Crocus: how to plant, grow and care for crocus

By Veronica Peerless

Published: Friday, 13 January 2023 at 12:00 am

Every garden has room for a few crocuses. These small plants suddenly appear after the long months of winter then die down early, leaving space for later-growing plants in the border.

Spring-flowering crocuses grow from a small corm, with narrow leaves that have a pale stripe along the length. They die back to survive underground during the dry summer in their natural habitats – the meadows, hills and mountains of Europe, North Africa, Turkey and Central Asia (some have become naturalised in parts of nothern Europe and North America).

The spring crocus season is brief – they sparkle for a few short weeks before the flowers fade. But their job is done. Snowdrops may be the harbingers of spring, but it is crocuses that signal its arrival.

IN BRIEF

What: Small, hardy early flowering corms, with flowers in a range of colours

Season: Flowering in spring, dormant in summer

Size: 5-15cm tall

Growing requirements: Sunny position in a border, beneath deciduous trees and shrubs or in lawns. Also good for pots.

Hardiness: RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.

How to grow crocus

Where to plant crocus bulbs

Crocuses that are widely sold in the UK are best suited to a wetter climate. The main requirements for most crocus are a sunny position and soil that isn’t waterlogged. Some, such as C. angustifolius, need very good drainage. Plant crocus bulbs under deciduous shrubs, around trees, among herbaceous perennials or in a container.

How and when to plant crocus bulbs

Plant crocus corms in autumn. Plant them around 5-7cm deep, pointed end up. The large corms of the Dutch hybrids can be planted even deeper. Crocus corms grow contractile roots that pull them down to the right depth if you’ve planted them too shallow.

How to grow crocus in a lawn

You can dig individual holes for each corm, and cover with the removed plug of turf, but this can be laborious if you have a lot of corms to plant. A quicker method is to cut out the area of turf where you want to plant and lift it away or roll it back to expose the soil. Lightly break up the soil surface and carefully push in the corms. Then place the turf back over them. When you grow crocuses in a lawn, the grass can be cut by mid to late spring.

It can take a while to achieve a carpet of crocus, but if you plant species that self seed, you’ll be able to enjoy the results after a few years. C. tommasinianus and C. chrysanthus do this well.

What eats crocus bulbs?

Squirrels and other rodents are fond of crocus bulbs. The deeper you plant them, the less likely they are to be dug up. You can also place some chicken wire over the area you have planted, and cover with soil or turf to hide it. Use a wire gauge with holes around 5-10mm wide. The crocuses will grow through it but it should deter squirrels and mice from digging down.

Another problem is birds pecking at the flowers and buds as they emerge. To deter them, some gardeners push sticks in the ground with black cotton strung between, which is not always effective or attractive, but is preferable to using a cage or mesh. Alternatively, grow in pots in a greenhouse or bring indoors when they start to flower.