Crocus large-flowered planting and care. Crocuses: cultivation and care

Crocuses: planting and caring for them in the open field require specific knowledge so that this fragile and delicate flower takes root in the soil and pleases the eyes of the owners with its colorful petals. Another name for the plant is saffron, and most gardeners believe that it blooms exclusively in spring. However, breeders have long developed special varieties of crocuses that can bloom in autumn.

Selection of planting material and landing site

Saffrons are common throughout almost the entire territory of Eurasia and feel good in temperate climate. But, before moving on to the issue of planting and caring for crocuses in the open field, you need to select healthy plant bulbs and highlight right place for planting flowers in your garden.

How to choose viable saffron bulbs:

Even healthy parts of future flowers require pre-treatment before planting. It is necessary to peel off the old skin from the bulbs and disinfect them by sprinkling with ash or soaking in a solution of manganese.

Planting and caring for crocuses in the open field should take place in spacious flower beds (flowers are capable of a short time occupy the entire area). They should be located on open area, where a lot sunlight. Therefore, it is not recommended to plant saffron under trees with a dense crown.

The soil for crocuses of all subspecies should not be excessively wet. The soil structure should be loose, nutritious, light and not acidic. Do not be afraid if the soil in the garden does not meet these requirements, it can be made suitable for saffron using simple methods. Large river sand, gravel or crushed stone, which is used as a drainage layer, will help get rid of excessive dampness. The acidity of the soil neutralizes the mixture and lime, ash or rotted manure.

Planting time for crocuses in the garden

When to plant crocuses outdoors? It all depends on the type of plant that the gardener has chosen, but they are all divided into flowers that bloom in spring or autumn.

Spring flowering plants include:

Since the flowering of these subspecies of decorative flora occurs in the spring, crocuses are planted in open ground autumn. They should be planted from late September to early October.

If spring-flowering varieties are planted earlier than the second half of September, then saffron may bloom by the frost period and eventually die. And if you plant a flower later than the first half of October, then the soil for the bulbs will be too cold, they will not be able to take root in it and simply freeze.

Autumn flowering subspecies of saffron include:

Flowers bloom in the garden in autumn, and therefore crocuses are planted in the ground in spring (late May) or early summer (first half of July).

How to care for saffron?

Saffron is not a flower that needs abundant watering. If autumn or spring (depending on what kind of flower is planted) were rich in precipitation, then they should be watered only when the soil becomes dry, not only on the surface, but also in depth. Otherwise, the plants can simply rot.

Outdoor crocus care is fairly easy. Periodically, it will be necessary to weed the flower rows, getting rid of weeds. The soil (especially after rain) must be loosened in order to root system plants have access to air.

Like any decorative flowers, crocuses need feeding. However, fertilizing saffron with organic mixtures is not recommended. It is better to purchase granular, enriched with potassium and phosphorus. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers should be applied with caution, in small doses, as they can provoke the growth of fungus on the plant bulbs.

Top dressing should be applied in at least 2 stages: first fertilize the soil before planting crocuses, and then during their period of enhanced growth.

Below are photos of crocuses in the open field:

In winter, delicate primroses are able to create a holiday atmosphere in the room. Using special methods, you can achieve their flowering at a specific time, for example, on New Year. Crocuses are just such plants, but planting and caring for them at home require some knowledge and effort.

Crocus or saffron - flower description

Crocus or saffron- low perennial bulbous plant. Crocus buds are shaped like small tulips. The color of the flowers is varied: white, lilac, purple, yellow. hybrid varieties may have petals of two colors. When the flower bud opens, three yellow or orange stamens can be seen inside. The leaves are very narrow, dark green with a white vein in the center. And in a flower bed in the garden, and as home flower Crocuses look very beautiful, you just need to choose the right variety.

Did you know? The name "crocus" comes from the Greek "thread", and "saffron" - from the Arabic "yellow".

Choosing a pot for crocuses

For planting crocuses at home, you need to choose the most suitable pot for the plants. The bulbs should not come into contact with the walls of the pot and with each other, so its size depends on the planned number of plants (usually five to ten). The best option is a wide bowl-shaped pot with low walls. Especially for forcing crocuses, there are rounded containers with holes for sprouts.

Important! To make crocuses look harmonious, it is better to plant bulbs of the same variety and similar size in one pot.

Soil selection for saffron

The soil for crocuses must be neutral, light and well-drained, because stagnant moisture leads to rotting of the bulbs. The ideal option there will be a shop flower substrate. You can also prepare an earth mixture from coarse sand, turf and leaf mixture in equal parts.

Which crocus bulbs to choose

For good growth and development of crocus, not only proper cultivation and care, but also high-quality planting material. You should choose bulbs without stains, rot and mechanical damage. If certain defects are still noticeable, they must be removed and the site of damage disinfected with ash or loose coal. You also need to clean the bulbs from scales and roots.

