally, plant crocus corms 6 to 8 weeks before a hard frost is expected and when soils are below 60°F(16°C). This is usually during September and October in the North, and October and November in the South.
Learn more about planting fall bulbs.
Make sure the soil drains well, because bulbs will rot in soggy ground.
Work in organic matter such as compost, peat or a substitute, such as shredded leaves to a depth of at least 10 inches.
Plant crocus bulbs 3 to 4 inches deep (with the pointy end up). After planting, water well.
Plant bulbs in groups or clusters rather than spacing them in a single line along a walkway or border. Single flowers get lost in the landscape. Plant a few inches apart, and plant in groups of 10 or more.
Consider planting crocuses in lawns and meadows where they can form carpets, or mass them in the front of flower beds along the edge.
Plant taller bulbs and spring-flowering shrubs behind the early bulbs for color contrast.

Crocus field
A carpet of crocuses makes for a wonderful spring sight!

Care

Apply a balanced fertilizer in early autumn if your spring is short and the days heat up fast; or, apply fertilizer after bulbs flower if your spring is long and temperate; bulbs will have a chance to use the extra nutrients to produce bigger carbohydrate stores.
Through the autumn, keep crocus beds watered if weather gets dry but do not waterlog. Cover the beds with mulch before the winter.
In late February, remove mulches from snowdrops and crocuses so the shoots can come through.
In February and March, keep plastic milk jugs or other coverings on hand to protect the flowers of crocuses and other early bloomers against the return of severe weather.
If you have crocuses growing in your lawn in mid-Spring, don’t mow until their leaves have died down.

Pests/Diseases

Mice, voles, and squirrels may feed on the corms. If they are a problem, consider planting crocus bulbs in buried wire cages.
Birds sometimes pick off the flowers.
Corms in storage are prone to rot and molds.

Recommended Varieties

‘Bowles White’ produces white flowers with deep golden yellow throats in early spring. It grows 2 to 3 inches tall.
‘Flower Record’ has single pale violet flowers in spring to early summer. It grows 4 to 5 inches tall.
‘Pickwick’ is a striped crocus with alternating pale and dark lilac and dark purple bases. It’s 4 to 5 inches tall and blooms in spring to early summer.
‘Tricolor Crocus’ is a beauty. Each narrow flower has three distinct bands of lilac, white, and golden yellow. It grows 3 inches tall and blooms in late winter and early spring.
‘Purpureus Grandiflorus’ has abundance violet flowers with purple bases. It grows 4 to 5 inches tall and blooms spring to early summer.

Crocuses in Snow
Crocuses peaking up through the snow.

Wit & Wisdom

In the language of flowers, crocus means cheerfulness.

And all the woods are alive with the murmur and sound of Spring,
And the rose-bud breaks into pink on the climbing briar,
And the crocus-bed is a quivering moon of fire
Girdled round with the belt of an amethyst ring.
–Oscar Wilde

Reader Comments

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Crocus care

Should established crocus be divided / thinned in the fall? This Spring they are looking great but a very tight bunch.Thank you.

Dividing Crocuses

The best time to divide or thin crocuses is after their foliage has died back naturally. At this point in time, they have finished storing energy for next year’s bloom.

Tip: Dig up the crocuses before you remove any of their foliage, as it will be easier to see where—and how many—there are. Cut off the foliage before replanting.

Thank you for being so easy

Thank you for being so easy to read and understand for a laymen in gardening.I cannot wait for more information and guidance from your site. Thank. You

Watering

Hi there,

It says above to “water well after planting” but I wanted to ask how much to water on a weekly basis. Should I let the soil dry completely since they’re prone to bulb rot? Also the tips look a little dry but in the photos of crocus, it’s seems it’s natural. Is it a sign that it’s too dry by chance? I live in Houston and it’s a fair 70 degrees so would it be advisable to water 3-4 apart? Thanks in advance

Crocus planting

I live in CT and just purchased crocus plants from the grocery store. I brought them indoors and they are now blooming. I'm not sure when to plant them. Should they stay in the pots until the fall or should I plant them in the spring? Thanks for your help.

when to plant crocuses

As we indicate above, Ideally, plant crocus corms 6 to 8 weeks before a hard frost is expected and when soils are below 60°F(16°C). This is usually during September and October in the North, and October and November in the South.

