How and when to plant crocuses. Crocuses

In early spring, when the snow has just melted, crocuses are one of the first to bloom in the garden. These beautiful bulbous flowers represent the arrival of spring. They look impressive on lawns and flower beds, are suitable for alpine slides and can be a decoration for any flower garden. Growing crocuses in open ground is not difficult even for inexperienced gardeners, so they can often be found in summer cottages and garden plots.

Description, varieties and photos of crocuses

Crocus or saffron belongs to the iris family and is a corm plant. This low-growing primrose reaches a height of 10 cm. The goblet-shaped crocus flowers bloom on a short peduncle and can be orange, yellow, purple, lilac, blue, cream or white. Narrow basal leaves covered with scales and collected in a bunch appear before or after flowering.

Crocuses are divided into spring-blooming and autumn-blooming species. IN Lately Among gardeners, the most popular varieties are Dutch hybrids.

Spring blooming crocuses

Among spring primroses can be distinguished The four best known species are:

Autumn-blooming crocuses

Among the plants that bloom in September or October The three most popular types are:

Banat crocus has light lilac flowers, the height of which can be up to 14 cm. The linear leaves of the plant grow up to 15 cm and have a gray-silver tint.
A pretty crocus with a height of 7-10 cm and a diameter of 6-8 cm is distinguished by light flowers with dark purple stripes. The plant is not afraid of light frosts and produces from 5 to 10 flowers on one corm.
Crocus beautiful is known for its light purple, lilac, blue, white and dark blue flowers. Its leaves reach 30 cm in length.

Crocuses: planting and care in open ground

Crocuses are light-loving plants, so it is recommended to grow them in well-lit, warmed areas. sun rays place. To grow freely they need provide a spacious plot of land.

How to choose healthy corms?

success good growth And abundant flowering crocuses are healthy planting material. When acquiring corms in flower shops, nurseries or markets, you should carefully examine the bulbs. They must not have:

dark spots;
rot;
mechanical damage.

Any defects in the corms must be eliminated by first freeing them from roots and scales. After this, the damaged areas sprinkled with loose coal or ash.

Some flower shops sell crocuses already in bloom. Such a plant may not take root, but simply dry out. To prevent this from happening, you need to cut off the flowers, leaves and leave the plant alone. In this case, the crocus is on next year It will bloom again, however, it will be able to fully recover only after two years. Therefore, you need to buy planting material before it blooms.

Features of planting crocuses

Spring plant species in open ground are planted in the fall, and those that bloom in the fall – in the summer.

When planting crocuses, keep in mind that they do not like wetlands and acidic soils. They prefer nutritious, loose, dry, light soil.

Preparing the area for planting crocuses, the following must be added to the soil:

large river sand or fine gravel;
peat with lime or rotted manure;
ash if the soil is clayey;
a drainage layer of gravel or crushed stone if the soil is wet.

Autumn planting

So that primroses delight you with their blooms in the spring, permanent place growing they need to be planted in the fall. This is best done from mid-September to mid-October.

Features of planting corms include:

Rules for caring for crocuses in the garden

Growing primroses is not difficult. For them to grow, develop and bloom well, you just need follow some recommendations:

From the moment seedlings emerge, plants need regular watering. Despite the fact that crocuses are drought-resistant crops, a lack of moisture during the period of active growth can lead to shredding of the corms.
Leaves should not be removed from the plant until they are completely dry. Otherwise, the flower may weaken.
So that new buds are formed and crocuses bloom longer, wilted flowers it is recommended to remove it.
After the leaves wither, caring for primroses consists of mulching the soil between them with dry leaves or a thick layer of peat.
Every three to four years, primroses need to be replanted. During this period of time, many children will grow on the corm. Autumn-blooming crocuses can be planted throughout the summer, and spring-blooming ones - from mid-summer to the end of September.

When can you dig up crocuses?

Spring flowering plants begin their active growth already at the end of winter or in early spring . By mid-June, primroses begin a dormant period. And in the fall, when the crocuses become active again, they begin to accumulate food, grow roots, and form buds. That is why digging and planting spring plants should be done during the dormant period, which usually lasts almost the entire summer, starting in mid-June.

Autumn-blooming crocuses begin to bloom actively in August. At this time, they are actively forming new bulbs and growing leaves. Their dormant period begins at the end of spring. Digging and planting blooming in autumn plants can be produced from early summer until mid-August.

Onions extracted from the soil cleared of husks and dead roots. Then they need to be dried by laying them out in one layer in a suitable container. At home, planting material should be kept in a dry, dark room with good ventilation and room temperature.

Pests and diseases of crocuses

By growing bulbous plants in compliance with all recommendations, there should be no problems with pests and diseases.

Their main enemies are rodents that love to eat bulbs. Therefore, it is not recommended to leave planting material laid out to dry unattended.

The same rodents, aphids or thrips may be peddlers viral disease. A diseased plant can be recognized by flattened flowers in spots gray. Before other flowers become infected, the corm of the diseased plant must be dug up and destroyed, and the soil must be spilled with a hot solution of potassium permanganate.

When caring for crocuses, you can find holes in the bulbs made by wireworms. If there are a lot of these yellow larvae that are hard to the touch on the plant, then you need to get rid of them. To do this you can use homemade traps:

In the spring, place bunches of straw, hay or grass mowed last year around the area.
Moisten everything and cover with boards.
After the larvae move into these traps, the grass tufts will need to be collected and burned.

Improper care and damp weather can lead to fungal diseases of primroses. They can be affected by fusarium, sclerotial or penicillium rot, gray fungal disease. To prevent such a problem from arising, the planting material must be carefully inspected. Before planting, it is recommended to etch it in a fungicide solution.

Having planted primroses in your garden in the fall, you can enjoy their flowering in early spring. But in order for the plants to be truly spectacular and bloom beautifully, when planting, growing and caring for them, you must follow the simple recommendations of experienced gardeners.

Crocus flowers

Which are the earliest to bloom in the garden. In order for tender buds to appear at the right time, you need to know exactly whether it is in autumn or spring. The question is especially relevant for beginning flower growers, since the bulbs of this plant can be purchased at almost any time of the year.

Spring and autumn crocuses

This is how it is customary to classify these from the iris family. Unpretentious and resistant to the Russian winter, crocuses grow actively throughout the year and can bloom in early spring and early autumn. Few people know that autumn species exist. Because of this, there is often confusion about when to plant crocuses. It is best to do this in the fall.

The cycle of growth and development of the corm spring crocus begins in early spring, when the plant first grows leaves, blooms, and then enters the resting phase, accumulating strength in the bulb and forming children. These are the crocuses most often found in flower shops and mass markets.

It is much more difficult to find autumn species. Their life activity begins with flowering in early autumn, then leaves grow; the plant often goes under the snow with open buds. The planting time for these species is mid-July to early August. If you are a little late, the flower will not have time to form and delight you with ripe children.

Planting spring crocuses

For those who do not know when to plant crocuses in the fall, it is worth first determining the type of plant you have. Spring ones must be planted in early September, when the bulb is in the dormant phase. Having accumulated strength over the winter, the plant will produce its first flowers in early April. You first need to prepare the soil: dig up two weeks before planting, add humus, but do not overdo it with complex mineral fertilizers.

Next year, when the crocuses have finished blooming, you need to wait until all the leaves dry out. Only after this are the bulbs dug up and stored until September, and tulips are cared for in the same way. Help you decide when to plant crocuses and tulips weather. Dry, cool weather is most favorable for this, but you need to do it before the first frost.

Planting autumn species

Autumn crocuses are planted in late summer. Late planting will cause the corm to form incorrectly, producing leaves but no buds. Therefore, the question arises - when (in September) is the time to plant spring-flowering species; in the summer (end of July) it is necessary to plant autumn-flowering specimens. Not all gardeners plant annually, leaving the plant in one place for 4-5 years.

It has been noticed that with this approach, the flowers become smaller, the greenery grows, and the children become cramped. Therefore for better flowering, obtaining excellent planting material and preserving the bulbs from garden pests It is recommended to dig up and divide crocuses annually. If the chosen place has light sandy loam soil, there is no stagnation of moisture, and the area is sufficiently lit, then the flowers will not take long to appear and will soon delight you with bright buds.

In spring, crocuses - bright primroses - bloom in the front garden.

Growing them is not difficult at all if you know the subtleties. autumn planting crocuses

Choosing planting material

When growing crocuses, it is very important to choose the right planting material; the further development and flowering of the plant depends on its quality. When choosing bulbs, you need to take into account that there are autumn-flowering varieties, the planting of which differs in timing. Spring primroses are planted in autumn.

1. When choosing bulbs, inspect them carefully. Healthy planting material has no signs of damage, overgrown roots or damage.

2. Good onion should be firm to the touch, with no soft spots.

3. You should also pay attention to the scales. At the onion good quality they are dry.

4. You should not buy seed material if there are signs of rotting at the bottom of the bulb.

Preparing crocus bulbs for autumn planting + photo

Before placing the bulbs in the holes, they must be processed and disinfected. This will protect the planting from damage. To prevent disease and rot, the bulbs are pickled in a solution of potassium permanganate. Fungicides are also used for this purpose. Good results treatment with Fundazol, the drug "Skor", "Vitaros". The working solution is prepared at the rate of about 2 ml of the drug per 1 liter of water. The resulting solution is enough to treat up to 1 kg of crocus bulbs.

IN ready solution For disinfection, planting material is lowered and left for half an hour. After this, they begin planting the bulbs. Treated bulbs should not be washed.

Important! You can treat the seed material in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. The bulbs are kept for about 30 minutes.

Choosing a place for a flower bed

Autumn planting of crocuses begins with choosing a location. Please note that crocuses prefer sunny places, without stagnation of moisture, the excess of which leads to various diseases. They need light to bloom fully. In the shade of trees, the buds may not bloom.

The soil on the site should be loose and nutritious. Heavy soils are not suitable for growing spring primroses. River sand will help improve the condition of the soil. It is brought in for digging, which makes the soil looser. If the soil is not very nutritious, then it is advisable to add potassium, phosphorus and mature compost. Fertilizers containing nitrogen are not used when growing crocuses.

When choosing a place for planting crocuses in autumn, give preference to quiet corners of the garden, where there are no drafts or cold winds. Strong gusts of wind can break fragile plants.

Let's start planting bulbs

How to plant bulbs correctly? Experienced gardeners It is recommended to plant bulbous plants in special baskets. They will protect crocuses from rodents and make it easier to dig up plants.

Growing crocuses without baskets, the bulbs are placed on the bed, leaving a distance of about 5-7 cm between them. Looks very good blooming carpet from bulbous plants. To do this, the bulbs are planted tightly, at a distance of 3-5 cm.

The depth for autumn planting of crocuses depends on the size of the bulb. Larger ones are planted to a depth of 10-15 cm, and smaller ones - 5-8 cm. How to determine the depth of planting material? The optimal depth is equal to the height of the bulb multiplied by 3.

Crocuses are frost-resistant plants, but in regions with harsh climates it is better to mulch the bed with spruce branches or dry leaves. In spring, all mulching material is removed, the planting site is carefully loosened, trying not to damage it. root system plants.

Caring for crocuses after flowering

Crocuses need to be dug up annually. After flowering, which ends in July, it is necessary to cut off all aboveground part plants. Soon they begin digging up the bulbs. They are carefully removed from the ground with a pitchfork, trying not to damage them. Next, the bulbs are washed, sorted and sorted. After drying and airing, which lasts about 7 days, the planting material is stored.

Crocus bulbs should be stored with a gradual decrease in temperature. At the first stage, the bulbs are lowered into the basement, where they are laid out in a single layer. After a few weeks, the planting material is placed in the lower section of the refrigerator, where it is stored until planting. Optimal time Planting of bulbs is considered mid-September - early October.

How to force crocuses

Experienced gardeners grow crocuses in pots. Wherein flowering plant can be received by a certain date. But for this, forcing crocuses must follow all the rules.

1. From planting to flowering, it takes from 3 to 3.5 months or 15 weeks. This must be taken into account when forcing crocuses for the holidays. To obtain a blooming specimen for the New Year, crocus planting is carried out in the fall, namely, in mid-September.

2. All bulbs must undergo natural preparation under certain temperature conditions. To do this, bulbs are purchased in the summer and stored at a temperature of 30 degrees for about 7 days. Next, the planting material is lowered into the cellar, where it is stored until mid-August. Further storage of the bulbs occurs in the refrigerator at a temperature of 5-7 degrees.

3. Crocuses are planted in a prepared container.

4. The bulbs are placed very close to each other, not like in a garden bed. The fact is that the plant does not grow in such conditions and does not produce children.

5. River sand is used as a substrate when forcing crocuses. Good drainage is provided at the bottom of each container.

Forcing crocuses is a very simple task; knowing all the rules, even a novice gardener can handle it.

Difficulties in growing crocuses

Beginners often complain that growing crocuses does not bring results and the plants do not bloom. Why is this happening?

Lack of flowering indicates improper care.

The bulbs were dug up ahead of time, which disrupted natural cycle development.

The above-ground part was cut off too early; the leaves are removed after they are completely dry.

Violated temperature regime storage of bulbs. First, planting material is stored at high temperature, gradually reducing it. Final stage storage takes place at very low temperatures.

The absence of flowering indicates that the bed has degenerated. Crocuses need rejuvenation of plantings once every three years. If all this time they have been grown without digging, then it’s time to plant the crocuses.

On bulbs damaged by rodents, buds do not set. Planting crocuses in special baskets for bulbous plants will protect them.

Some varieties of crocuses bloom in the fall, so when purchasing bulbs, be sure to ask what variety they are.

