Saffron Crocus

Saffron Crocus

Something spicy!

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Famous for bearing the world’s most expensive spice, Saffron Crocus is also quite the charming flower that is most definitely garden worthy. The colour of the three orange-red styles contrasts beautifully with the lilac petals. The autumn blooms are around 5cm across. For their expense as a spice, as a bulb they are surprisingly good value, and easy to grow to boot!

Saffron Crocus flowers may only last for one to two days, but they can flower for up to a four week period with each corm producing up to five blooms.

Plant Saffron Crocus in a well drained location that receives at least six hours of sun a day. They grow well in Cool to Mediterranean climates with dry summers and will perform at their best when they receive a frost.

Water your Saffron Crocus to establish them, and keep moist in autumn to ensure good flower production. Add a general purpose fertiliser when in bloom to bulk up the bulbs and ensure the leaves remain until they yellow - this is when they are delivering the nutrients to the bulb to develop next year’s blossoms.

You can harvest the saffron when the flower opens in the morning sun, remove the styles with tweezers and then allow them to dry in a cool, dark, dry area for around a week. Once they have dried, store in an airtight container. Each bloom does not yield huge amounts, but the bulbs multiply fairly readily so it shouldn't be long before you have a supply. It will take around 30 blooms to yield a teaspoon, which is the reason for the expense of the spice. The good news is you only need a small amount to flavour a whole dish.

In ancient times Saffron Crocus were also used as a fabric dye.


Supplied as: Bulbs

Code

CCSSC

Botantical name

Crocus sativus

Height

10cm

Width

5-10cm

Flowers

Autumn

Climate

Cool

Availability

Australia wide

Frost hardiness

Aspect

Full Sun

Supplied as

Bulbs

Size

Water needs

1