When buying bulbs in a store, you should pay attention to their size number. Often the material is sorted by circumference in centimeters according to international standard measurements of bulbous plants. For crocus bulbs with a circumference of 5 to 10 cm, the following numbering of bulb sizes is typical (with an indication of the diameter):

• 5/7 - 1.6-2.2 cm;
• 7/8- 2.2-2.5 cm;
• 8/9 - 2.5-2.8 cm;
• 9/10 - 2.8 cm-3.2 cm;

When growing crocuses in a pot, you can expect a single flower from a plant with a bulb size of 7/8, 2-3 flowers from a size 8/9, 3-4 flowers from a size 9/10.

Large Dutch hybrids labeled 10/+ produce 5-6 flowers. They are most suitable for home growing: well amenable to distillation and bloom in large flowers.

Important! The larger the crocus bulb, the more plant will produce flowers and will bloom longer.

Planting and propagation of crocuses

Bulbs are more often the material for planting, since it is more difficult to propagate crocuses by seeds and this method is practically not used in floriculture. Such a plant will bloom only after 4-5 years. Every year, the old corm dies off, and new bulbs grow in its place.

Before planting crocuses in a pot, the purchased planting material must be cooled.. Store-bought bulbs are usually already dried, they just need to be kept at room temperature for a few days and then placed in the refrigerator.

If the bulbs are taken from the site, the preparation process will be longer. After digging in June, the bulbs are dried and sorted. At first, they need to be stored at a high temperature, gradually reducing it (from 34 to 20 degrees). After 2 weeks, lowering the temperature, set the mode at 17 degrees. Under such conditions, the material is stored until the second half of August, after which the cooling process begins. In a dry and dark room at a temperature of 4-9 degrees or in a refrigerator, the bulbs in thick paper are stored for about a month.

Important! Experienced flower growers use the "planting in a sand shirt" planting method. Soil and a layer of sand are placed in the container, bulbs are planted and covered with a second layer of sand. So the roots are in nutrient soil, and the bulbs are protected from decay.

Planting is done 70-90 days before the scheduled flowering date. A drainage layer should be laid at the bottom of the pot. The bulbs are placed in the prepared soil completely or leaving a small "tail". The pot with seedlings is removed for 2 months in a dark, cool (5-8 degrees) place for germination.

Growing crocuses in a pot

Crocuses at home are grown by distillation.

When the sprouts are strong enough and have reached a height of 3-5 cm, the pot should be taken out into the light and the temperature should be 10-15 degrees. AT favorable conditions saffron will bloom in two weeks.

Did you know? Forcing is the process of bringing a bulbous plant out of dormancy for flowering at an unusual time, performed under the influence of physical factors- temperature, humidity, light.

Giving crocuses some post-flowering care at home can extend their lifespan. The second time after forcing, the plants usually do not bloom, and the bulbs are thrown away, but if they are planted in open ground, “kids” form on them. For re-growing crocus, a perfectly preserved bulb is needed. To do this, you need to feed the soil with top dressing and regularly water the plant until the leaves turn yellow and fall off. Then the bulb needs to be taken out, cleaned from the ground and stored in a dark, dry place for further planting in the fall.

Watering crocuses

Crocus does not like excessive moisture and is resistant to drought, so the plant should be watered moderately, 2-3 times a week when the topsoil dries out. During flowering, the plant should be watered through the pan, removing excess liquid half an hour after watering.

Fertilizer and top dressing

During planting, the plant does not need to be fertilized. For the development and flowering of crocuses, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are most useful. Top dressing is done when shoots appear (in a ratio of 2: 1), during the formation of buds and after flowering (in equal parts). The use of nitrogen fertilizers is not recommended.

Care for long flowering

To find out why crocuses stopped blooming, you need to analyze the conditions of their maintenance. Do not forget that saffron is a spring primrose, and it may not like the temperature (20 degrees and above) or too bright room lighting. To prolong the flowering of home crocus, you need to hide it from direct sun rays or bright lamp light and maintain a cool temperature (14-16 degrees, at night - even below 0). AT right conditions decorativeness of some varieties lasts up to three weeks.

Did you know? One of the most expensive spices in the world is saffron.– is made from dried stigmas of saffron flowers. To get a kilogram of spice, you need to collect the stigmas of 200 thousand flowers. Superiority in the world production of spices (90%) belongs to Iran.

Potential Growing Problems

Spring-blooming and autumn-blooming crocuses do not have the same development cycles and, accordingly, planting time: spring ones should be planted in September, and autumn ones in summer. When buying planting material, be sure to pay attention to the flowering time of crocus. Spring crocuses are usually used for distillation.

