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How to Plant and Grow Crocuses: Early Spring Color That Critters Leave Alone

Image Credit:
Pixabay
Botanical Name
Crocus
Grown as
Perennial
USDA Zones
3a
3b
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
Toxicity
Toxic
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Partial Sun
Water Needs
Moderate
Height
Under 1 foot
Spread
Under 1 foot
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Spring
Winter
Flower Color
Blue
Orange
Pink
Purple
White
Yellow
Special Features
Container-Friendly
Disease-Resistant
Low Maintenance
Winter Interest
Attracts Pollinators
Deer-resistant
Resilience
Cold Hardy
Plant Type
Bulbs
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Just when winter seems determined to linger forever, crocuses prove it doesn’t stand a chance. These tiny but mighty spring bulbs push straight through snow and frozen soil to deliver a burst of color when your garden needs it most. 

Even better? Crocuses are largely ignored by deer, squirrels, and rabbits—making them one of the most rewarding low-maintenance blooms you can plant. From fragrant snow crocuses to bold Dutch varieties, here’s everything you need to know to plant, grow, and enjoy these early-spring showstoppers year after year.

From snow crocuses (the first to bloom) to giant Dutch crocuses, all just 2 to 4 inches tall, these blooms offer a variety of colors (blues, oranges, pinks, purples, reds, yellows, 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, too, providing the pollinators with an important early-spring food source.

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

Planting

Where to Plant Crocuses

Crocuses do best in a spot that gets full sun (6+ hours of direct sunlight), but will grow in partial sun as well. Choose a planting site where there is well-draining soil; the corms will rot in soggy, compacted ground. Before planting, work in organic matter such as compost to a depth of at least 10 inches.

When to Plant Crocuses

  • Crocuses need to experience an extended period of cold weather in order to bloom, so plant them in the fall to get spring blooms.
  • 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 in the fall and when the soil temperature is below 60°F (16°C). This is usually during September or October in the northern U.S. and Canada, and October or November in the southern United States.

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!

Growing

  • 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 the weather gets dry, but do not waterlog the soil. Cover the beds with mulch before the winter.
  • In late February, remove heavy mulches from snowdrops and crocuses so that the shoots can come through. Leave a light layer of leaves to provide late-season protection from frost.
  • 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 and Problems

  • 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.

Types

  • ‘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 an abundance violet flowers with purple bases. It grows 4 to 5 inches tall and blooms spring to early summer.
Crocuses in Snow
Crocuses peeking up through the snow.

Wit and Wisdom

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

Bulbs

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening, so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Sam</span> Fri, 02/24/2017 - 09:00
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!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 02/27/2017 - 10:59

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/5204springbulbs.pdf 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...

 <span>Joy D Kazepides</span> Sun, 11/06/2016 - 16:27
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.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 11/08/2016 - 10:59

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.

 <span>Kevin</span> Thu, 10/06/2016 - 16:36
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.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 11/08/2016 - 10:38

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!

 

 <span>Jane Cheek</span> Sun, 09/18/2016 - 16:36
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?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 09/20/2016 - 14:15

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.

 <span>Steve</span> Tue, 04/19/2016 - 23:04
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.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 04/21/2016 - 16:17

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