Colchicum plant skin#
Colchicum plant full#

autumnale is ideal in rock or gravel gardens, where their flowers can be readily seen among the other low-growing plants. Colchicums prefer well-drained soil that doesn’t dry out in summer.

Colchicum plant full#

The corms are quite large and should be planted 3-6 inches deep.Ĭolchicums are well suited to growing under deciduous trees or shrubs, or mixed in with other perennials but will do best in full sun when in leaf.

Colchicum plant skin#

Plant the waxy, irregular corms covered in a dark-brown, leathery skin in well-drained soil about 6 inches apart. This is long before most people consider planting bulbs, so this species has not been widely utilized in gardens. Bulbs often will produce flowers without even being planted. The large, bulb-like corm of Colchicum speciosum (L). The goblet-shaped flower of Colchicum speciosum (R) has six stamens (L).Īutumn crocus needs to be planted in mid- to late summer in order to establish by fall for blooming. speciosum has large, fragrant, goblet-shaped flowers up to 5″ tall that have a white throat. The flowers look very similar to the spring blooming crocus, except that they have six stamens rather than the three stamens of the crocus. They are primarily a light pink-purple color but some cultivars have white flowers. The 2″ wide flowers emerge from the ground long after the leaves have died back (hence the common name naked ladies). Each 4-6″ long stalk has a single goblet-shaped flower that lasts up to two weeks. In early fall, the corms produce a bouquet of flowers, with 1 to 10 flower stalks from each bulb. The broad leaves appear in spring (L) and die back in summer (R). Hardy geraniums or other spring or early summer-flowering perennials can camouflage the yellowing colchicum leaves, and then those plants can be sheared back in fall to let the colchicum flowers show. The plants are not attractive as the leaves are dying back but like other bulbs, they need to be left until they dry out in order to supply nutrients to the bulb. Three to eight leaves grow out of a bulb-like corm in the spring and then go dormant in the early summer. The upright, 8-14″ leaves of autumn crocus resemble that of a short, dark green tulip or even a romaine lettuce head. It is hardy in zones 5-9 (maybe colder if given extra winter protection) and blooms in September in the Midwest. autumnale grows wild in woods and damp meadows and has been naturalized in some parts of the US and Canada. speciosum should definitely not be used in place of saffron in cooking because eating any part of this plant can be fatal. These two are the most common commercially available fall “bulbs” and superficially resemble each other. These Colchicum species should not be confused with the saffron crocus ( Crocus sativus, also sometimes commonly called autumn crocus it is only marginally hardy in Wisconsin) which is used as a spice and dye. Although there are about 65 species worldwide, the few that are common in the ornamental industry are very similar in appearance and cultivation. bysantinum, with large corms that produce multiple flower stalks, is probably really a sterile hybrid of C. The taxonomy of this genus is rather confused, and misnaming often occurs in the trade, so many of the so-called species in cultivation are actually hybrids of unknown origin. speciosum, which is a parent of many of the showy hybrids, are also often available. autumnale is one of the most commonly grown autumn crocus but other species, particularly C. The genus has been used medicinally but because it is quite toxic when ingested, its use is not recommended except by professionals.Ĭ. Other common names for these plants include meadow saffron, naked lady and colchicum. In the U.S., the commonly called “Autumn Crocus” is not a true crocus at all but species or hybrids of Colchicum, a group of fall-flowering bulb in the lily family (Lilaceae). But there are a few species of the genus Crocus, part of the iris family (Iridaceae), that bloom in the fall and other fall-blooming bulbs that have the word crocus in their common name. The word crocus usually conjures images of cheerful small flowers emerging from snow and ice as the first harbinger of spring.