Saffron sowing, which in ornamental gardening is called crocus (lat. Crocus) is a perennial corm plant of the iris family. The dried stigmas of the saffron flower have been used as a spice since antiquity. An increasing number of gardeners and summer residents of our country are interested in how to properly organize the cultivation of crocuses and care for them. We will try to give answers in our article.

real snowdrops

What are crocuses?

Without going into the wilds of flower classification (to fully cover this topic, a separate review is needed), it is still worth mentioning that crocuses are divided into two categories according to flowering time.

• Spring and early spring flowering.
• Late summer and autumn flowering.

Accordingly, the time when to plant crocuses should be determined depending on the time recommended for the variety. Spring crocuses are planted in autumn, and autumn crocuses are planted in summer.

crocuses bloom

Planting corms

Planting crocuses depends on several factors, each of which affects the health of plants, their development and, as a result, the quality of flowers.

• Selection of planting material.
• Landing time.
• Landing place.
• Soil composition.

Let's analyze each of these conditions for planting crocuses in more detail.

Choice of corms

When purchasing planting material in a store, or sorting your seeds, you need to carefully examine the crocus bulb. A corm capable of producing a healthy and large flower must meet the following criteria.

1. Absence of rot.
2. Dense bottom.
3. Intact scale.
4. Tight neck.
5. The shoot and roots did not start growing (a barely noticeable protruding stalk is allowed).
6. The weight of the corm corresponds to its size.

Landing time

As mentioned above, how to grow certain crocuses depends on the period of their flowering, and from it, in turn, the time of planting.

Spring flowering crocuses are planted depending on the region in September or October. Finding out when to plant crocus bulbs in the fall in your area is easy. Saffron corms are planted at the same time as garlic or tulips. The main thing is that the bulbs have time to take root well before winter, and with healthy roots they are not afraid of any frost.

For autumn flowering, bulbs are planted in mid-summer: from early to mid-July.

Where to plant?

In addition to the fact that you choose a place for a flower bed on which crocuses will grow for aesthetic reasons, you need to take into account a number of conditions.

Saffrons are very light-loving plants, and therefore a place for a flower bed should be chosen sunny, which is not shaded by trees or buildings throughout the daylight hours. You do not need to plant crocuses in places with high level ground water. If there is no other possibility, we recommend making a raised bed or an alpine hill for planting corms.

Soil composition

Crocuses love loose sandy or sandy soil. On clay soils, it is recommended, when planting bulbs, to mix in the planting hole garden soil with rotted sawdust, sand, compost or peat. Heavy soil may prevent the saffron stalk from breaking through to the surface, or it will severely twist it.

Landing technology

Armed with theoretical knowledge and having acquired corms, we go to the chosen place for their planting. For planting crocuses in the fall in the ground, we choose dry sunny weather; summer planting is best done after a good rain.

Two methods of planting corms are common: nesting and linear.

• Nest. 3-5 corms are planted in each hole with a distance of 10 centimeters between nests, 3 centimeters between bulbs in a nest.
• Linear. Planting is done in lines, the distance between the bulbs is 3-5 centimeters.

Linear planting of corms

Some notes to consider when landing.

1. The depth of planting corms should be three of its diameter. That is, from 5 to 10 centimeters.
2. At the bottom of the landing hole or trench, it is recommended to pour a layer of sand, 1-2 centimeters thick.
3. If you are not going to dig up plants for subsequent transplantation, it is better to plant immediately with an increased interval: 10-15 centimeters.
4. For the convenience of digging up corms and protection from rodents, it is recommended to use special plastic nets for bulbous plants for planting.
5. For accelerated reproduction of the bulbs of the variety you like, deepen them smaller, so more small baby bulbs are formed.
6. At summer planting try to moisten the soil well in order to quickly activate the growth processes in the corm.
7. Be sure to mulch the soil, this technique will retain moisture and give work to soil microorganisms, which will subsequently enrich it with nutrients.

Attention! As a decorative mulch in flowerbeds, it is best to use special small wood chips or coniferous needles!

Crocus Care

Crocuses, especially those planted before winter, do not require special care due to their short term vegetation. However, there are some points that you need to pay attention to.

Spring varieties

• After the plants have faded, it is recommended to give top dressing for better ripening of the bulbs and babies. Like supporters natural farming we advise you to feed with infusion of grass, ash and chicken manure.
• Constantly monitor the condition of the mulch in the flower bed, preventing the soil from being exposed, drying out and cracking.
• Digging up bulbs for subsequent storage and propagation should be done a week after the complete death of the aerial part.

Autumn varieties

• Constantly monitor soil moisture, especially immediately after germination on hot days.
• Shade plants from strong sun if necessary.
• Feed crocuses before flowering and a week after it.

Bulb cleaning and storage

Crocuses normally grow and develop in one place for three to four seasons. At the same time, new bulbs replace the mother plants, and in addition, smaller babies are born, the sprouts of which will bloom in a year. But gradually the number of children increases, the plantings thicken, and the flowers become smaller. This means that saffrons require transplanting to a new flower bed.

