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. If you are not planting this perennial spring flower, 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.

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

How 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 soils are below 60°F (16°C). This is usually during September and October in the North, and October and November in the South, but .
Learn more about planting fall bulbs.
Make sure the soil drains well, because bulbs will rot in soggy ground.
Before planting, work in organic matter such as compost, peat, or something like shredded leaves to a depth of at least 10 inches.
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.

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

Reader Comments

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Shucks. I guess I finally

Shucks. I guess I finally found a drawback to living in the land of sunshine.

I bought 200 crocus bulbs

I bought 200 crocus bulbs last fall but never got around to planting them (about 200 bulbs). They spent the winter in our garage which is heated to 15°C in winter. Will these still be ok to plant this fall or are they lost? Also, how should I store them for the remainder of the spring and summer to ensure i get decent results when I plant them in the fall? I'm in Quebec, Canada.

I bought 200 crocus bulbs

I just received a crocus that

I just received a crocus that is potted for Easter. Can I keep this in the pot for a house plant?

Sometimes those gift pots

Sometimes those gift pots aren't bred to last but you could try it. Let it bloom. When it's done flowering indoors, 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.

I live in pueblo, co, an arid

I live in pueblo, co, an arid environmemt. When and how much should i water the crocus?

Can you transplant/thin

Can you transplant/thin crocus while still in bloom or while foliage is still green? I have moved daffodils and they seem to fair well.

You are welcome to experiment

You are welcome to experiment but the gardening guidelines for transplanting bulbs are to move only after the foliage has faded. Bulbs dug and moved before foliage fades are useless.

I'm anxious to change my lawn

I'm anxious to change my lawn for this year. We are in the middle of a cold winter with loads of snow, but expecting some 50-degree weather in a few days. Can I plant crocuses during that warming period and expect them to survive? I don't mind if many of them don't bloom this spring, but wondering if they are likely to survive through next year if planted in early spring?

We love the idea of crocus,

We love the idea of crocus, but spring-flowering bulbs must be planted in the fall as they chill. Plant in November 3 inches deep and 3 to 6 inches apart.

I ended up buying some

I ended up buying some crocuses at a co-op and they are already blooming. I live in NY were its starting to warm up but it will still have some 20's-30's days ahead. Do I keep inside this spring and plant in the Fall? Or should I plant outside now since it's already in full bloom?

I've planted all kinds of

I've planted all kinds of bulbs late in the season - even Feb! And they've come up and done fine.

Crocuses are the flower of

Crocuses are the flower of St. Valentine.

Can the crocus grow 100% in

Can the crocus grow 100% in south Africa, Gauteng? My wedding is in mid-July 2014 and need them to be perfect like picture shown above. Please advise me if I should rather import them. Any suggestions will be highly appreciated. Thanx

I live in 8a, in Washington

I live in 8a, in Washington state. I am a new gardener, and I am even newer to the bulb concept. I bought some crocus bulbs in pots that I want to put in a freestanding planter box that I have. There are some other bulbs on our property that seem to do fine coming back every year on their own, but it does get really wet here, and sometimes it barely freezes in the winter. Is there anything different that I should do with my crocus bulbs in the planter box to keep them healthy other than watering and maybe mulching after the leaves die off?

how long does it take the

how long does it take the bulb to grow into a plant? it's my first time with bulb planting and i wonder when i'll see the little angels coming out of the soil.

It depends on the variety.

It depends on the variety. The common spring-flowering crocus is planted in the fall and blooms very early in the spring. In fact, these babies flower through the last winter snows.

thanks for the help. i

thanks for the help. i planted the bulbs in end september and was wondering whether i did something wrong as i don't see a plant till now. i live in the capital of pakistan and we have snow fall in the adjacent hilly areas but not in my city. thanks a lot again :)

Hi! When would we plant

Hi! When would we plant crocus bulbs in Zone 7b (Birmingham, Alabama)? And what is the best planting time for highest yield of saffron threads? Thanks!

Saffron Crocus is hardy for

Saffron Crocus is hardy for your zone (7b). Most nursuries ship in September; plant as soon as you receive. See more about growing this bulb: http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com...

I would like to blanket my

I would like to blanket my front lawn with crocus - I ordered 1000 bulbs and wonder if you have any shortcuts or suggestions on how to plant this many bulbs. Thanks!

To plant your lawn with large

To plant your lawn with large swaths of bulbs, use a spade to dig out a planting block to the correct depth, position the bulbs and then replace the excavated soil.

After the crocus blooms and

After the crocus blooms and the leaves turn yellow and brown, I understand that you're not supposed to cut the leaves. Can I lay pine straw over the leaves so I don't have the see the yellow leaves? Thank you.

No, you should not cover the

No, you should not cover the foliage with straw. The leaves need the sunshine to be able to feed the bulb, to allow it to multiply and for the following year's bloom. Covering with straw would block the sunshine and be as bad as cutting it back. You can hide unsightly foliage by planting annuals in front of it. Or, another thing you can do is gather a clump of leaves and tie them together in a knot to make neat bundles. I don't bother doing this with my crocuses, as their foliage doesn't last long enough to bother me, but I do do this with my daffodils, which have foliage that lasts well into June and sometimes July. Good luck :)

I apologize - I must have

I apologize - I must have misread your question the first time. After the leaves have turned yellow and/or brown, you MAY go ahead and cut them down (or now them if they're growing in a lawn). The key with most bulbs is to allow the leaves to complete their cycle, as tang is what replenishes the bulb for the following year. It sounds like you already knew this, so I do apologize once again for my first unhelpful comment. Happy growing !!

The fall we after bought our

The fall we after bought our house and tilled our garden 6+ inches (to amend the soil and plant irises) we discovered a couple of spots where bulbs had been previously planted, obviously very deeply. The flowers look just like light purple crocuses. We live in a zone that is 4b-5a (4a-b growing season with 5a summer heat) and in the last 8 years those flowers continue to bloom, but have NEVER had foliage. I'm mystified! Is there a crocus that doesn't produce foliage or could that be the depth issue?

Fall-blooming crocuses

Fall-blooming crocuses produce their flowers without any foliage; the leaves appear in spring.

I moved to Vancouver, WA from

I moved to Vancouver, WA from Southern California last fall. Yesterday, I noticed crocus' popping up in my yard in various places. Its zone 8 here and the end of summer. These have no leaves just as you described and pale purple flowers. Very pretty. How to I care for them now that they are blooming in 70-80 degree weather?

Can the crocus plant be used

Can the crocus plant be used as a color die?

The Saffron variety was

The Saffron variety was traditionally used as a yellow dye.