You purchased (what is in all likelihood) a forced bulb. Growers have ways of hastening plant/bulb maturity on a schedule that is slightly different from that of mother nature because we love to see blooms in the spring! Most forced bulbs can be planted and naturalized into an environment. See above (or below in another question) for guidance on what to do with it after the bloom fades, as you wait for the cold weather of early winter to plant it.

Spacing

I planted 15 Crocus bulbs in a 12 diameter planter nearly a month and a half ago. Several shoots are coming up now but my concern is that I didnt space them far enough. Would it be advisable to dig down and transplant them in the ground? How much should I have spaced them?

Crocus Spacing

Hi Moe,

You planted the crocuses with plenty of space. There’s no need to change a thing!

Crocus Sativus

Hi,
Is it possible to grow healthy saffron crocus on the gulf side of Florida 60 miles north of Tampa? i was thinking of raised beds but also thinking that a ground garden would have a cooler soil temperature. Sort of my retirement hobby. Thanks!

Crocus in Florida

At that location, you are just outside of the recommended planting range for Crocus (see the USDA Planting Zones), but it may be worthwhile trying a few bulbs in a cool spot on your property anyway. Typically, though, Florida does not get cold enough for long enough for the bulbs to have an appropriate cooling period. We would recommend contacting your local Cooperative Extension Service, which will be able to give you localized gardening advice.

November blooms

I planted a handful of crocus bulbs last fall. They were beautiful in the spring. It's now November 17th & they're starting to pop up again. We've had pretty mild weather but I'm afraid it will turn cold & they'll get a frost or freeze. Also, how will their fall growth affect the spring growth & blooms?

Crocus-saffron

Can I get saffron from crocus I've been told of a thing called dutch saffron what is it

saffron from crocus

You can grow crocus sativus and harvest the culinary saffron in minute amounts. Dutch saffron refers to a company that sells these bulbs from Holland. Vendors ship in the fall and the bulbs should be planted on receipt. Search around for vendors and be sure that the plants will survive in your planting zone.

Lifting crocuses

I live in the south east of England and our crocuses finished blooming a few weeks ago but the foliage shows no sign of dying back. Can I dig them out yet?

Giant crocus color

I planted a few hundred mixed giant crocus in the fall and we're having a warm winter. I have some blooming now in February, but they're all yellow... Do yellow crocus bloom first or can soil impact color?

Thank you!

crocus bloom time vs color

Apparently the yellow blooming crocuses tend to flower first—but only by a few days to a week. That’s the suggestion of this study of bulbs for Kentucky gardeners: http://www.uky.edu/hort/sites/www.uky.edu.hort/files/documents/5204sprin... see the chart on page 3, and not the March dates at the top. Presumably those dates would vary in other gardening zones.

We hope this help…

I live in Vancouver, B.C. and

I live in Vancouver, B.C. and while my neighbours have wonderful crocuses, and though mine are planted facing south, if they come up, they are straggly and thin. I've tried everything; planting in clumps with plenty of bone meal, peat moss, rotted compost, etc. What about soil ph? Help!! Thanks, Joy
P.S. Snow drops do extremely well but I do love the colour of crocuses.
P.P.S. Other bulbs are equally problematic except for hyacinths.

Sometimes plants just do not

Sometimes plants just do not do well, Joy (sorry today…). You might consider some of the key differences between your property and that of your neighbors. Crocuses do not like too much water (was your compost/peat moss mix retaining it?). Crocus tommasinianus seems to be highly reliable—and squirrel resistant. (Did you consider that: could squirrels be your nemesis??) Some folks have best luck with little sunlight, water, or nutrients. Certainly if you plant them in a lawn or tidy your plant bed by mowing or cutting off the foliage, you are not helping the crocuses; they need the foliage to thrive.

As a last resort—or best next step—you might ask your neighbors what type they have and what their “secret” to success is. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll dig up one or two corms and give you a couple to try in your conditions.