In addition, the bulbs are stored for storage in order to forge flowers for a holiday date, for example, by March 8th.

If you planted the corms in plastic containers, then cleaning is not difficult, and all the bulbs and babies will be inside the container. With a simple planting, you will have to carefully select the crop from the soil.

After harvesting, rinse the bulbs, disinfect, dry and arrange the bulbs in size for storage.

Disinfection is carried out by lowering the bulbs for 10-15 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, followed by washing and drying.

By putting the bulbs in a breathable container, you don’t have to worry about how to save crocuses until spring. They keep well at room temperature in a dry place.

Forcing flowers for the holiday

I really want to please my beloved women by March 8 with flowers grown by myself. Crocuses are quite suitable for this, in order not to be late for the holiday and get an even beautiful bouquet, you need to follow the following rules.

Incredibly beautiful spring flowers – these are crocuses. They start to bloom in early spring and delight others with their colors for up to ten days. After the flowers wither, the petals are still juicy and fresh, but by mid-June their turn comes withering. Next, crocuses have a dormant period. In this article we will tell you everything that you might be interested in about crocuses.

Crocus or saffron - description

Crocus, or as it is better known by another name, saffron, is a corm perennial. In the wild, it grows in the steppes, meadows, highlands and rare forests of the Caucasus, Crimea, Asia, the Middle East and southern Europe. Several endangered species of crocuses are listed in the Red Book. Crocus - beautiful plant, but no matter how much you want, it does not bloom for so long - only 7-10 days.

– is the scientific name flower culture, but in the literature on floriculture, the Latin name is still distributed - crocus. This is a small flower up to 10 cm high with thin linear leaves that are wrapped down. The plant has a different color, but identical bell-shaped funnel-shaped flowers. When crocuses bloom, most species open their buds at the beginning of the spring period, while some - in the fall.

Flowers appear one, two or three from each bulb. Perianth - segmented in the form of a corolla. The segments fuse into a long tube that can reach 10 cm in some species. In the absence of a stem, the perianth performs its role and brings the flower to the surface. The segmented process consists of six parts, each of which is bent at the top. A fully opened bud can reach 8 cm in diameter.

Did you know?The name crocus comes from the Greek "kroke" - thread or fiber. Saffron is consonant with the Arabic "zeferan", which translates as yellow.

Choosing a place to plant crocuses

Not many people know that crocuses can be conditionally divided into autumn and spring, and therefore planting and caring for them in the open field will vary. When choosing a place for them, keep in mind that species that are planted in the spring require more sunlight. Autumn crocuses, in turn, tolerate a little shading well from coniferous shrubs. We would like to note that in the shade, many goblet-shaped saffron flowers do not fully open, but, for example, Sharoyan's autumn crocus blooms much worse under the sun than in shading.

Crocuses look very harmonious among the greenery of a grassy lawn, but you should refrain from choosing such a place. And that's why. Lawn grass requires regular mowing, and thus you can accidentally damage the foliage of saffron. As a result, the corm will not fully ripen.

From an aesthetic point of view, it is better to organize the cultivation of crocuses in the country in groups. In addition, the greatest naturalness is achieved if the bulbs are planted at different distances from each other, simulating a spontaneous natural cycle. To create a solid flower cover of crocuses, they need to be planted in a 3x3 cm grid. Per 1 sq. m should come out at least 50 bulbs.

Important! Before planting corms in open soil, pickle them in Fundazol or Maxim.

In such a case, as a public flower garden, the first crocus should be planted at the starting point of the edge - a fence, for example. Saffron goes well with summer bulbous plants or annuals. It is not recommended to plant it among perennial crops, because the period of their active development falls on digging and transplanting corms. Crocuses look spectacular in rock gardens. After they have faded, the bare ground can be covered with small creeping annuals.

Are crocuses demanding on soil

Due to the fact that crocuses are autumn and spring, shade- and light-loving, a reasonable question arises as to whether there are universal soils where all types of this plant are planted. In fact, there are no special requirements for soils. Any cultivated ones are suitable, but the most comfortable for development will be light and rich in humus. Saffrons love well-moistened, loose and generously fertilized soils with organic matter. But, like all bulbs, they can die from stagnant water.

If clay soils predominate on your site, then in order for crocuses to grow healthy and beautiful, care should begin with ennobling the soil. Peat and sand must be added to clay substrates and fertilized well. organic matter. For 1 sq. m the following materials are introduced: 20 kg of peat or humus, 100 g of bone meal and 50-70 g of fertilizer based on trace elements.

Important! Humus should not be introduced into cultivated soils; it is better to replace it with high-moor peat. Crocuses will not develop well and grow in excess nutrients especially for nitrogen.

