FALL CROCUSES
When the entire world is turning upside down, as it appears to be doing right now, it is essential to take a mental break and focus on the little things that provide joy and diversion. Crocuses fall into that category. Fall-blooming crocuses are available now from catalog vendors and garden centers. They are colorful, relatively cheap and bring something special to the fall garden. Not everyone grows them, but everyone should. One of the best ways to plant the elf-size bulbs is amid ground covers like ivy or vinca, which help support their slender stems. Grow them around the edge of your vegetable garden, use them to fill holes in beds and borders or plant them in pots. The important thing is to get your hands on some fall crocuses. September is just around the corner.
Fall blooming crocuses, which are members of the large and varied iris or Iridaceae family, look almost exactly like their spring-blooming relatives. They are larger than the little snow crocuses that appear first in the spring and smaller than the Dutch giants that come along later. The colors include shades of purple, blue-purple, pearl gray and white. Native to the Mediterranean and Central Europe, the crocuses like sunny spots, but can make do with light shade. Once in the ground, they will live happily for years if left undisturbed.
Perhaps the most beautiful of the fall bloomers is Crocus speciosus, which is bright blue-purple with orange stems. In the early fall sunshine, it opens its six large petals wide. The leaves come later, so the unadorned flowers seem truly miraculous. In addition to the species, there are several varieties available commercially, including the white-flowered ‘Albus;’ large, bright blue ‘Conquerer;’ and the large purple ‘Oxonian.’
Speciosus crocuses make a good complement to Crocus pulchellus, a native of Greece, Turkey, Macedonia and Bulgaria. It loves damp places, but will do fine in ordinary garden soil. Pulchellus is lighter in color than speciosus–lavender to pearly gray with prominent darker purple veins. For a good show, interplant them in groups of five, seven or nine. Crocuses and Nature love uneven numbers.
Admirers of yellow crocuses will find a void among the available fall-blooming species and varieties. Fill the void with Sternbergia lutea, which is not a true crocus, but a crocus look-alike from the amaryllis family. Sternbergia grows from a bulb, just like crocuses; reaches about six inches tall, just like crocuses and blends in with crocuses as if they were all part of the same big, happy family.
I am intrigued by a crocus with a wonderful name–Crocus hadriaticus. I presume this is after the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who ruled in the first and second centuries AD, and was responsible for building Hadrian’s Wall, which marked the Roman Empire’s northern boundary. Hadrian had a love of all things Greek and fittingly, the hadriaticus species is native to western and southern Greece. Like the emperor, hadriaticus is big and showy. According to Anna Pavord in her comprehensive work, Bulb, the species can produce up to five flowers from a single bulb. This is good value for the money. Like many things of good value, hadriaticus is not widely available, but it is worth seeking out. As with many crocuses, it will increase over time.
All of us who plant bulbs have to worry about predatory animals that will dig up our bulbs and eat them, or simply toss them around. Squirrels will sometimes disinter bulbs and take the trouble to re-bury them, resulting in something my family calls “squirrel landscaping.” If you find single crocuses or other bulb plants sprouting in places where you know they were not planted, you too have probably been targeted by squirrel landscapers. Their aesthetic sensibility eludes me, but they don’t care what I or any other human thinks.
To stymie digging or burrowing animals, cover freshly dug earth with screening or wire mesh for the first week or so after planting. For problematic burrowing pests, Scott Kunst of Old House Gardens recommends planting bulbs in the ground in soil-filled pots topped with chicken wire. The crocuses grow through the wire mesh, but the burrowing and tunneling creatures can’t get to them. Spray new growth with one of the widely-available repellent sprays, repeating the treatment after rainstorms. All of this may seem like a lot of effort, but it is worth it to have a renewable source of fall color.
Fall crocuses should be planted in early September, so order yours now. Selections are available from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, 7900 Daffodil Lane, Gloucester, VA 23061; (877) 661-2852; www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com. Free catalog. Another good source is High Country Gardens, 2902 Rufina Street, Santa Fe, NM: 87507; (800) 925-9387; www.highcountrygardens.com. Free catalog. To obtain Crocus hadriaticus, go to Arrowhead Alpines, PO Box 857, 1310 N. Gregory Road, Fowlerville, MI 48836; (517) 223-3581; www.arrowhead-alpines.com. Free c