Planting an autumn crocus and caring for flowers in the open field

Planting and caring for the crocus

As a whole, the flower reproduces by dividing the nests or by seeds. All work should be carried out with gloves - the plant is poisonous, touching it can cause skin burns.

The most productive way is propagation with young bulbs.

How and when to transplant Colchicum autumnale photo

When to plant a crocus?

Colchicum, blooming in spring, are planted in early autumn, blooming in autumn - in August in an open sunny place protected from the wind. The soil for planting is prepared in advance - 6 liters of humus and 100 g of superphosphate are added per 1 sq. M. They are planted at a distance of 20 -30 see friend from friend, after which the soil is moistened and mulched.

How to transplant an autumn crocus, we look at the video:

If the autumn garden has been growing for you for a long time, in the middle of summer you can disturb the planting site and carefully dig out the overgrown bushes. By this time, the old bulb will usually die off.

• After the plant has completely withered, scoop the bulbs out of the ground, being careful not to cut them open with a shovel.
• Dry for several weeks in a dark, dry place. Then clean them of dead leaves and roots.
• In August, separate the new corms from the main ones, soak for 5 minutes. in a solution of hydrogen peroxide (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water), lightly dry and plant in the ground at a previously prepared place at a distance of 20 cm from each other.
• During digging, phosphorus fertilizer and humus are applied to the proposed landing site.
• They are planted, deepening down 3 diameters of the bulb. After filling with soil, the planting site is well shed and mulched thoroughly, preventing the formation of a crust on the soil. If planted early, plants from large bulbs can bloom this fall.

Cultivation of crocus from seeds

Crocus seeds photo

The seed method of reproduction is quite laborious:

• Flowers grown from seeds will bloom with proper care no earlier than after 6 years.
• Seeds propagate rare spring-flowering species. They are sown immediately after harvest because they quickly lose their germination.
• Pre-soaking in water or epin solution is required.
• Seeds bought in the store must be stratified (you should keep them in the refrigerator for several days, maybe in a damp cloth).
• Seedlings will not appear all at the same time in spring, some will need more than one year for germination.

Care comes down to loosening and weeding. All that remains is to look after and wait for the bulbs to grow. Flowering occurs in 6-7 years.

Colchicum planting and care

When planting colchicum, you need to take into account that these plants need areas that are well lit by the sun, but in general, a small partial shade is suitable for them. Avoid planting flowers near trees as they will be easy prey for slugs.

It is good to plant colchicum next to peonies and junipers, which have strong greenery and can cover the lack of colchicum foliage. It is best to plant an autumn crocus planting at the end of summer, when these flowers have a dormant period. If the bulb you are using is large, then the plant obtained from it may begin to bloom as early as the first year after planting.

It is necessary to plant the bulbs at a distance of about 15 cm between individuals, it is necessary to deepen the planting depending on its size - for small bulbs from 10 cm and up to 20 for large ones.

Before planting, the soil must be fertilized with superphosphate and ash, adding a tablespoon of phosphate and a liter can of ash per square meter. Also, before planting, do not forget to fertilize the ground with a bucket of humus and add half a bucket of sand per square meter.

When planting the material, keep the top of the tube and bulb above the soil as the bud will come out of it. Also, this scaly formation cannot be cut off. Colchicums planted in this way will begin to bloom in about a month and a half.

Features of crocus

Such a herb is a perennial, and it is also an ephemeroid. It has a large number of short shoots, on which large lanceolate-elongated leaf plates are located. They grow and develop during the spring, and by the beginning of the summer period they completely die off. On the surface of the corms there is a brown shell. This shell forms a long tube that encloses the lower part of the flower. Most of the colchicum species bloom in the spring. However, in some species, flowering occurs in the spring. Single funnel-shaped flowers grow from the soil. The length of such a flower, together with the perianth that has grown into a tube (most of it is located under the soil surface), is 20 centimeters. The fruit is a three-celled oval spherical capsule. Such a plant contains poison, Dioscorides himself mentioned this in his works. It should be remembered that the poison is in any part of the plant.

Unpretentious flowers for the garden. Harlequins. Garden World website

Description of the plant colchicum

Colchicum or colchicum, is a native of the family of monocotyledonous plants, the colchicum group. In the common people, the flower is called timeless, saintbrin, wintering or autumn color. However, the last three names do not in any way refer to the crocus, but represent completely different plants of the buttercups (wintering) and asters (septenins) families.

