With over 90 species of known Crocus, which includes C. sativus (Saffron!) This diverse genus from the Iris family can be found in bloom from Autumn to Summer in a wide variety of colours. Bees love spring flowering Crocus, which provide a great source of nectar ready to get bees off to work. Most species should be planted in a sunny position in well drained soil, with the corms being planted 3-4 cm deep.

Crocus sieberi ‘Hubert Edelsten’

This delightful; fragrant cultivar has deep purple outer petals with a white stripe at the tip and soft mauve inner petals, flowering from winter into late spring.

Cormous perennial with flowers and leaves appearing together.

Crocus sativus

C. sativus is highly prized as the most expensive spice in the world! This autumn flowering Crocus has a deep red stigma, goblet flowers which are pale purple.

Crocus laevigatus

C. laevigatus is a corm flowering in late autumn and originates from Greece. Fragrant flowers are pale purple or white with purple stripes on the outside. A bright yellow throat makes the flowers on this delicate Crocus stand out in style.

Crocus etruscus

The Tuscan crocus is a perennial whose flowers appear before the leaves and originates from north. north/west Italy. C. etruscus has pale lilac flowers with deep purple stripes and a distinct yellow throat, all of which makes a spectacular display of colour in spring.

Glossary

Corm:  swollen underground stems which serve as a storage organ for the plant. Externally corms look very similar to bulbs, so are often categorised as bulbs.