Crocus Saffron Produces beautiful lilac-purple autumn flowers with striking red saffron threads. Easy to grow in garden beds, borders, pots and containers, providing both ornamental beauty and the world's most prized culinary spice.

Botanical Name: Crocus sativus

Position: Full sun to part shade. Choose a warm, open position with good air circulation.

Climate: Best suited to Mediterranean, temperate and cool climates. Tolerates frost and dry summers once dormant.

Planting Time: Late summer to autumn.

Watering: Water after planting to encourage root development. Keep soil lightly moist while actively growing and flowering. Reduce watering once foliage begins to die back and keep bulbs dry during dormancy.

Flowering Time: Autumn.

Fertilising: Apply a balanced fertiliser or blood and bone at planting time and again after flowering to encourage healthy corm development for the following season.

Soil: Well-drained, fertile soil. Avoid heavy, waterlogged soils as corms may rot.

Pests: Protect emerging shoots from snails and slugs. Rodents may occasionally disturb newly planted corms.

Growing Tips: Plant corms 8–10 cm deep and 10–15 cm apart. Each flower produces three valuable red saffron stigmas, which can be harvested and dried for culinary use. Allow foliage to die back naturally after flowering, as this replenishes the corms for next season's blooms. Corms can remain undisturbed for several years and may be lifted and divided when overcrowded.