What’s Blooming? {Crocus}

 

In the spirit of the season when everything is fresh and new I thought it would be fun to start a new series of posts: What’s Blooming?

Yes, you probably know the names of most of the common blooms (unless you are my husband – don’t worry, he won’t take offense to that), but hopefully we’ll add to your existing knowledge and highlight a few new plants for you as the growing season progresses. Let’s get started!

The Crocus. It is one of the first flowers to bloom come spring and is a welcome signal of the end of winter. Their cup-shaped blooms push through newly soften earth or even a layer of snow to reach heights of two to six inches. They pop in shades of yellow, white, purple, and lavender. Some have bi-colored or variegated blooms and all varieties have grass-like leaves that usually have a white stripe along the center.

These petite flowers are members of the iris family and are hardy perennials. Their name is derived from the Latin crocatus, meaning saffron yellow. The spice saffron is obtained from the stamens of Crocus sativus, a fall-blooming species. Now, I can hear the wheels turning in your head if you are a cook. “Hey, saffron is pricey. I’m going to go out and raid the neighbor’s yard!” Don’t. First of all, you won’t win any favor with the neighbors, and secondly, we have the spring blooming variety in New England, so please don’t try to collect your own!

Crocuses bloom from corms, which are short, compressed stems similar to bulbs. They are flatter and have “eyes”, or buds, at the top from which new shoots emerge. Each year a new corm forms on top of the old one, and tiny corms, called cormels, form around its base. Each corm produces one to five blooms a season. When planted in proper conditions, most self-sow the next generation.

If you’d like to add these cheerful little bursts of spring to your landscape, plant them in full sun to partial shade. They also prefer well-drained soil and have good drought tolerance. They do well in rock and wall gardens and look best when planted in mass drifts for maximum impact.