We hope this helps, even a little.

Crocus spreading

I live in Canberra, Australia and have some crocus in a bed at the northern end of the house. They do well, very well in the cool dry climate. Three years ago I noticed one growing in the lawn about a metre (three feet) from the rest, on the far side of a narrow concrete path. I put this down to having dropped a bulb sometime but in the past couple of years they have popped up by ones as far as 5 metres (16 feet) from the rest. I could swear that I had not dropped a bulb in those spots as well. So do crocuses spread underground? I have asked this on another site but never got a satisfactory answer. Your opinion please.

G’day, mate! Certainly you

G’day, mate! Certainly you may have dropped a bulb. But in fact, some crocuses, especially Tommy crocus (Crocus tommasinianus ‘Pictus’), naturalize and spread by seed. Whether you like that is up to you, but keep in mind, too, that “tommies” are the most squirrel-resistant crocuses. (If you’ve ever planted bulbs only to wake up the next day and see empty holes in the ground, you would appreciate this.) If they are growing well for you, enjoy them. Several folks on this page would like to have your “problem.”

Cheers!

Fall Crocus

I have a nice bed of fall crocus, planted in small clusters, 8 - 10 clusters in a 3' X 7' space. They fit all the information you give for a spring crocus but I have only large 8" long green leaves in the spring when others have flowers. The leaves die about mid summer and nothing until early to mid September. A sprout comes peeking through the ground and a few days latter I have a cluster of beautiful lilac colored crocus about 4 inches tall. The first opened Sept. 2 and are still in bloom despite a couple of heavy rains which broke some of the stems.
Are these Fall Crocus and why have I not seen the bulbs for sale anywhere?

Fall Crocus

Hi Jane,

They do sound like autumn crocuses. I am not sure why you can’t find them locally, but you will see them for sale online at places like White Flower Farm and American Meadows.

Squirrels

In the East, (I live in Toronto, Canada) squirrels just live for crocus. I did some late planting of Dutch crocus in 2015 (Nov. and Dec.) about 300 bulbs. The squirrels took at least 3/4. What was even worse, Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow) - which is described as being squirrel resistant - was dug up and eaten as much or more than the Dutch crocus. What managed to escape was the Puschkinia, Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica), Grape Hyacinths (Muscari Armeniacum), Tulips (dug too deep to reach) Hyacinths, Spanish bluebells, all Daffodils and some botanical crocus (too small to bother with during the Dutch crocus feast). Please tell me about your experience with squirrels and bulbs. As I'm not often on this site, reach me at Steve: boapythonblue@hotmail.com. I'm certainly not going to late-plant anymore Dutch crocus.

squirrels

Squirrels will eat anything. Our worst experiences have included tulip bulbs and peaches on the tree. You can spend a lifetime trying to defeat or trick them. So plan accordingly.

Here are some of our—and Almanac reads’—best solutions for control: https://www.almanac.com/content/squirrels

crocus sinking

hi, my sister has crocus in bloom but the stem sunk back in the ground, flower is still blooming. Any reason why

Crocus

I just bought some crocus plants if you are flowering it's late March in Missouri can I replant them in the yard?

When the crocus is done

When the crocus is done flowering, stop watering it, let the foliage die back, and put the pot in an out-of-the-way place. In the early fall, remove the bulbs from the pot and plant them outdoors.

Question about moving them

Sorry if this was already answered in the comments.
I have some crocus flowers that are blooming in the yard of a house I just moved into. It is late Feb. I wanted to move them. Should I wait until they are done blooming to dig up the bulbs and then plant them in the fall where I want or will they survive if I move them now? Do they need direct sunlight?

Don't Croke the Crocuses

Hi, Sara: It’s best to wait and replant them in the fall, and yes, they do need direct sunlight! Thanks for asking!

I have some crocus bulbs that

I have some crocus bulbs that have never been planted. It is now mid February and my crocus outside are already blooming. Should I plant the bulbs now for flowering next year or wait until the fall to plant them? If I have to wait til the fall, how should I store them until then?