Timeless species have about 65 species of perennial plants growing in the latitudes of Europe, Asia and Africa. Colchicum begins its development with the release of a pair of lanceolate leaves. And in the fall, a peduncle appears with single large flowers of various colors. The height of the plant often depends on the variety or type of colchicum, but does not reach more than 35 cm in height. The fruit of colchicum is considered to be a seed box located close to the ground.

The roots of colchicum are corms, oval or round in shape, enclosed in a brown dense shell.

Colchicum blooms with single, rather large flowers, similar to bells, depending on the type, the petals are rounded or pointed. The bud is fully open, showing bright yellow or brown stamens. The palette of colchicum shades is varied: Flowers are pink, lavender, yellow, white, purple and lilac.

Colchicum bloom lasts up to two weeks. The flower can be attributed to melliferous plants. At the final stage of the growing season, colchicum forms an elliptical seed box. Colchicum grows practically throughout the entire territory of our vast Russia, in regions with a temperate climate.

Colchicum bulbs are not harmless and can cause poisoning if swallowed, the colchicine alkaloid contained in the colchicum corm can irritate the skin and even leave a burn.

The ground parts of the plant are also quite dangerous if ingested, sore throat, sudden headache, increasing dizziness and nausea, the first signs of intoxication. If you do not consult a doctor in time, a lethal outcome is possible.

Due to the toxicity of the plant, the transplant of colchicum should be done with gloves, and after collecting the flowers, wash your hands.

Colchicum is used in pharmacology, on the basis of raw materials of colchicum bulbs, such preparations as "Kolhikum-Dispert" (remedy for gout and arthritis), "Colchicine" and "Colchicum Compositum" (homeopathic remedy for combating tumor formations) are produced, drugs based on colchicum should be used strictly under medical supervision and monitoring of blood counts, due to the presence of side effects.

The main distinguishing feature of the colchicum is its flowering period, the appearance of the first leaves can be expected in late spring, and the first peduncle of colchicum will release only in autumn.

Reproduction and transplantation of autumn colchicum

You can get new plants in two ways: vegetatively - with daughter corms and generatively - harvested seeds.

Rooting bulbs

This method is faster and more effective, it allows you to get flowering flower beds for the next season, and when planting large strong bulbs, already in the same autumn.

The bulbs are excavated in the middle of summer, when the seeds are ripe, the leaves wilt, lie on the ground and the plant enters a period of summer dormancy.

They dig in the roots very carefully, trying not to damage them, since the corms are on depth up to 35 cm

After digging, they are cleaned of the earth and old mother bulbs that have fulfilled their function. During cleaning, it is advisable not to remove the cover scales. In the absence of time, the resulting planting material can be immediately planted in a new place, but it is better to do this in August.

For better preservation, the corms are washed and immersed in a solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. They are then shaded dry and stored until planting in a cool, dark place, no warmer than 24 ° C.

Seed reproduction

It is important to know that when using this method, young plants will delight with flowering no earlier than 5 years later. In addition, when propagated by seeds, varietal characteristics are rarely fully preserved.

If this does not stop you, cut off the seed pods before opening, without allowing them to darken completely, and dry in the shade. If the seeds turn black, then the seedlings will have to wait 2-3 years.

Seeds are sown immediately after harvesting in loose moist soil at a shallow depth. The sprouts will appear next spring. Colchicum seedlings can also be grown in a container.

Why transplant the crocus?

Every year, the plantings of the autumn garden are gradually denser due to the development of daughter corms. There are so many of them that there is a nutritional deficiency, the flowers become smaller and eventually disappear altogether. For this reason, the autumn crocus is transplanted at least once 3-5 years.

Transplantation is often combined with reproduction. To do this, in the middle of summer, corms are dug out, separating the old maternal ones. Then they act in the same way as for the transplant: they are cleaned, dried, stored until August. After that, the bulbs are planted in a new place, or on the same, after enriching the soil with humus or compost.

Varieties

Before we begin to describe the popular varieties of the magnificent colchicum, we will get acquainted with its forms.