Despite small size crocuses, gardeners love them very much. After all, they are completely undemanding and easy to care for. In addition, crocuses are planted in the fall, which allows you to admire the blooming flowerbed in the spring. Once you become familiar with all the intricacies of growing bulbs, it will go without much effort.

Planting too deeply slows down the development of the crocus, but promotes the formation of large bulbs. Sometimes young plants form retracting roots and go deeper on their own.

Planting depth regulates the growth of crocus nests: when the corm is buried 5 cm, you can get up to 10 children; with deeper embedding, there will be fewer children, but the flowering of the crocus will last longer and the nest will need to be divided less often - once every 4-5 years.

In the photo: Yellow crocuses - a beautiful variety

How to plant crocuses in autumn

Make holes of the depth you need at a distance of 6-10 cm from each other, but if you want to create a thicker mat, the distance between the bulbs can be 3-5 cm. However, please note that the corms quickly become overgrown with children even with such a dense arrangement of the bulbs you will soon have to plant crocuses in the ground. After planting, crocuses are watered, but only if you planted them in dry soil.

Caring for crocuses after planting

Caring for crocuses in autumn in the open ground

During the remaining warm days before winter, the corms should have time to acquire roots. Crocuses do not need fertilizers in the fall, They will only need them in the spring. Watering crocuses is carried out when the soil in the area becomes dry, and after watering the soil is carefully loosened. If weeds appear, remove them, and if heavy rains begin against the backdrop of cold weather, try to protect the crocus planting from excess moisture by covering it with film.

Caring for crocuses in winter

Many species and varieties of plants are cold-resistant, but some crocuses freeze in winter without shelter. To prevent this from happening, after the first frost, loosen the soil in the area and mulch it with a layer of peat, dry fallen leaves, or cover it with spruce branches.

In the photo: Blooming spring crocuses

Transplanting a crocus in the fall to another place

Crocuses can grow in one place for 5-6 years, but it is better to plant them once every 3-4 years. Each faded bulb will produce 2, and sometimes 4 bulbs and 5-10 children the next season, and if they are not replanted at least once every 3-4 years, the area will soon become overgrown and the crocuses will turn into a weed. When transplanting, crocuses are propagated. When to replant crocuses - in spring or autumn? Transplanting crocuses in the fall, like planting crocuses in the fall, is carried out at the same time - from September to November.

Corms are dug up in mid-summer, when crocuses are dormant. A signal that it is time to remove them from the ground is the yellowing of the leaves of the plant. The corms are cleaned, sorted, removing damaged or diseased ones, and air-dried in the shade for a week. Then you need to separate the nests: only those babies that easily move away on their own are separated from the corms. All planting material is soaked for half an hour in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate, then dried and placed in a cool, dry place for storage.

When September arrives, crocus corms are planted in previously prepared soil in the order described in our article.

In the photo: Growing crocuses in the garden

How to store crocuses before planting in the fall

How and where to store crocus corms before planting in the ground? After all, three months must pass from the moment they are removed from the soil until autumn planting. Corms disinfected with potassium permanganate and dried are laid out in one layer in wooden box and stored in a room with a temperature of at least 22 ºC until August. From the beginning of August, it is advisable to lower the temperature to 20 ºC, and closer to September - to 15 ºC. It is in these conditions that Dutch professionals store crocus corms, but since it is difficult for amateur gardeners to organize such conditions, planting material is stored until autumn at room temperature.

Autumn-blooming corms are planted in the garden in August, and spring-blooming crocuses - from September.

Crocuses are early spring bulbous perennial plants. The color combinations of these spring flowers delight and delight tired eyes and hearts after a long winter. Under natural conditions, growing these bulbous plants perennial plants carried out on sandy, rocky and loose soils. Planting and care is carried out in sunny areas in open ground.

Crocuses: varieties and varieties

The homeland of these perennial flowers is European countries, North African states and western Asia. In addition to the remarkable property of pleasing the eye, the scope of this plant is wide: crocus (or saffron) is used in cooking as a seasoning, as a dye and as a medicine. Selection has produced varieties with large inflorescences, differing in color: striped, spotted, two-colored, with a contrasting pattern. The propagation method for preserving the variety of this plant is simple and quite accessible to gardeners.

Crocuses are one of the first to bloom after winter.

Crocuses, grown in modern conditions made it possible to obtain more than 250 species, differing not only in color, but also in the size of the stamens and pistils.

At the end of the 19th century in Holland, the propagation of species contributed to the emergence of the Crocus sativa variety, but interest in it, as in ornamental plant, appeared much later. Along with this variety, varieties such as angustifolia crocus, yellow crocus and spring crocus were introduced into European gardens. It was thanks to these varieties that Dutch hybrids appeared.

