Crocuses - planting and care

Spring flower crocus, or saffron, as it is also called, belongs to the perennial family of iris. His name he received for a bright yellow shade of flower stigmas. Even in distant antiquity, they painted clothes, as well as crocuses made medicines, incense and seasonings. Flowers of crocus come in a variety of colors, from light monochrome to bicolour. Many gardeners who would like to breed in their crocus area are interested in the peculiarities of the care and planting of this flower.

Care and cultivation of crocuses

Experience shows that it is not difficult to grow crocuses in the garden and take care of them. Plants like these open and well warmed by the sun. A low flower without a stem has dark green leaves that extend straight from the corms. Its goblet flowers open in sunny weather, and on cloudy or at night, on the contrary, they close.

Flowering of crocuses is most often in the spring, although in the autumn you can also see these elegant flowers in the garden. Depending on the flowering period, the time for planting crocuses is also differentiated. If you have a spring plant, then plant it in late summer or early autumn. If you are late with a landing, then the flowering of crocus will be weak, because it will have very little time to form roots and form a point of renewal. Autumn-barking species of crocuses are planted in the summer. In addition, it is not necessary to dig out bulbs every year, it is enough to transplant crocuses every five years. Buy crocuses better after they bloom. And if you buy them with the color, they will be ill and in the next season may not bloom at all.

How do crocuses breed?

These beautiful primroses multiply and seeds, and corms, and their babies. Every year, the mother's corms die, leaving a few new ones. After the flowering has ended, the corms intended for reproduction are excavated, dried and stored at a temperature not exceeding 20 ° C.

Seeds are planted in autumn directly into the soil. If it is done in the spring, then the seeds of crocuses are stratified. With this method of reproduction, the flower blooms in three to four years.

Planting crocuses in spring and autumn

Regardless of whether you plant crocuses in autumn or spring, first of all you need to choose a suitable place for them. In the shade, they will not bloom, and snow from sunny places will come down more quickly. Crocuses like easy fertilized and well drained soil. For these purposes, claydite, gravel or large river sand will do. Before planting, it is necessary to deposit the dung with lime, compost or peat into the pit. Corms must first be etched in a special bactericidal solution. Plant them to a depth of 8 cm, and children - no deeper than 5 cm. If the plants decorate the flowerbed, then they should be planted tightly, so that the flowerbed looks more decorative. Seeds of crocuses are sown in the ridges to a depth of about 1 cm.

After the appearance of the first leaves, the ground around the plants should be loosened. During the entire flowering period crocuses like watering. Without it, the flowers of the plant will be small. However, during a period of rest water it is not necessary.

Crocus is a winter-hardy flower, but in severe frosts it is better to cover it with lapnik or peat. But the plant tolerates small spring and autumn frosts without prejudice to itself.

To feed crocus during the season can be three times. The first time - in the early spring, before the growth of the plant. The second time - during the formation of buds. And the third time - after the flowering is over.

Plant crocuses in groups in a rock garden or on a lawn, in a rockery or in a street lawn, and they will become a real decoration of your spring garden.