Crocuses are perennial flowers growing in almost all climatic zones. Large bulbs produce a bunch of delicate bright green leaves and one thick peduncle. The color of the petals varies from boiling white to dark purple and burgundy. By flowering time, there are two types: spring and autumn.
Primroses are less whimsical and pleasing to the eye, as soon as the snow falls. Late-flowering varieties are more demanding on moisture, soil temperature and top dressing. Planting and caring for plants require specific knowledge and skills of a grower. Before you plant crocuses on your personal or house plot, it is better to familiarize yourself in detail with the features of various subspecies, the subtleties of growing and the optimal time for planting flowers.
Species and varieties
Not all crocuses bloom in early spring. Some species bloom when the trees are already dropping foliage, and most large herbaceous plants have already faded and withered. In one area, you can combine both types. Then the tender cups will meet the long-awaited spring, and then see off the summer.
The varieties most popular among gardeners are indicated in the table.
| Flowering time | Crocus name | Description |
| Spring | Spring | Soft lilac, sometimes with dark veined flower, is often found in the wild nature of the Alps. The most popular are subspecies: Nigro fight and Flower record, Klaus, Pickwick. |
| Two-flowered (Scottish) | Colors from white to blue with dark brown veins. Florists prefer hybrids: Alexandri, Parkinson, Dorothy, Albus and Fairy. | |
| Korolkova | Bright orange petals with red veins distinguish this Central Asian subspecies. Hybrid breeding was actively engaged in the Soviet Union, so they have such names: Glory to Samarkand, Kiss of Spring, Tiger. | |
| Crimean | Petals faded from the outside, bright white inside with a yellow center. | |
| Sieber | Heat-loving and whimsical flowers of a three-color color with an orange core. Breeders distinguish varieties: Bowlesis white, Atticus, Tricolor, Prince. | |
| Adam | Imported from the foothills of the Caucasus, Dagestan and Iran. There are a variety of colors. | |
| Tomazini | A wild subspecies that grows in Hungary and the lowlands of Yugoslavia. The petals are lilac-pink, after opening, they become like a star. One bulb can produce up to 6 peduncles. The most popular hybrids: Laylek Beauty and Whitewell Purple, Giant. | |
| Golden | In the wild, these are small, almost undeveloped thin leaves that barely frame a large yellow inflorescence. Widely distributed in Asia and the Balkans. Breeders brought out several beautifully beautiful cup-colored hybrids: Blue Pearl, Princess Beatrix, Blue Bonnet, Cream Beauty, Marietta, Violet Queen, Schwanenburg Bronze, Bowels, Nanatt, Lady Killer. | |
| Dutch large-flowered | These are real giants of the world of primroses. Bright candy colors from lemon yellow to fluorescent purple. There are several dozen subspecies of these spring flowers. The most popular: Albion, Vangard, Jubilee, Sniper Banner, Zonatus, Kathleen Parlow. | |
| Yellow | The flowers are saturated orange hues, the leaves are small, the upper part of the bulb rises high above the surface of the earth. | |
| Autumn | Beautiful | It differs in long leaves up to 30 centimeters. The color of all shades in a gradient from white to dark blue. Favorite florists hybrids are called: Albus and Artabir. |
| Pretty | Frost-resistant subspecies with delicate large white cups with dark veins on the outside of the petals. | |
| Banat | Dark purple variety with sharp silver-green leaves. | |
| Pale ocher | Neat tender inflorescences closely located close to the bulb. | |
| Blueflower | Varieties of rare beauty with purple inflorescences. | |
| Long flowered | Late variety blooming in late autumn. With a long peduncle, the leaves are small, closely pressed to the bulb. | |
| Flattened | One of the most late-flowering varieties, opens its petals in early November. | |
| Saffron | One of the most expensive, beautiful and noble species. Valued for its delicate scent and stamens, which are an exotic spice. |
Landing in the fall in the fall
Crocuses are planted in open prepared ground most often in the autumn. However, landing in spring and summer is possible. Depending on the season and the flowering time of the variety, it is necessary to follow the rules for preparing bulbs and caring for them after rooting.
Seed selection
Half of the success in growing crocuses is considered the right choice and preparation of planting material. It is better to purchase bulbs from trusted suppliers, in large garden centers or nurseries.
Unscrupulous traders at markets and fairs sometimes offer wild-growing small varieties instead of large-flowered hybrids, and autumn-flowering instead of primroses.
A visual inspection of the seed should not show any signs of damage, rot, ulcers or cuts. Onions are solid to the touch. From the first year, adult large specimens will bloom most beautifully.
Before planting, the bulbs must be processed in potassium permanganate or liquid fungicides. This will protect seedlings and thin roots from mold and corm infections. It is enough to hold the material in a container with a solution from 15 minutes to half an hour. Rinse off the product is not required.
