Early crocus

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; choose a spot that receives sunlight in winter and early spring.

Water

Moderate moisture while growing; little extra water once dormant in summer. Avoid persistently wet soil.

Soil

Well-drained soil, preferably enriched with leaf mould or compost; tolerates a range of soil textures and pH levels if drainage is good.

Height

0.25-0.5 ft (0.08-0.15 m)

Spread

0.15-0.25 ft (0.05-0.08 m) per plant; colonies spread farther over time.

Flowers

Late winter to early spring; pale lilac to lavender-purple flowers with paler throats and orange-yellow anthers.

Foliage

Narrow, grass-like green leaves with a silvery central stripe; leaves die back in late spring or early summer.

Growth

Moderate; established colonies increase by offsets and self-seeding.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.4 ft (0.12 m)

   full size

About 1 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Mildly toxic: may upset a stomach

Growth rate

Moderate

• Plant corms in autumn, about 3-4 inches (8-10 cm) deep and 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) apart.
• Water after planting and during prolonged dry spells while leaves are growing.
• Apply a thin layer of compost or leaf mould in autumn; rich soil usually needs no additional feeding.
• Leave foliage intact until it yellows, including in lawns.
• Divide crowded colonies after the leaves die back and replant promptly.

Pruning. No routine pruning is needed. Remove yellowed foliage once it has died back naturally; delay mowing planted lawns until then.

Autumn

Plant corms in well-drained ground and water them in.

Late autumn

Remove thick mats of fallen leaves that could smother emerging shoots.

Late winter

Check emerging flowers for slug damage and protect disturbed planting areas from rodents.

Spring

Water during prolonged dry weather while the leaves remain green.

Late spring

Allow seed capsules to ripen if you want the colony to spread; keep lawn areas unmown until foliage yellows.

Summer

Divide congested dormant colonies and avoid unnecessary irrigation.

• Naturalise beneath deciduous trees, where flowers receive light before the canopy develops.
• Plant loose drifts through lawns that can remain unmown until the foliage dies back.
• Combine with snowdrops and winter aconites for overlapping late-winter flowers.
• Tuck into border fronts or rock gardens, where small flowers can be seen close up.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Cottage garden, English country, Wildlife garden, Low-maintenance and Alpine rock garden.

Plant it with: Snowdrops, Winter aconites, Hellebores, Dwarf daffodils, Primroses and Siberian squill.

Wildlife: Provides early pollen and nectar for bees on mild days when the flowers open. Corms may be eaten by rodents.

• Mice, voles and squirrels may eat or uncover corms: protect new plantings with securely fixed wire mesh that allows shoots through.
• Slugs and snails can damage flowers and shoots: remove nearby hiding places and hand-pick pests.
• Corm rot in waterlogged soil: improve drainage or move plants to a raised bed; discard soft, rotten corms.
• Poor flowering after early mowing or leaf removal: leave green foliage untouched until it yellows naturally.

A low-toxicity spring crocus, not the highly poisonous autumn crocus. Chewing leaves, flowers or corms may cause vomiting or diarrhoea in cats and dogs, so discourage access. It is not known to be seriously toxic to people or horses, but it is not an edible plant.

• Dutch crocus (Crocus vernus)

  Usually has larger, broader flowers and broader leaves, and generally flowers later; cultivated forms overlap in colour.

• Golden crocus (Crocus chrysanthus)

  The species has golden-yellow flowers rather than lilac ones, although its garden hybrids come in several colours.

• Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale)

  Flowers mainly in autumn without leaves and has six stamens; true crocuses have three. Its broad leaves appear in spring, and all parts are highly poisonous.

The species name tommasinianus honours the botanist Muzio de Tommasini.

Propagation. Separate offsets when dormant in summer and replant promptly. Alternatively, sow fresh ripe seed outdoors in pots and leave exposed to seasonal temperatures; seedlings usually take several years to flower and may differ from named cultivars.

Accepted botanical name

Crocus tommasinianus

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Yugoslavia.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.