When to plant crocuses

Most of flower growers mistakenly believe that crocuses are exclusively spring-blooming plants, so they are surprised and say: “We only plant crocuses in autumn”. When buying planting material, be sure to consider one important fact: there are also autumn species that are planted in the spring. This characteristic plays a significant role, since the cycles of development of autumn and spring corms do not coincide. This is important point when taking into account and determining landing dates.

In qualified flower shops and at exhibitions, planting material for autumn-blooming crocuses is sold with the mark "Crocus autumn flowering". Spring-flowering ones can also be purchased in regular markets. Of course, in flower shop you will be selected the highest quality varietal material, but, oddly enough, those crocuses take root better, the bulbs of which are bought in spontaneous markets, and growing them will not cause any special worries.

Did you know? Saffron was used as a medicine and incense in religious rituals. As a subtle spice that enriches the taste and color of food, saffron is used in cooking to this day.

In spring-flowering crocuses, the annual development cycle begins in March (there are some species that even have it in February) with the growth of the first leaves. For a more stable and rapid development of plants, you need to know how to feed crocuses in the spring. Fertilizers based on phosphorus and potassium are suitable for them. They can be applied when the first sprouts appeared, then during the flowering period and at the end, when the flowers withered.

So you contribute proper formation corm and feed it enough. A little later, in the month of April, flowers appear and bloom. When crocuses bloom, the buds open alternately for two to three weeks. After flowering, the leaves continue to grow until the seeds ripen. By the end of June they dry up.

All these processes occur solely due to the nutrients in the corm that have been accumulated over the past year. When the bulb is depleted, it dies off. Crocuses form a new bulb on top of the old one when the flowering time has already passed. She will become a substitute. She has the beginnings of buds for the renewal of flowers and leaves.

Over the next period of growth and death of the leaves, the bulb will already accumulate the necessary energy. Somewhere by mid-June, the corm will go into dormancy mode, and by autumn it will act again: it will grow roots and continue the process of accumulating food. Further, the process of bud formation and the resumption of harvesting of future parts of the plant will be completely completed.

Do not prematurely remove the leaves and do not transplant the plant during the growing season, so as not to puzzle over why the crocuses did not bloom in the spring. This disrupts the life rhythm of the crocus and entails a delay in development. The bulbs themselves do not die from this and eventually recover, blooming again. But rehabilitation can take up to two years, and during this time you can forget about the planting material and accidentally dig it out.

Obviously, the growth of the plant is directly related to the maturation of the bulb, and this implies that the crocus must maintain the integrity of its leaves until it wilts. Therefore, you need to help the flower in every possible way, removing the boxes with seeds that weaken the corm, and planting the material before the end of the dormant period. The best time to plant spring saffron is September, because after a while, small roots will appear on the bulbs, which are easily injured.

Life cycles of a crocus blooming in spring, are similar to periods of colchicum. They are often confused. In order to avoid errors, you should know that saffron bulbs are much smaller - up to 2.5 cm and three stamens in a flower, when colchicum has twice as many of them. Most of the autumn crocuses begin their life cycle from flowering.

During this period, leaves grow and a replacement corm is born. Some produce leaves with a seed box and complete the formation of a new bulb by the spring, when the species described earlier begin to bloom. Crocuses that bloom in late autumn leave for the winter without finishing flowering. As a result, seeds are not formed. But this does not weaken the plant and should not be cause for concern.

In autumn-flowering crocuses, the dormant period begins a month earlier than in spring ones, therefore, the peak of corm activity occurs in August. Therefore, for the normal development of autumn crocuses in the same year, they must be planted in the period from late July to mid-August. But why don't crocuses that are purchased in good store and planted in properly fertilized soil? The acquisition of already flowering crocuses or delays in planting dates will adversely affect the formation of future plant organs.

Late-planted crocuses in the first two years only grow leaves and do not bloom. Transplanted saffrons with leaves and flowers quickly wither and enter a two-year recovery period. Crocuses that have successfully passed through the life cycle are very weakened and should receive appropriate care after flowering. This will energize them for the next year.

Did you know? The spice of saffron in ancient times was not only worth 15 times more than black pepper, but even gold. For 450 g of spice, you could buy an Arabian horse. Today, this spice is also not cheap.

Planting and propagation of crocuses

Propagation of crocuses involves two methods: seeds and daughter corms. It's not a complicated process at all.

Sowing crocus seeds

Growing crocuses from seeds is practiced much less frequently than from corms. This practice is inherent in flower growers who want to propagate a certain valuable plant species, so planting material is taken in large volumes.

Most botanical crocuses do not have problems with seed formation, but only in autumn the fruiting cycle can go astray due to the onset of early frosts. planting material well preserved, but in the case of blooming in autumn species it is better to sow only harvested seeds under wintering.