Crocuses in open ground begin to bloom in late April - early May. These are cold-resistant plants; they tolerate frosts down to minus 5 - 7 degrees. Bright flowers each variety pleases the eye for 10-15 days. To extend the flowering period it is recommended to use different varieties– early, middle, late. For example, in landscape design Now the most popular spring species are:

Planting a plant

Spring crocuses are planted in early autumn (late August - early September) at a distance of 7 to 10 cm from each other. Crocuses planted in September are not winter-hardy enough, so they are covered for the winter to avoid freezing of the bulbs, which is quite dangerous in winter. clay soils and loams. Dry leaves, peat and humus are useful for insulation.

At the planting site, prepare recesses of such a size that the bulb can fit freely. When planting tubers, the soil should be well fertilized with compost. Drainage is placed at the planting site to avoid the accumulation of stagnant water and rotting of the bulbs. Expanded clay, screenings, and coarse sand are used as drainage. Then a fertile layer mixed with compost is poured on top.

Crocus bulb

If the soil is fertile and well fertilized with compost, then in the first year after planting, no fertilizer is added; the next year, potassium and phosphorus additives are added to the soil. After planting, the rhizomes are covered by mulching the soil.

Crocus care

Care for the plant correct landing not difficult. Crocuses are sun-loving flowers; growing them in open ground in shaded areas leads to crushed flowers or to their absence. Quite resistant to drought: in the spring, during flowering, the flowers have enough moisture, but in the summer they still need watering.

Your main task is to plant crocuses on sunny area, and they will bloom actively

Some amateur gardeners dig up crocus bulbs every year, dry them and store them in a cool place. This makes it possible to select the largest perennial plants; such care saves the bulbs from rodents and rotting.

Plant propagation

Crocuses reproduce mainly by children. Large daughter bulbs are carefully separated and planted separately. This allows you to maintain the quality of the perennial. To speed up the propagation process, the bulbs should be dug up annually, since they are replaced every season: the old ones dry out, and up to five new tubers grow nearby.

For planting, larger bulbs are selected, old dried and rotten lobes are cut off. In general, crocuses are unpretentious, you don’t have to dig them up every year, but you don’t need to keep the flowers in one place for more than five years, the plantings grow and bloom poorly.

Propagation of crocuses by daughter bulbs

Dig up faded plants in July, after the foliage has dried. Saffrons can also be propagated by seeds, but then you will have to wait for flowers only in the third year. With this method of propagation, varietal characteristics are not always preserved.

Diseases and pests

The developed varieties and hybrids of crocuses are resistant to diseases, but in moist soils they are exposed to various viruses and fungal diseases. Diseases can only be fought, unfortunately, by destroying the affected bulbs, while the soil is spilled with a special solution. After discovering diseased bulbs, flowers must be grown in another place.

Crocuses suffer from invasions of moles and mice, but if flowers are planted on alpine hills and rockeries, then protection from rodents is first installed there. Crocuses are also susceptible to attacks by slugs and moths; insecticides are regularly sprayed to get rid of insects.

Attention! If not properly cared for, crocus flowers become smaller, lose color intensity, or do not bloom at all.

The use of saffron in landscape design

Crocuses, planting and caring for which do not present great difficulties, are now widely used in mass compositions when creating beautiful landscapes gardens - in a mixborder, ridge or flowerbed.

Mono planting of crocuses

Crocuses in groups with tulips, hyacinths and daffodils are simply irreplaceable for decorating a spring landscape. In the landscape design of local areas, varieties of crocuses are very expressively set off by stone compositions in rock gardens and rock gardens, where they are bright flowers stand out against the beige background of stones.

In rockeries and ridges, crocuses fit perfectly into compositions with low-growing shrubs. A bright spring accent will be the planting of these perennials with conifers and winter green plants, for example, in English-style rockeries.

Crocuses in landscape design

You can plant crocuses on lawns, the combination of their delicate glasses with emerald grass looks good on the lawn, however, such a lawn can only be mowed after the saffron foliage has died off, otherwise every year there will be fewer and fewer flowers on the crocus. These plants are intended for growing in open ground, but they also bloom wonderfully on apartment windowsills.

Advice! If crocus flowers appear on the windowsill in the spring, then it is quite possible to extend their life by planting them on the site and perfectly use them in the landscape design of the garden, but start planting them in open ground no earlier than late May - early June.

Numerous photos of crocuses in group compositions with shrubby plants or other perennial bulbous representatives can be seen in a variety of literature on garden landscape design.