Autumn planting dates
Planting in a flower bed is carried out in the fall, before the onset of the first cold weather. Depending on the climate zone, September and October are considered optimal months.
Location
Most often, for planting crocuses, a sunny place is chosen without stagnation of moisture. You can break a flower bed under small trees, if we are talking about spring varieties. The fact is that the active period of their vegetation falls on those months when there are no leaves on the trees.
It is important that buildings or decorative structures do not create additional shade. Without enough sunlight, the buds will not open.
Delicate flowers, despite their resistance to cold and snow, do not tolerate strong winds and drafts. It is better to identify for them the quiet central sections of the garden.
Soil preparation
Crocuses love loose, well-drained soil. The flowerbed for these flowers needs to be dug well, additionally introduce peat, rotted plant compost, river sand. It is important that the PH is not biased towards the acid side. Crocuses die in acidified ground. It is advisable to add ash to such soils.
Nitrogen fertilizers are not used for feeding crocuses, but potassium and phosphorus will be quite appropriate.
Excessive watering and stagnation of moisture should be avoided. In moist soil, the bulbs rot and get sick.
Five years later, overgrown bulbs with layering with an even flowering carpet will fill the flower bed. With a high density of plants, they will need to be planted. A sure sign that crocuses need thinning is to reduce the size of the calyx.
Landing pattern
When placed in open ground, the bulbs are quite tight. A distance of 3-5 centimeters will be enough so that the plants do not interfere with each other and give daughter shoots.
The depth at which the seed is immersed depends on its size. Large corms are dug by 10-15 cm, smaller specimens by 5-7. On average, the thickness of the soil above the top should not exceed 2-3 lengths of the bulb.
After planting, the site is abundantly watered with water. Then the flowerbed is mulched with sawdust, bark or dry leaves so that the plants do not freeze.
In the middle lane, the height of the covering layer should be at least 15 centimeters.
In areas where rodents often operate, it is advisable to plant crocuses in baskets. The bottom of the tank is filled with drainage material, then loose soil is laid and bulbs are planted. They are dug in the holes so that the edge does not rise above the surface of the flowerbed.
Breeding
Crocus propagation is possible by seed. To do this, the boxes are carefully cut and dried. This applies only to primroses. Late autumn hybrids do not have time to ripen in the middle lane.
Seed is stored until February. In the last winter month, it is planted in pots with loose soil. Seedlings are transferred to open ground in May, after the termination of frost on the soil. New plants will bloom in 5 years.
Due to the demandingness of tender young plants to environmental conditions and care, it is more advisable to carry out the breeding vegetatively through daughter bulbs.
Landing in spring
In late March - early April, crocus planting begins, which will bloom in the fall. The bed is prepared from the first cold weather, it is well dug, fertilized and drained. In spring, it is enough to thoroughly loosen the ground before rooting the bulbs.
They are planted in the same way: heap, to a depth equal to three sizes in length. Plants will bloom, subject to all conditions, in the year of planting.
Also in the spring months, flowers are planted after home distillation. Crocus bulbs in a room pot planted in January-February will delight you with delicate flowers for the holiday of the eighth of March. This is a touching and beautiful gift.
In late April - early May, when minutes of freezing on the soil, the flower can be transplanted into the street. There he will complete his vegetation cycle, and the next year, in early spring, will bloom again.
Mr. Dachnik advises: useful tricks of growing crocuses
Experienced flower growers know ways to achieve bright and large crocus inflorescences for several years. To make plants feel comfortable, it is necessary:
- Feed twice a year. In early spring, barely exposed areas of soil, water the place where the flowers grow with a solution of urea or ammonium nitrate. Immediately before or immediately after flowering, complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are administered. It is also necessary to supply additional minerals and microelements because, after the active division of the mother bulb, the crocus may not have enough energy for flowering. This is especially true for those hybrids that bloom in the fall.
- During the period of active flowering, cut off wilted buds. In their place, new ones will form, which means it will be longer.
- Carefully inspect leaves and flowers. The appearance of dark spots and sticky coating may indicate infection with thrips. If this happens, the diseased plant is destroyed, and the soil is shed with a hot solution of potassium permanganate.
- Transplant and cultivate the bulbs only after the leaves have fallen and fallen, and the plant is plunged into a dormant state. Then the bulbs are dug up, dried, sorted and processed from pathogens. It will be possible to land them again in the fall.
- To loosen and weed the flower bed, while trying not to damage the delicate underground part.
- Water the flower bed in the dry summer months, even after flowering. At the same time, prevent overflow.
To get a colorful crocus carpet, flower lovers plant mixes from various hybrids. Cups, stems and leaves of various sizes create a multilayer picture that pleases the eye.