Since stratified material germinates better, perfectly healthy and stronger crocuses can be grown from these seeds. Future crocuses harvested with seeds give very small seedlings, and since the weeds are “not dormant”, it is initially better to plant them in containers or boxes. Until the first sprouts appear, containers with seeds should be covered with a light-protective film or spunbond. In the second case, watering can be omitted. Seedlings will begin to bloom in 3-4 years.

Planting crocus bulbs

It is not necessary to dig up corms every winter. This needs to be done every three years. summer period dormancy of crocuses to separate the mother bulb from the daughter tubers that have grown during this time. There can be up to ten of them, and they begin to interfere with each other.

As a result, saffron flowers are significantly reduced in size. In this case, the separation of the daughter bulbs, their transplantation and further care of the crocuses are done as follows. To collect planting material in the form of corms, the mother plant can be dug up more often than once every three years. It is better to disturb autumn-blooming saffrons from June to August, spring-blooming - from July to September. Planting material must be removed from the ground, dried, defective scales and dead roots removed.

You should also carefully examine the bulbs for diseases. Leave only healthy material. Mechanical damage must be healed with ash or crushed coal. Until planting in the ground, they should be stored in a dry and cool place.

Care of crocuses in the open field

How to grow crocuses strong and healthy after planting, we will tell further. But know that you will not spend much effort and a lot of time.

Watering crocuses

There is no need to water saffron regularly, besides, it is very painful to tolerate moisture stagnation. Crocuses need a lot of water in spring and autumn periods flowering. But nature helps us there too: in one case, the snow melts and gives water, in the other, autumn rains. Additional watering is organized if the winter was not snowy, and the autumn was not rainy enough. But even with insufficient moisture, crocuses successfully pass the vegetative period. Only in height they will become smaller. In summer, during periods of calm, crocuses do not need water, they prefer to rest in a dry environment.

Fertilizer and top dressing

The basis for growing all plants in the garden is top dressing, therefore, thinking about how to grow healthy and beautiful crocuses in your garden, you need to prepare a complex of mineral fertilizers. Feeding crocuses has some of its own nuances. Fresh are not allowed. organic fertilizers. They cause various diseases. Peat, fully decomposed manure and other mineral fertilizers will be preferred.

In early spring, during the period of active growth, you need to scatter fertilizers on melting snow. With the beginning of the vegetative period, urea can be introduced. Later, an excess of nitrogen will cause a sharp growth of leaves, which will provoke the appearance of unwanted fungal diseases in wet weather. After half a month, fertilizers rich in phosphorus and potassium should be introduced to the landing site. They will help better flowering and the formation of strong and healthy corms.

Care after flowering

Like many bulbs, these flowers lose their leaves by mid-summer, so you need to take special care of crocuses in your country house after they bloom. If you do not have plans to transplant the plant to a new place, then you can get by with the removal of wilted foliage. If it was decided to dig up crocuses, then the best time is July.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Remove inflorescences that have faded so that the plant does not put extra effort into trying to form seeds.
2. Gradually reduce the amount of watering. So the outflow of all nutrients will gradually go to the corm
3. When the leaves turn completely yellow, the bulb needs to be dug up and dried a little at room temperature.
4. Next, peel off the scales and discard diseased and damaged daughter tubers.
5. Bulbs should be stored in a well ventilated area at a temperature within 20 °C.

Crocus transplant

Due to the abundant formation of daughter bulbs in crocuses, they need to be seated. Otherwise, it will form big nest processes. They become crowded, they are deformed, the flowers become smaller, and the plant loses its aesthetic appeal.

Bulbs need to be dug up after the leaves have completely died off in mid-July - early August. Store until transplanting in a warm, well-ventilated area. It is necessary to plant in flower beds in August or September at a distance equal to two or three corm diameters from each other. The hole must be dug to a depth equal to three bulbs in height.

The removed corms must be cleaned of earth, dead roots and scales, and then spread out in a single layer in a box or box. The smallest can be decomposed, for example, into candy boxes. Until August, planting material should be stored at a temperature of +22 ° C and not lower, since it is under this regime that flower buds are laid. In August, the temperature should be lowered to +20 °C. A week later - up to +15 ° С. But such conditions are difficult to create at home, and they are ideal, because only in specialized farms can you adjust the thermal regime. In our usual conditions, crocus bulbs should be placed in a dark, dry place with the possibility of good ventilation and room temperature.

Did you know? To obtain 1 kg of saffron spice, you need to collect about 600,000 stigmas from freshly blossomed crocus flowers. Hence the expression "expensive as saffron." A very reasonable statement.

The seasonal rhythm of crocuses

Spring crocus flowers can start blooming in mid-March or mid-April, provided that you grow them with all the nuances. But the timing of this event can vary significantly depending on the melting of snow and warming. soil cover. Cases of the beginning of flowering of spring crocuses have been recorded even at the end of February.

