Crocus angustifolius

Crocus angustifolius is a rare botanical species in our gardens. This small bulb flowers early in the season. At the end of winter, it bears slightly fragrant pointed flowers, which are bright yellow-orange on the inside, striped with bronze and reddish-brown on the outside. This wild crocus has received the Award of Garden Merit from the RHS for its numerous qualities. Plant it in a sunny spot, in light and well-drained soil. It will easily naturalise, spreading in large patches. It is magnificent in rockeries, flower beds, and containers.

Crocus angustifolius belongs to the Iridaceae family. It originates from Crimea, southern Ukraine, and Armenia, where it grows spontaneously in open spaces and among sunny shrubs. It likes climates that are dry in summer and cold in winter. This botanical species blooms from February, or March depending on the climate. Its narrow spindle-shaped flowers are high up on slightly transparent tubular stems that reveal the slow ascent of the buds. They bloom into beautiful bicoloured flowers. The dazzling yellow stamen heart is only visible during the day and in good weather, as the flower closes at night and under a grey sky. The foliage is deciduous, composed of very fine, linear, simple, and alternate leaves, with a thin white-silver central band. The 'bulbs' here are corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ that looks like a bulb but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales. It should be noted that crocuses go dormant in summer and are, for the majority of them, completely resistant to dry summers.

Crocus angustifolius, just like its botanical cousin C. chrysanthus, works wonders in rockeries and flower beds, when its flowering emerges from stones bleached by the sun. It will also thrive on the edge of a clear understory, along a path or hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees or bushes (spindles, viburnums, lilacs) with Anemone blanda and Cyclamen coum, or even in the middle of a lawn with winter aconites, snowdrops, or a carpet of violets, and of course, with other early flowering crocuses. This crocus is also suitable for planting in outdoor pots and can be used for green roofs.

Crocus roots can contract like a spring, allowing the plant to settle at its ideal depth.