Similar … Plant them about three inches deep, and six inches apart. The Spruce uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. True Crocus are members of the iris family (Iridaceae), their name deriving from the Greek word for saffron, harvested from Crocus sativus. Slugs and snails may bother plants in moist, shaded gardens. Cover seeds so that they are just buried, and sow outdoors in the fall, as seeds need a chill period to trigger germination. Autumn crocus is a plant. The autumn crocus needs at least a half day of sun during its foliage phase. Colchicums aka Autumn Crocus or Meadowsweet are charming plants with crocus like flowers borne generally in the autumn, and unusually large leaves which do not appear until the spring. The plants are not attractive as the leaves are dying back but like other bulbs, they need to be left until they dry out in order to supply nutrients to the bulb. Autumn crocuses Short in stature, autumn crocuses are best placed near the edge of a border, in a rock garden, or in groups in grass. But all parts of the plant are considered toxic. – Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin – Madison. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series, The Spruce Gardening & Plant Care Review Board, The Spruce Renovations and Repair Review Board, Autumn crocus, meadow saffron, naked lady, Slightly acidic to slightly alkaline; 6.5 to 7.5. This vigorous cormous perennial has semi-erect, lance-shaped leaves 7 to 10 inches long that emerge in spring, then go dormant in late May. Native to Europe and North Africa, C. autumnale grows wild in woods and damp meadows and has been naturalized in some parts of the US and Canada. Autumn Crocus, Colchicum spp. Autumn crocus, which looks a lot like it, is extremely poisonous. ‘Violet Queen’ – a hybrid with violet flowers that have white lines in the throat and distinctive orange anthers. Other common names for these plants include meadow saffron, naked lady and colchicum. Growing autumn crocus in containers is fun when you combine them with a mounding plant like wax begonia, and then wait for the surprise flowers to appear in the fall. Colchicums are well suited to growing under deciduous trees or shrubs, or mixed in with other perennials but will do best in full sun when in leaf. Autumn crocus needs to be planted in mid- to late summer in order to establish by fall for blooming. ‘Giant’ – is a free-flowering hybrid with very large flowers up to 10-12″ tall. Plant the waxy, irregular corms covered in a dark-brown, leathery skin in well-drained soil about 6 inches apart. Colchicum bulbs need moderate water; neither wet soils nor droughty ones are conducive to growth. url : { filterview : "Program - Horticulture" } , #92156940 - Autumn crocus bulbs next to basket a shovel on a wooden table. They will bloom that same fall, with foliage to follow in the spring. The flowers look very similar to the spring blooming crocus, except that they have six stamens rather than the three stamens of the crocus. There are about 160 Cholchicumspecies and all would be great plants to grow, but they are not common in the trade. This is long before most people consider planting bulbs, so this species has not been widely utilized in gardens. The clear white blooms of autumn crocus 'Innocence' shine in partially shady gardens. Colchicums prefer well-drained soil that doesn’t dry out in summer. By using The Spruce, you accept our, How to Grow and Care for the Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow Plants, How to Grow and Care for Allium (Ornamental Onion). If you need to move or want to divide the plants, do this in summer after the leaves have died back but before the flowers begin to appear. Leaves first appear in the autumn (September to November in its native habitats), and are glossy green, up to 12 mm wide; they remain through the winter. The upright, 8-14″ leaves of autumn crocus resemble that of a short, dark green tulip or even a romaine lettuce head. Jamie has written about gardening and special occasion flowers since 2011. The leaves of autumn crocus are produced in the fall of the year, after flowering has occurred. ‘Pleniflorum’ – a double lilac-pink variety. Crocus vernus: leaf blades with a prominent white mid-stripe, and flowers with 3 stamens and an inferior ovary (vs. C. autumnale, with the leaf blades lacking a white mid-stripe and flowers with 6 stamens … Its flowers often need support, such as from a low groundcover, to prevent them from falling over. You can take advantage of this by digging the bulbs and removing these new baby bulbs in the summer, when plants are dormant. Colchicum autumnale is the most common colchicum in gardens and is also known by the common names naked lady, meadow saffron, wonder bulb, naked boy and mysteria . It is hardy in zones 5-9 (maybe colder if given extra winter protection) and blooms in September in the Midwest. They look best planted in clusters or scattered drifts of 5 or more bulbs and will naturalize under ideal conditions. Phonetic Spelling KOHL-chik-um This plant has high severity poison characteristics. Among them are such notables as saffron crocus … Good drainage is more important than a nutrient-dense soil. The 2″ wide flowers emerge from the ground long after the leaves have died back (hence the common name naked ladies). There are many cultivars of Colchicum. Semi-erect, narrowly ovate leaves 7-10 inches long appear in spring and disappear by summer, followed by large, fully double, rosy lilac flowers resembling the blooms of a waterlily. By the time the trees are fully leafed out, the foliage is fading. White-flowered cultivars are set off well by the dark foliaged cultivars of Ajuga, such as ‘Black Scallop’, ‘Chocolate Chip’ or ‘Mahogany’. Fall flowers need not be limited to the standard asters and mums. Each 4-6″ long stalk has a single goblet-shaped flower that lasts up to two weeks. Water every week to ten days during the growing season to prevent bulbs from becoming desiccated during drought conditions. In spite of the similar common names, autumn crocus and saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) are not related, as the one that produces the spice is in the iris family, while the autumn crocus is related to lilies. Pot them up in mid-summer, using a standard potting mix, and water when the soil is dry. Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses which belong to the family Iridaceae. ‘Lilac Wonder’ – a large hybrid with narrow, rosy-purple flowers with white midlines. She has years of experience in caring for flowers and plants. These two are the most common commercially available fall “bulbs” and superficially resemble each other. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful (and bountiful) garden ever. C. autumnale is one of the most commonly grown autumn crocus but other species, particularly C. speciosum, which is a parent of many of the showy hybrids, are also often available. The fully double pink blooms of 'Waterlily' fill garden gaps beautifully. Corms planted in early fall may bloom that season. Colchicine is the main active principle found in autumn crocus and is present in a concentration of approximately 0.6% of corm; concentrations may exceed 1% in the seeds.1, 8 Dried leaves and flowers contain the same concentration of colchicine as fresh parts; however, dried flowers and seeds contain 15 times as much colchicine as leaves.8 A variety of other related alkaloids have been isolated from the plant, including colchicerine, colchamine, colchicoside, demethyl-3-colchicine, cornigerine, and 2-demet… Plant in raised beds in full sun to prevent moisture issues. The bulbs can also be planted in containers for a fall show, then sink the containers in the ground to overwinter. While the flowers appear in autumn, the leaves often grow the following … Whether your summers are hot or cool is less important, as the first harbinger of spring written gardening... Deep, and may take a year in some cases are primarily a light pink-purple color but cultivars. 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