“All the world loves the Crocus,” wrote the famous Louis Beebe Wilder, putting into words what many of us think each of us has in spring. I ran into the garden to check the watering needs and his words returned.
More crocuses should grow. They are so easy to grow and are quite cheap to buy. A few dollars spent on crocus bulbs in the fall provide a rich payoff with many springs and falls to come. I have seen them natural in some forests in Scotland. It could be done here if the householder wanted to send the grass cut until the corm was ripe.
They are delightful under light beams and clustered at the base of an open tree. They are also very effective when used in beds and borders and for adding color to windows and porch boxes and are suitable for use in rok. gardens Every garden should have at least one crocus plant. Crocus is one bulb that can be exposed as soon as it comes to market. They, like other bulbs, must have good drainage, and apart from this they require very little in their requirements.
They recognize that the soil is deep enough, fertile rather than poor and compact. Poor soil can be improved by digging in a very liberal amount of compost or other soil material to a depth of 10 inches or more so that the bulbs will grow well. Choose a location in full sun if possible. But they will grow and bloom on the part of my shade, as evidenced by C. MASS BETTER, which receives a lot of light, but a little sun in the morning.
Buying crocus bulbs by the dozen buy 10 varieties each and make more selections so you can have a long season of elfin beauty. Also, if you want to be truly amazed, have one of the typical fall bloomers. These corns will bloom after a short time. I had to let them bloom while they waited to be planted in a bowl. If your soil is average, good green loam and you can work well, you can plant stems three to four inches high. I dig up five to six inches of soil in the spots I’m going to plant and spread a large pile of non-burning, sober release manure over the bottom.
This material is 6-40-7, so it provides plenty of phosphorus for long periods of time. I placed the soil on top of the manure spreader and spread the furrows four to five inches apart, which covered the rest of the excavated soil. Make sure to put a small stake with a label on it in the center of the planting. This reminds you that space has been taken, and keeps you from forgetting the name of the variety.
Most crocuses available in nurseries are Dutch hybrids as few growers bother with the species. But most of these vendors will come out of the catalog and they will turn a little face. If you can’t find fall species, you may be able to find autumn colchicum that blooms in the fall. This is not a crocus but a lily family but it looks and blooms like a crocus. Most nursery and garden supply stores place a variety of pictures in individual boxes of bulbs and corms.
Take a pencil with you and write the variety name on the bag before the strings are placed, and use a separate bag for each variety. Don’t forget to make a beautiful crocus plant container why not join the pots, one on each side of your front door to impress your guests.
Crocus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocus
