Two days ago I saw the first goblet-shaped crocus blossoms just in front of the privet hedge by my driveway. They were little Crocus chrysanthus, early bloomers that are only about half the size of their later blooming, Dutch crocus relatives. They are amazingly powerful little plants, pushing up through the frozen earth, shrugging off snowstorms, and bursting into bloom the minute the first thin rays of late winter sunshine strike them.
In the historical record spring-flowering crocuses often take a back seat to the celebrated Crocus sativus, an autumn-flowering species that is the source of culinary and medicinal saffron. But botanical artists have long provided the exception to this rule, using their pens, brushes and engraving tools to portray the beauties of the spring-blooming types. Basilius Besler, the seventeenth century German publisher of Hortus Eystettensis, included illustrations of several different crocus varieties in the enormous florilegium that depicted plants grown in the Prince Bishop of Eichstätt’s garden. Late eighteenth century botanist/publisher William Curtis commissioned illustrations of crocuses for his eponymous botanical magazine, and his early nineteenth century counterpart Benjamin Maund, depicted C. angustifolius ‘Cloth of Gold’ in his periodical, The Botanic Garden. Closer to our own time, the famous twentieth century plantsman and artist, E.A. Bowles, painted a lovely watercolor study of several crocus species. He also described them eloquently in his book My Garden in Spring.
The ancestors of today’s crocuses came from the Mediterranean region, especially Turkey. In the sixteenth century several crocus corms were sent to the celebrated botanist Carolus Clusius, who may have grown them in his botanical garden in the Dutch city of Leyden, along with the tulips which he did so much to popularize. Crocuses caught on, and breeders began developing new varieties. Because the corms were easy to carry and usually survived long distance travel, crocuses quickly made their way to the New World. Denise Adams, in her wonderful book, Restoring American Gardens, writes that the earliest reference to the crocus in America came in 1784 in the writings of William Byrd, a wealthy Virginia colonist. By Victorian times, the larger hybrid crocus varieties had gained the upper hand in the popularity race and were sometimes used en masse for spring carpet bedding designs.
Now catalogs and garden centers carry a relatively wide range of crocus species and varieties, though I often wish that I saw more of them growing in the suburban gardens that I pass every day. These feelings may stem partly from guilt because my own garden could easily accommodate hundreds more crocuses. Fortunately, I try to remember to order at least a handful every year, and once they are installed, they increase nicely with no help from me.
My favorite early crocus, and the one that is blooming in my yard right now is C. chrysanthus ‘Snow Bunting’. As the name implies, it is white with golden orange stigma that light up the center of the flower when it is fully open. I also love the soft blue C. chrysanthus ‘Blue Pearl’, and palest yellow ‘Cream Beauty’. My garden is also home to the venerable, early-blooming C. tommasinianus, which was introduced in 1847. Some people refer to these crocuses as “tommies”, and they are reputed to be unpopular with bulb-munching rodents. The cats who frequent my yard keep the rodents at bay, but I like the purple tommies for their own sake.
When it comes to the later-blooming, large flowering or Dutch-type crocuses, many people just buy a mixture at the nearest mega-merchandiser, and let it go at that. That is a good way to get a colorful display for a very reasonable price, but I prefer to pick individual varieties. I always fall for a good looking plant with a great name, and ‘King of the Striped’ fills the bill on all counts. The flowers are large, with purple and white stripes, and look absolutely sprightly in the garden, especially planted in large clumps. ‘King of the Striped’ looks lovely with the golden ‘Yellow Mammoth’, sometimes known as ‘Mammoth Yellow’. ‘Peter Pan’ is a nice, large-flowered white crocus, as is ‘Jeanne d’Arc’. For a dark purple variety, try ‘Twilight’, introduced in 1910. I know one gardener who has created an amazing display by mixing up hundreds of solid purple and purple and white striped varieties.
The large-flowered crocuses also work well in pots, especially with pansies. If you have neglected to plant crocuses in your garden, resolve to do better next fall. In the meantime, wait a few weeks and buy some pots of them in the garden center. After they have finished blooming and the soil warms up, install them in your garden. You’ll have a head start on next spring.