Autumn species are more stable and constant in this case. The quality of the vegetative period depends directly on the conditions in which the recovery bud was formed last season - this applies to spring-blooming or this summer - autumn-blooming saffron.

Why don't crocuses bloom?

Many amateur gardeners and flower growers are perplexed why crocuses do not bloom when everything seems to be done correctly, but in fact there is no flower and there are only leaves. Let's deal with this problem together and decide for what reasons this is happening?

First, what can negatively affect flowering is the thickening of plantings. The daughter bulbs become so crowded that the mother tuber is able to push out of the ground only new feathers of young green leaves. The bulbs interfere with each other, so there can be no talk of flowering. The way out is obvious - to plant crocuses and give more space to new tubers.

The second reason may lie in too deep planting of onions. They just don't have the energy to bloom. They spent all their strength on punching sheets through the ground. Often bulbous plants, which are planted in sandy soil, involuntarily deepen into a loose substrate.

You can correct the situation by transplanting the corms to a depth of up to 7 cm. In heavy clay soils, deepen the bulbs by no more than 5 cm.

The final reason why crocuses do not bloom in your garden, is the lack of fertilization of the soil. The main thing is timely and in required quantities to make preparations on a mineral basis. Firstly, this is done at planting: fertilizer is applied directly into the hole. Saffrons that grow in one place for many years draw all the nutrients from the soil. Such flowers must be fed in the spring, watering with a solution of mineral fertilizers. Organic fertilizers are also suitable, the best of which is compost applied to the planting hole.

Did you know? Fraudsters got the hang of forging saffron. In Iran, in the Middle Ages, hands were cut off for this. In Germany, they were buried alive or burned at the stake. In France, everything was much more humane - just a fine of 60 kg of silver.

Diseases and pests of crocuses

No matter how hard you try to take care of your garden, grow crocuses or other bulbous crops, but sometimes something goes wrong. The plant either stops at one stage of development, or loses its aesthetic appearance, or dies altogether.

The reason for this are diseases and pests:

• Viruses. The first sign of their appearance on saffron is white spots on deformed leaves. They stretch and twist at the tips. They are carried by sucking insects such as aphids, mites or thrips. The affected plant by default becomes a distributor of infection, and it must be destroyed immediately. But do not worry if the disease has mowed down a rare species of crocus in your area. Viruses do not reach the seeds, and the plant can be revived by reseeding. Let it take some time, but you will return your flower favorites.
• Fungi. Activated in warm and damp weather. As a rule, they affect the corm of the plant. It loses its density, shrinks, and spots of unnatural color form under the scales. Such an onion must be destroyed, and the other daughters should be dried in a cool place. Before planting, they must be soaked in a weak manganese solution or a 0.2% solution of Fundazol.
• Chlorosis. With this disease, the leaves begin to turn yellow, which is not caused by a lack of any nutrients in the soil, but by mechanical damage to the tuber, poor drainage, or inappropriate growing conditions.
• Mice and moles. They damage the corms, breaking through passages under them and even taking them entirely to their homes or nibbling the roots. If the plant grows poorly, blooms poorly, then we can judge that the onions have rotted. In this case, they need to be dug up and the rotten parts removed. Treat the cut points with ash and leave in the open air for several hours to dry. In order not to attract mice, it is necessary to remove all deadwood and grass within a radius of three meters from the landings, because mice nest there. They will not run further than three meters from the nest.

You can recommend the article to your friends!

82 times already
helped

Crocuses - bulbous undersized ornamental plant from the Iris family. Growing crocuses is perfect for "lazy" gardeners who live in country houses, at cottages. The fact is that crocuses begin to bloom very early, when there is still snow on the fields, so you can admire their beauty when you are somewhere nearby, and not in the metropolis.

The first name of crocuses is saffron, in ornamental gardening crocus. This is due to the fact that crocus stigmas have yellow, they also produce seasoning saffron and saffron dye.

Crocuses are very unpretentious in care and disease resistant. They will perfectly decorate a lawn, an alpine hill, a rocky hill, or take their place among perennials.

The place for growing crocuses (saffron) in the country should be sunny or with little shade, away from the roofs, where snow can fall in winter.

The soil is dry, light, drained, loose and nutritious, without stagnant water. In one place, crocuses are grown for 3-5 years, after which they are transplanted to a new place.

Planting crocuses

Crocuses, like most flowers, cannot tolerate being applied before planting fresh manure. An ideal option is when rotted manure, mature compost and sand are brought in for digging. If there is stagnation of water in the area allocated for crocuses, then drainage (expanded clay or sand) must be done before planting. If the soil is heavy clay, then add compost and ash.

Do not make thick plantings of crocuses, this leads to smaller flowers. Over time, the thickening of the landing will form itself. Choose planting material without damage and signs of disease. When planting, determine the distance between plants, depending on the size of the corms, from 10 to 15 cm. Large corms are planted at a depth of 8-10 cm, medium corms - at 4-6 cm, and small or children are planted at a depth of 2-3 cm.

