Scientific Name
Crocus flavus Weston
Common Name(s)
Yellow Crocus, Dutch Yellow Crocus
Synonym(s)
Crocus flavus subsp. flavus, Crocus aureus, Crocus floribundus, Crocus lacteus, Crocus lageniflorus, Crocus luteus, Crocus mesiacus, Crocus moesiacus, Crocus penicillatus, Crocus sulphureus
Scientific Classification
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Crocoideae
Genus: Crocus
Flower
Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Late winter or early spring
Description
Crocus flavus is a dwarf deciduous perennial that grows from a corm, sending up 1 to 4 fragrant pale yellow to deep orange-yellow flowers in late winter or early spring, just as the grassy medium-green leaves emerge. Flowers are held on short upright stalk-like floral tubes. They are starry and have yellow anthers and yellow to orange-yellow styles. The flowers' exteriors are sometimes streaked or tinted with chocolate-purple at the base. The foliage goes dormant in mid-spring.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 5a to 8b: from −20 °F (−28.9 °C) to 20 °F (−6.7 °C).
How to Grow and Care
Crocus bulbs need well-drained soil in a sunny to a partially sunny location. They thrive in a soil pH of 6 to 7 and are tolerant of a wide range of soils. You may even grow Crocus in the lawn but be careful as they will naturalize and spread to become a potential nuisance.
Plant the Crocus bulbs in groups in the garden bed for impact or even under trees, as they need little root space. Bulbs are planted 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep and 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm) apart. Provide mulch over the planting area in very cold zones but rake it away in early spring so the flowers can emerge. Gardeners in zones where the winters are too harsh or too warm to plant in fall can force the Crocus bulbs indoors in time for a spring planting.
Animals can be a big problem with Crocus bulbs. Squirrels and other rodents will dig up the bulbs and eat them, and deer will graze on the early foliage. You can cover the spring bulb bed with wire mesh to prevent squirrel damage, and there are deer repellents you can try to prevent their feeding on your flowers.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Crocus.
Origin
This species grows wild on the slopes of Greece, former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, and northwestern Turkey.
Links
- Back to genus Crocus
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
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