How to Grow and Care for Autumn Crocus (Colchicum)

Colchicum spp.

Autumn crocuses, Colchicum spp. are not crocuses at all.

While they may resemble those familiar spring-blooming members of the iris family, Colchicum is a separate genus in the Colchicaceae family that grows from bulb-like corms.

Their cup-like blossoms are pink or purple, often with a white center. They may also be all white.

Many have a single row of petals that open very wide, more like a lily than a crocus. Some cultivated varieties have multiple rows of petals and resemble water lilies.

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In this article, you’ll learn all you need to know to grow Colchium, a unique flower that offers lush foliage in the spring and crocus-like blossoms in the fall.

Also known as meadow saffron, C. autumnale is toxic if ingested, and must not be confused with the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus, from which the gourmet spice saffron is derived.

What Is Autumn Crocus

Fall-blooming Colchicum spp. are different from spring-blooming crocuses and other autumn crocus-type plants, such as Sternbergia lutea, a yellow flower in the iris family.

Flowers with no stems or leaves rise from corms in the fall. This growth habit has earned these flowers the nickname “naked ladies.”

But don’t confuse this one with another flower that goes by the same nickname, Amaryllis belladonna, a pink late-summer lily that blooms after its foliage withers.

Don’t you just love botany?!

After the naked ladies of Colchicum bloom and fade, the corms have a resting period of winter dormancy.

In the spring, tulip-like foliage appears. This is followed by the emergence of a fertilized ovum, or fruit, that looks like a green nut.

As summer gets underway, the foliage turns yellow, then decays to brown.

Each year, the parent corm produces an offset, or daughter, that takes the place of the original corm for reproductive growth, continuing the plant’s unusual life cycle.

The most fascinating part is that via an organ referred to as a protuberance, and together with contractile roots, the daughter bulb is able to pull itself deeper into the soil, where it settles into its mature position and produces additional offsets for vegetative growth.

In addition to exceptional traits such as a self-settling corm, bare-stemmed flowers, leafing out in spring, and blooming in fall, colchicum has six stamens, twice as many as spring crocus flowers.

Master Gardener Susan Mahr, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Master Gardener Program Division of Extension, describes in her essay, “Autumn Crocus, Colchicum spp.,” that there are 65 species of autumn-blooming Colchicum worldwide.

C. autumnale is the one most readily available to home gardeners. However, other common species include: C. speciosum, C. cilicicum, and C. bysantinum.

C. speciosum is known for being a common “parent” plant used to create hybrids of one or more species.

C. cilicicum, the Tenore autumn crocus, has lavender petals with a single white stripe.

One of the many cultivated varieties of Colchicum is C. bysantinum. This is a C. cilicicum hybid with larger corms and multiple flower stems per corm.

Read on to discover the intriguing history of the Colchicum genus!

It is native to the UK and most of southern and central Europe, and has naturalized in Sweden, Denmark, and New Zealand.

Colchicum takes its name from Colchis, situated in today’s western Georgia, in Eastern Europe. Some of the earliest information about it is quite sad, beginning with Greek slaves in dire conditions ingesting it in order to end their unbearable lives.

Byzantine physicians learned that the corms contain colchicine, an anti-inflammatory that proved valuable for treating gout. However, preparation was an arduous process and the dosage had to be precise, or the result was toxic.

By the 1600s, colchicum was well known by Moorish people as a “purgative” for gout. However, by the 1700s, such treatments were banned as folk remedies that did more harm than good.

In the early 1800s, George Augustus Frederick, then Prince Regent and future King of England (George IV), suffered greatly from gout and declared that he would take colchicum regardless of the bans and warnings.

He lived to tell the tale, and by the late 1800s, methods for its preparation and dosages were far more reliable. Sadly, dogs were used in the experimentation that brought them to this point.

By the 1940s, scientists learned that colchicum also has antimitotic properties, meaning it could slow down the division of cells and possibly aid in treating malignancies.

As of 2011, bans were imposed on non-FDA-approved oral administration of colchicine. At the time, there was only one approved producer, and the product was called “Colcrys.”

As of 2015, scientists were in the midst of a 12-year study of its potential use in the treatment of cancer in gout patients.

Today, Colcrys is available for the treatment of conditions such as gout and pericarditis, and research into its anti-inflammatory benefits is ongoing.

An illuminating account, to say the least!

Again, I caution you not to consume any part of this flower or its corms, as we move on to discuss growing it in the home garden.

Propagation

There are two ways to introduce this flower to your landscape: via seeds or corms.

From Seed

You may grow Colchicuum from seed. However, the biggest complaint from gardeners is that they never sprout. This is because it takes at least two years for seeds to germinate.

They have to experience periods of warming and cooling, moisture and darkness, and often appear years after they were planted.

In addition, some cultivated varieties produce sterile seed.

From Corms

Corms provide a faster and more reliable way to get started. They are available in late summer for immediate planting.

