{"id":6627,"date":"2012-09-28T01:40:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-28T05:40:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T18:10:31","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T22:10:31","slug":"fall-bulbs-crocus-colchicum-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2012\/09\/fall-bulbs-crocus-colchicum-and\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crocus of Autumn"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Colchicum make excellent cut flowers, they can last more than a week in water, and picking them will actually make your display next year even better.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\nThe true Autumn Crocus – those true crocus species which bloom in the autumn which are organized by plant taxonomists firmly within the genus Crocus, and their look-alike cousins, those plants in the genus Colchicum – and also sometimes listed as ‘autumn crocus’  can be confusing to many new ( and experienced) gardeners. Don’t fret – both are easy and long-lived in the garden, and they may be the most economical bulbs money can buy.<\/div>\n
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\nOnce only grown by the most adventurous of gardeners, these autumnal bulbs are becoming more popular, but ever-so-slowing. I have a theory about why these bulbs are still not common in most of our gardens – we have a short attention span, and although when we see their brilliant violet or white blossoms each autumn, it is already too late to purchase them, and by the time spring comes around, they are a distant memory. Colchicum and Autumn blooming crocus are then just grown by the organized, and the planner-types. So take note. At least for next year. Until then some tips about both of these bulbs.<\/div>\n

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\nColchicum are available in about a dozen species and selections commercially, but remember to order them during their short period of availability – July and early August. The double form sold under the cultivar name of ‘Waterlily’ is one of the finest, yet single forms can put on an equally spectacular display as seen above. Colchicum, if happy, gradually divide into larger clumps. I have some that have been growing for thirty years, and they only get better every year.<\/div>\n

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Autumn Crocus in commercial catalogs are terribly mixed up, with names and cultivars often being mislabeled. I wouldn’t worry, as many commercial varieties are simply all the same one – last year I ordered six species, and three named forms and they were all the exact same cultivar ( see above). I’m not complaining, the display was spectacular.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Autumn Crocus, if  planted as soon as they arrive in late September, will bloom in a few weeks. -Think – purple paperwhites, and plant a few dozen in containers for doorsteps and windowsills. Then slip the rootball’s into the garden after bloom, for a repeat show next year.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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\nCrocus medius, another muddled species – related, but hard to properly identify with commercial stock. I would need to purchase bulbs from a European collector to get proper species – something to save for my retirement project. For now, I just enjoy whatever I can get.<\/p>\n

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Saffron Anyone? It’s not the yellow pollen that supplies the world’s most expensive spice,  it’s the stigma. See the distended parts here? I dare not pick them, not because I want seed, since most if not all C. sativus are sterile, it’s that I would need to plant the entire greenhouse just to get a single ounce.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Colchicum make excellent cut flowers, they can last more than a week in water, and picking them will actually make your display next year…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Crocus of Autumn - Growing With Plants<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2012\/09\/fall-bulbs-crocus-colchicum-and\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Crocus of Autumn - 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