Hairy crocus

Hairy crocus: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Small corm plant of about 10 cm high, with flowers held on long white tubes.

Leaves

Narrow and grass-like, dark green with a pale midrib; appear around or soon after flowering and stay green through winter.

Flowers

Pale blue with darker veins and a yellow throat, in September–October; opens on sunny days.

Bulb/corm

A small, round corm with a brown fibrous tunic; a new corm forms every year.

Dormancy

Summer rest: from May–June until autumn the corm rests underground; the leaves have then withered.

Flowering: September–October · Plants: July–August

Why grow it?

• Pale blue flowers with dark veins and a yellow throat: delicate and elegant.
• Flowers in September–October, while bees and other insects are still flying.
• Reliable and hardy, to about −20 °C.
• Several flowers per corm in succession, so the display lasts a long time.
• Small and easy to combine in a rock garden, border or pot.

Hairy crocus: where does it grow best?

• Full sun in a warm, open spot; light half shade is also tolerated.
• Well-drained sandy or loamy soil, neutral to chalky; mix heavy soil with coarse sand or grit.
• Dry to normally moist; in summer the soil must stay dry. Wet feet are its greatest enemy.
• Allow 8–10 cm between corms; plant in groups of 10 or more.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

0.1 m tall, 0.05 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -20 °C)

Goes well with

• Stonecrop: Late flowers, suits the same sunny, dry spot.
• Thyme: A low, aromatic herb that tolerates the same dry, sunny soil.
• Lavender: Loves sun and dry soil.
• Ornamental grass: Soft plumes that show off the low crocus flowers.
• Autumn cyclamen: Flowers at about the same time and likes a dry spot under trees.

Hairy crocus: when and how to plant it?

Plant in July–August.

1. Plant the corms as early as possible in July–August, before they dry out or start into growth.
2. Loosen the soil and ensure a well-drained spot, with coarse sand or grit in heavy soil.
3. Plant the corms 8–10 cm deep, pointed end up.
4. Leave 8–10 cm between the corms and plant in groups.
5. Do not water too much after planting; the corms come out of dormancy with the autumn rains.

Care

Water

Do not water in summer. In autumn and winter the rain is enough; keep a pot lightly moist from September.

Feeding

Not really needed. If you like, a little compost in autumn.

Mulching

A thin layer of coarse sand or fine grit around the plants keeps the soil dry and the flowers clean.

Leave the leaves

Leave the foliage after flowering and in spring until it is yellow and limp, usually in May–June.

Shelter

In a wet climate a spot under the eaves or in a cold frame helps keep the corms dry.

Tip: Give it a sunny spot that stays dry in summer, and plant the corms as early as possible in July–August. One corm often gives several flowers in succession.

Hairy crocus: when to prune it?

When: Pruning is not needed; just remove faded flowers and withered leaves.

How:

• Let the foliage die back naturally in May–June; only cut it off when it is yellow and limp.
• Remove faded flowers only if you want it tidy.
• In autumn remove dead leaves and weeds so the flowers stand clear.

Caution: Do not cut off the green leaves too early: the corm needs them to store energy for next year.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Dividing corms

Lift dense clumps after the leaves have died back (May–June), about every 3–4 years. Separate the cormlets and replant straight away in July–August.

Seed

Sow fresh seed in spring or autumn in pots of sandy soil; it takes several years until the first flowers.

Hairy crocus: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −20 °C.

• Hardy to about −20 °C: in Flanders no protection is needed if the soil drains well.
• The leaves stay green through winter; frost does not harm them, but long spells of wet do.
• In a pot: put it in a sheltered spot in hard frost so the corms do not freeze solid.

Diseases and pests

• Mice and voles: They eat the corms. Plant in wire-mesh baskets or choose a spot they visit less.
• Corm rot: Soft, mouldy corms in wet soil. Provide drainage with grit and sand and a dry summer rest.
• Birds and slugs: Sparrows shred flowers, slugs nibble flowers in damp weather. Protect with netting or collect the slugs.
• No flowers: Too little sun in summer, planted too late or soil too wet. Choose a sunny, dry spot and plant in July–August.

Through the year

• January: Leaves stay green in winter. No work.
• February: Leaves keep growing.
• March: Leave the foliage.
• April: Leave the foliage.
• May: Leaves die back. Lift and divide corms if needed.
• June: Summer rest: keep dry.
• July: Plant corms.
• August: Plant corms.
• September: Flowering begins. Keep the pot lightly moist.
• October: Full bloom.
• November: Leaves grow. Clear dead leaves and weeds.
• December: Rest.

Edible and useful

Not edible. These autumn-flowering crocuses are also mildly poisonous: eating a corm or leaves can cause stomach upsets, with vomiting and diarrhoea, and dogs and cats fall ill from them too. They flower in autumn, like the saffron crocus and the highly poisonous Colchicum, and look like both. Saffron comes only from the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), with its three long red stigmas: do not harvest saffron from these crocuses, and if you want saffron, grow crocuses sold as Crocus sativus. Colchicum, which is also called autumn crocus or meadow saffron, is not a crocus and has six stamens instead of three. They are all planted in summer, like the saffron crocus and Colchicum: keep the corms separate and labelled, and out of reach of children and pets. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The species name pulchellus is Latin for ‘pretty and small’.
• Crocuses belong to the iris family (Iridaceae), not to the lily or colchicum family, although they look similar.
• Each year a new corm forms on top of the old one, which shrivels.