Brian Minter: Fall flowering Colchicums brighten up the garden
Credit to Author: Tracey Tufnail| Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 18:00:58 +0000
A few years ago, I spent a weekend garden hopping in one of London’s famous black taxis. I’ll never forget the absolute beauty of a lawn filled with white autumn crocuses in Hyde Park. It was September and getting quite dark, but that image has stayed with me.
In today’s gardens, we don’t see these crocuses very often and to me, it’s a big miss. Autumn crocuses provide a surprise at a time of year when many gardens look a little tired after a long, warm, dry summer.
Colchicums, also referred to as meadow saffron, are giant bulbs related to the lily family. While mostly native to the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, they can also be found in Western Europe, including Britain.
Even with over 60 species and hybrids, colchicums are seldom seen in garden stores, partly because of the short window of availability in late August and early September.
Although considered poisonous because they contain colchicine (a toxic alkaloid), in their early history, especially in the Middle East, they were used as medication to treat gout, and they are still used for the same medicinal purposes. Curiously, colchicine was also used in the past as a horticultural growth retardant.
One of the most attractive fall blooming bulbs, the lavender-pink petals of Colchicum ‘Waterlily’ will attract lots of attention.
In the bulb world, colchicums are a bit of an odd duck. Out of nowhere in late winter, leaves suddenly emerge, growing about 12 inches, and it seems as if they are about to flower, but not so — over time the leaves die back, and no blooms appear. The purpose of the leaves is to provide nutrition for the bulbs.
When the bulbs bloom in late summer, there are no leaves at all, just a bouquet of lightly perfumed flowers, each with six pink, lavender or white petals and three long red, yellow or orange stigmas. These unique flowers are supported by a tubular corolla and, having no true stem, they grow directly out of the soil. Botanically known as Colchicum autumnale, these bulbs produce single or double flowers that last two to three weeks, then they disappear until next year.
The stigmas of Crocus sativus are the source of saffron, a highly prized spice.
The saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a native of Italy and eastward into Turkey, is the most well known of the fall-blooming bulbs. Saffron is highly prized as the world’s most expensive spice. To obtain a supply of saffron, you will need to buy a few thousand bulbs, as it takes two thousand dried stigmas to produce 30g.
Saffron is produced by plucking off each individual flower and carefully hand picking out the delicate orange stigmas, then placing them under a weight in a special drying kiln. If you want to try harvesting saffron at home, simply let the stigmas dry on a piece of paper until they become somewhat powdery. Saffron must be stored in a sealed glass vial that is kept in a cool, dry location.
The stigmas of Crocus sativus are the source of saffron, a highly prized spice.
Native to Iran, Turkey and Crimea, the fall blooming Crocus speciosum, a slightly larger crocus bulb, produces side bulblets that multiply easily to produce many corms. Its flowers come in shades of lavender, blue and purple with striking yellow anthers. It is a showy variety, often producing flowers that grow five to six inches tall.
Crocus ochroleucus is another October blooming novelty fund from the eastern Mediterranean into Lebanon. Its leaves form first, then white or cream two to three inch flowers emerge. Each beautiful bloom has an ochre-yellow base and yellow stamens.
Crocus bulbs are hardy to zone 6. For them to multiply, a hot, dry, temperate climate is preferred. In cooler climates they must be planted in a warm location where they can bake during the hot summer months.
Tolerant of many well-draining soils, colchicums need to be buried four inches deep and about six inches apart. For the most pleasing effect, plant them in groupings. Don’t plant them among other spring flowering bulbs because the leaves produced in later winter will smother their spring blooming cousins. These novelty bulbs are best planted in a sunny rock garden, or at the base of smaller trees or shrubs.
Import restrictions limit which varieties of fall flowering bulbs can enter Canada. The ones that are permitted were flown in last week and should be available now in many garden stores. They will definitely make a nice addition to your late summer garden for many years to come.
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