Crocuses are planted in September-October for spring flowering the following year and in July-August for autumn flowering.

Crocuses bloom in spring or autumn, depending on the species. Blooms in spring: Jeanne d'Arc, Pickwick, Remembrance, Angustifolia Crocus, Light Yellow Crocus, Little Dorrit, Largest Yellow. Crocuses bloom in autumn: Crocus sowing, Crocus beautiful, Crocus pretty.

Crocus Care

Although crocuses are not demanding to care for, they love mineral fertilizers:

• The first time mineral fertilizers are applied in early spring, when there is still snow.
• The second time - at the time of flowering at the rate of 30-40 g per 1 sq.m.

Crocuses can be harmed by birds, nematodes, hares. Of the diseases - rot and leaf rust. Particularly hot weather will also not bring anything bad to crocuses.

Before wintering, mulch crocuses with peat.

Reproduction of crocuses

There are two ways to propagate crocuses: vegetatively (baby corms) or seeds.

With the vegetative method of reproduction, all species characteristics of the variety are preserved. Every 3-4 years, crocuses need to be thinned out, since during this time they are able to create thickening on the site. Corms are dug up in the summer (June-July), if they are spring-flowering types of crocuses. When the leaves turn yellow, they are dried, sorted and stored until planting or forcing at a temperature of 17-20°C. Crocuses can be propagated as quickly as possible with the annual digging of the bulbs.

Crocus seeds are sown in September. Flowering begins in 3-4 years. Crocus nests are propagated in summer during the dormant period.

forcing crocuses

Forcing crocuses can be done in winter, when there is no particularly big trouble in the country, for example, by the New Year or March 8th. Forcing crocuses takes 3 months, keep this in mind when planning this event.

For forcing crocuses, choose only the highest quality spring-blooming corms. The larger the crocus bulb, the faster flowering will begin.

In August, dig up the bulbs, keep them indoors for 2 weeks at room temperature, then transfer them to a cool place until forcing.

In the fall (September-October) land in flower pots or best in wide bowls, since the number of bulbs planted in one container is usually more than five.

The earth should be moist and light, the substrate is best, then the bulbs can be stored after forcing. Planting depth is shallower than usual. The distance is small enough, but so that the onions do not touch each other. Cover containers plastic wrap, make holes in it so that the plants breathe and put it in a cold room or even in the refrigerator (in the lower boxes) for rooting for 2 months.

If there are no options for cooling besides the refrigerator, then, without planting, wrap the bulbs in paper or newspaper and store in the refrigerator for about a month in this state, so save space. Then you can plant in pots.

When sprouts appear in January and are 5 cm long, transfer the containers to a place with a temperature of 10-15 ° C (at a higher temperature, the plants will bloom faster), put on the windowsill and cover with a paper bag, not forgetting to water when the top of the earth becomes dry.

You need to open the plants after 7 days and, if possible, illuminate with a lamp (in case of insufficient illumination, crocuses will grow and flowering will become weak).

Containers are brought into the heat when the crocuses show buds. Flowering will begin in about 2 weeks. It will last much longer in cool weather than in warm weather.

Crocuses need to be watered even after they have faded. When the leaves fall off, you can get the bulbs and send them to storage.

You can transplant into open ground in the fall. But remember, with repeated forcing of crocuses, the flowers become smaller.

1. A minimum of difficulties will arise with the forcing of large-flowered Dutch hybrids crocuses, selling their bulbs from August to January.
2. Buy bulbs for forcing crocuses from the second half of August to mid-September, at this time the bulbs are of the highest quality, large and worthy of admiring your eyes.
3. When buying bulbs with sprouts, do not think that they are ready to bloom. They must still go through the path of cooling and rooting.
4. You can plant crocus bulbs in such a substrate: pour a layer of earth on the bottom, then a layer of sand, plant the bulbs and fill the container completely with sand. Moreover, do not compact the sand, then the bulbs will not begin to rot, and the roots will be in moisture. Fertilize until budding.
5. The readiness of crocuses for forcing (transition from cold to heat) and the success of the rooting period can be recognized by the following signs:

• at the weakest and lowest sprout, the length should be at least 5 cm;
• feeling the sprout, it should be dense, not hollow;
• roots should peep out of the drainage holes of the bowl or pot.

Only after such signs are the containers transferred from cold to warm, but not higher than 15 ° C, so that they do not fade ahead of time (the reaction of flowers to a sharp temperature drop is more than fast, in general, as well as to light). At temperatures of 20°C and above, flowering plants may last only a few hours.

Watering spend in the pan. When upper layer the earth dries out, the water is drained from the pan. For better preservation of the bulbs after forcing, pour water into the pan to the level of the roots, slightly below the bottom of the bulbs.