How to Grow

Around the middle of August, nurseries and online purveyors stock Colchicum.

Once you have it in hand, plant it, because the corms will bloom even before you are able to get them into the ground, and the flowers are fragile.

To begin, choose a location with full sun to part shade.

The soil should be organically rich and well-draining. The ideal pH is slightly acidic to neutral, between 6.0 and 7.0.

To determine the quality and acidity of your soil, conduct a soil test through your local cooperative extension service office. To improve drainage and increase acidity, add compost or leaf mulch.

Work the soil to a depth of six inches, until it is crumbly. Mix in organic matter as needed.

Some folks like to add a little bone meal to the soil at this point, for a phosphorus-rich boost to jump-start root growth. A sprinkling will do.

Place each corm pointy side up, three inches deep.

Leave six inches between corms. This spacing allows for adequate airflow during the foliage phase each spring.

Note: Some folks like to cluster the corms in groups. Just remember, each corm produces multiple blooms, and while the flowers are slender, the leaves need room to spread at least six or up to nine inches outward.

Cover the corms with soil, tamp it down, and water well.

In the spring, provide an inch of water per week. This includes rain, so be sure to use a rain gauge.

Stop watering once the leaves turn yellow.

When flowers appear in the fall, water sparingly in the absence of rain.

Growing Tips

The keys to successful corm planting are to:

• Add bone meal to stimulate root growth.
• Place corms pointy side up.
• Plant at a depth of three inches.

Maintenance

Minimal care is required for this plant. If you’ve grown crocuses in the past, you’re ready to grow C. autumnale.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Supply one inch of water per week in the spring, and very little in the fall.
2. Keep the garden weeded to minimize competition for water, and provide fewer places for mold spores to germinate.
3. Apply a slow-release, all-purpose granular bulb food per package instructions as leaves emerge in the spring.
4. After the foliage turns brown, you may divide and transplant corms as desired.

And finally, if you find the stemless, leafless flowers to be too floppy, provide support for future blooms in the form of companion plants, which we’ll discuss shortly.

Cultivars to Select

In addition to the true botanical species, there are cultivated varieties of C. autumnale as well.

Here are a few you might like:

Alboplenum

C. autumnale ‘Alboplenum’ is a “double” blossom with multiple white petals. Heights range from eight to 12 inches, and each corm can produce up to eight flowers.

The Giant

C. autumnale ‘Giant’ has deep lilac-pink petals with white centers. Mature heights range from 10 to 12 inches, with up to 10 flowers per corm.

Waterlily

C. autumnale ‘Waterlily’ is a double bloom with multiple lavender-pink petals.

This is a sterile cultivar that does not produce viable seeds. Heights reach six inches. Each corm produces three to five blossoms.

Managing Pests and Disease

Colchicum is not prone to insects or infection. However, poor drainage and/or overwatering may cause moisture buildup that invites snails and slugs.

Remove them by hand, or set the appropriate traps to catch them.

In addition, soggy conditions may make corms vulnerable to fungal disease and rotting. Once underway, damage is likely irreparable. Be proactive with well-draining soil and avoid overwatering.

In 2013, it was reported that dark, sooty spore masses of Urocystis colchici fungi were observed on the foliage of C. autumnale, the UK’s only native autumn crocus. A type of “smut fungus,” it’s so rare that it’s endangered, and picking the flowers and disturbing the fungus is prohibited.

Best Uses

Autumn crocuses are well-suited to placements where they can naturalize, spreading their cheerful clusters of blooms for an ever-expanding display.

It is very attractive in the dappled sunlight beneath loose-branched trees, and is equally at home in low-profile rockeries, drifts, and meadows.

Beware of planting the corms in a lawn. The flowers may be dainty, but the leaves are bulky.

Good companion plants for Colchicum include ground covers and seasonal perennials that share the same cultural requirements, those that can share space well with the leaves in spring, and the flowers in fall.

They’re great for hiding withering leaves and supporting fragile flowers.

As for wildlife, the plants do not attract deer, and they provide a source of pollen for late-season foraging bees.

Quick Reference Growing Guide

What Was She Thinking?

Like tipsy party guests, you really do have to wonder about flowers that can’t hold themselves up because their leaves are dancing to a different drummer.

C. autumnale may be a bit quirky, but I love that in a plant. Don’t you?

Add it to your garden planner, and remember to buy your corms as soon as they are available in the summer.

Stay away from seeds, unless you’re prepared to wait two years or more for them to germinate.

Plant your corms immediately, in a location with organically rich, slightly acidic, well-draining soil, and you should enjoy flowers by late summer or early fall.

And in this age of bizarre weather, killer bees, locusts, and spotted lanternflies, don’t be surprised if the masked neighbors strolling past your home stop to marvel at Mother Nature’s glorious gift: crocuses blooming in the fall.

Have you grown autumn crocus? Let us know in the comments below, and feel free to share a photo!

And for more information about flowering bulbs for your garden, check out these guides next: