Growing Crocuses

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for 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. Plant this perennial flower in the fall for an early spring 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.

Crocus bulbs (technically called “corms”) 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 crocus corms.

Planting

When to Plant Crocuses

Before the ground freezes in the fall, crocus corms can be planted most anywhere, except in the dense shade on the north side of buildings or under thickets.
Ideally, plant crocus corms 6 to 8 weeks before a hard frost is expected and when the soil temperature is below 60°F (16°C). This is usually during September and October in the northern U.S. and Canada, and October and November in the southern United States.

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

Choose a planting site where there is well-draining soil; bulbs will rot in soggy, compacted ground.
Before planting, work in organic matter such as compost, peat, or something like shredded leaves to a depth of at least 10 inches.

How to Plant Crocuses

Plant crocus corms 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 spring-flowering bulbs and shrubs behind the early bulbs for color contrast.
Learn more about planting fall bulbs.

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

Care

How to Care for Crocuses

Apply a balanced fertilizer in early autumn if your spring is short and the days heat up fast; or, apply fertilizer after bulbs flower in late winter if your spring is long and temperate. The crocuses 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 the soil. 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 crocuses in buried wire cages.
Birds sometimes pick off the flowers.
Corms in storage are prone to rot and molds if kept too moist.

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

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Reader Comments

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!

crocus in pots

after putting pots in an out of the way place till fall do I keep watering or just let it stay dry

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?

If the bulbs are dry just put

If the bulbs are dry just put them in a paper bag and store them in a cool dry spot. Just remember to plant them in the fall.

Crocus

Will the Crocus survive and live in doors
Through the winter ?

Crocus in winter

Hi, Linda, Crocus need a cool period (but not a freeze) to bloom properly, so the answer is no, they will not live indoors.

Planting my Crocus

I live in Washington, DC don't know my zone but when should I plant my crocuses.

This is to anybody that

This is to anybody that knows,
My dad and myself found a plant with white fuzzy fur on it, and there is also a plant growing from the middle of it.
Does anybody know what this plant is?

Dear Sir / Mam, I have a crop

Dear Sir / Mam,

I have a crop of tricolour blooming crocus in my garden.Please may I know whether I can pick the anthers for use as a food colouring?

It is not crocus sativus.

Thanking you,

K.S.Silva

Hi all :O) I need a bit of

Hi all :O)
I need a bit of advice please
I am shortly moving away from my local area (Cambridge UK) and no longer will be able to tend my mother's an father's graves.
So I had the idea of planting both snowdrops and crocuses on both graves, so there would be some early colour on the graves before the cemeteries strict lawn mowing regime (1st cut in mid April)
OK so snowdrops worked perfectly but crocuses came up blind 2 shows only
So before I move away I want to put crocuses in now before I move
I know crocuses should be planted late August to December, but I wont be here!
If I put crocus bulbs in now (mid March) will they appear before next spring? and if they do and get cut by mower this spring / summer, will they in spring 2016 reappear and have flowers?
I have tried to obtain crocus bulbs locally, and crocuses in the green unsuccessfully
Or can you suggest an alternative flower or way round my problem
OK that's in all advice and suggestions appreciated

Huge THANKS in expectation

Pete *S*

How about Mums?

I have Miss Saigon variety of

I have Miss Saigon variety of purple crocuses in small they were one of those growing kits for X-mas and I would like them to flower again in December to early January.
I live tropical climate: the house is cooler than outside but the windows are made with coloured glass to keep cool and the sun out; outside temperature averages 30-40C except in cold season when it can get as cold as 22C at night but never under 20C. Monsoon is tricky as I cannot shield the plants from too much rain while keeping them outside. Would it be possible to keep these plants alive and have them flower again? I can keep the small pots in my fridge, but what shall I do the rest of the time? And when do I put the corms in the fridge?

Sorry, I should have said

Sorry, I should have said bowls, not pots: there is no drainage.

Hi there, Can I plant Crocus

Hi there,
Can I plant Crocus in tropical climate? We have no snow in the winter and not cold enough to freeze the ground

yes, probaly.

Hi there. I have just picked

Hi there. I have just picked some crocus' from an exposed paddock (dug down to get all of bulb). It was dry and the flowers were prolific. We have had heavy frosts this year (Monto QLD) which sounds like the reason they were so prolific. Just wondering if these babies will survive? Still flowering, roots at end of bulb are fat and wet (I've kept them moist). Should I plant them and hope for the best? They still look super healthy.

Although the saffron crocus

Although the saffron crocus was bred for saffron production don't all crocus produce saffron?

We have crocus bulbs but are

We have crocus bulbs but are not yard-digging people. Will our bulbs do nicely permanently in pots? According to some comments I read, crocus needs some cold temps to properly bloom. Leave pots outside or in chilly garage for winter? Thanks.

can i plant crocuses in

can i plant crocuses in toronto canada ? if yes pl let me know where to plant, inside or out side

Hi, Sanjay: You sure can, but

Hi, Sanjay: You sure can, but time is just about out for planting outside, so you need to get them in the ground this weekend at the latest!