Spring Crocuses

Wiese Acres Dutch Crocus (Crocus Vernus)

It's been a long time coming this year, but I am now sure that spring has arrived - my crocuses are blooming their hearts out.  They are amazing little things - they can get nipped with nasty cold at night, end up buried in snow, or baked in the hot sun of unseasonably warm temperatures, yet they still do their best to put on a marvelous spring show.

Crocuses, or croci (croak-eye), are members of the iris family.  They grow from a corm that is usually planted in the late fall for blooms the following spring.  The crocuses I have in my garden are different than the ones I used to search the pastures on the farm for in the early spring - while we commonly call those wild flowers "crocus",  they are really pasque flowers.  They are similar in flower appearance and in bloom time, but the wild "crocuses" are from the buttercup family and have hairy leaves versus the smooth, blade-like leaves of the true crocus from the iris family.

There are over 80 species of crocus, but most of what we see in the garden centers are a mixture of species and varieties.  Dutch crocus, or Crocus vernus is the most common species we see.  The only thing you really need to pay attention to when buying crocus corms is whether they are spring or fall bloomers.  I'll be talking about the spring bloomers today.

Crocus are low-growing, reaching no more than about six inches tall.  The size of the flower depends on the species, but they all are six petalled, cup-shaped flowers, usually in shades of purple, yellow, and white.  They look their best when they are planted in large groupings or drifts.  They prefer full sun, but since they bloom in early spring when the trees are not yet fully leafed-out, they will do well planted under deciduous trees.  They require well-drained soil to keep the corm from rotting during its dormant times. 

Crocuses put on their spring show, store food in the corm for the next season, and then go dormant in the heat of summer.  They require very little care - give them a drink now and then in spring and fall.  Leave their leaves alone after they finish blooming, no matter how scraggly and tacky they begin to look.  Crocus are like most other bulbs and corms in that they need that foliage growth time after blooming to store the nutrients needed for the next year's flowers.  I cover up the foliage by planting later emerging perennials nearby, such as balloon flower (platycodon) in locations that stay sunny; or hostas in locations that become more shady as the trees leaf out.

Crocuses do not require a lot of fertilizer.  If you have even moderately good garden soil, they likely don't need anything.  If your soil is a little on the poorer side, you can top dress the bulbs with bulb food or bone meal, either right after they finish blooming or in the fall.

Crocus are short lived bulbs so they rarely need to be divided, but may need to be replaced every few years.  It is well worth the little bit of effort these bulbs require to have that tough little harbinger of spring greet you when you look at your spring garden.