• Colchicum speciosum f. album - white form. The flowers are large, snow-white.
• Colchicum speciosum f. atrorubens is a dark red form.
• Colchicum speciosum f. ordu. The flowers of this form are smaller than those of the others, the petals are narrower, the color in the center is snow-white.
• Colchicum speciosum f. dombai or dombai form. Almost identical to the previous one, however, the flowering period occurs later.
• Colchicum speciosum f. giganteum or giant colchicum. It was named so because of the size of the bulb. The color of the petals is light lilac, the core is white, the perianth is cupped.
• Colchicum speciosum f. turkey - Turkish form. It has goblet flowers of a bright lilac shade, white in the middle.
• Colchicum speciosum f. rubrum - differs from others in large red flowers.
• Colchicum speciosum f. veratrifolium or hellebore form. It has folded leaves and large lilac flowers.

Well, now it's time to get acquainted with the varieties of the magnificent colchicum. Most of them are obtained by hybridizing this species with others. To begin with, consider those that bloom in the first half of September.

• Autumn Queen. The height of the flower is up to 25 cm. The petals have a dark purple hue, are decorated with a "checkerboard" pattern, the core is white.
• Beaconsfield. The stem does not exceed 25 cm in height, the flowers are bright, purple, with burgundy anthers and a variegated pattern. Abundant flowering.
• Violet Queen. It grows up to 20 cm in height, has bright lilac flowers with a "checkerboard" pattern and orange stamens.

Varieties blooming all September.

• Antares. The height of the plant is 20 cm. The flowers are large, the petals are light purple on the outside, and on the inside - white with light purple tips.
• Attlee. The height also does not exceed 20 cm.It has purple flowers with a white core.
• E. A. Bowles. A rare variety. Stem - 20 cm in the form of a tube of purple color, petals are pale lilac, greenish-white in the middle.
• Gracia. Grows up to 20 cm in height. The petals of the flower open wide, have lilac petals, whitening towards the center.
• Jarka. The stem is 20 cm. The flowers are pinkish-lilac, the petals taper towards the tips and acquire a white color.
• Lilac Bedder. Plant height - 20 cm. Flowers are pale purple, white center.
• Poseidon. Low-growing variety - only 15 cm in height. The stem is thickened. The petals are mauve-colored, the color is uniform, the anthers are reddish.
• Zephyr. It grows up to 25 cm. The flowers are purple, the middle is white-green.

Now the turn of the varieties has come, pleasing the eye in the second half of September.

• Glory of Heemstede. The stem does not exceed 20 cm in height. The flowers are rather large, lilac-pink, variegated, the core is white.
• Harlequin. Newly bred variety. The green tubular stem grows up to 20 cm in height. The petals are lilac, the middle is snow-white. Tepals are turned inward.
• Lilac Wonder. Plant height - up to 20 cm. Flowers are mauve, variegated, petals are elongated, narrow. The flowering period is quite long. One bulb can "release" up to 20 flowers.
• Waterlily. Terry variety, very beloved by gardeners. Stem height - 20 cm. The flowers are lush, with narrow pink petals up to 15 cm in diameter.

Late flowering varieties.

• Dick Trotter. Begins flowering in late September - early October. The petals are rounded, bright purple to the middle, turning greenish-white towards the center. Anthers are yellow. Plant height - up to 20 cm.
• Giant. The latest variety, its time is October. The flowers are large, pale lilac, white in the middle. The stem is tubular, pale green. Height - 25 cm.

Planting crocus bulbs in open ground

The planting time for the crocus plant comes when all the bulbs of the plant collected in June-July are separated, thoroughly disinfected and well dried. The crocus bulbs are prepared and you are wondering when to plant them outdoors? The best time for planting is the first half of August.

Dig small holes about 30 cm deep, with the distance between the holes about 15-20 cm. After the bulbs are placed in the holes, carefully sprinkle them with earth, and then water them abundantly.

Experienced gardeners recommend planting autumnal people in small and compact groups. The undoubted advantage of group seedlings is that for the first time the crocus leaves only one flower. The grown plant forms new bulbs, which give several flowers of white, pink or lilac hue. Such delicate and light bouquets will be a wonderful decoration for your garden plot.

Important! Stagnant water is detrimental to the crocus, so check your area carefully and remove any pits in which liquid can accumulate.

Harlequin care

This is a rather unpretentious culture that even a novice gardener can handle. It is not only easy to grow such a plant, but also pleasant, waiting for shoots and flowering.

Pruning

Colchicum does not require pruning. However, many gardeners remove dried leaves in the fall and spring, which will help maintain the beautiful appearance of the flower garden.

If you want to avoid such a problem, simply plant flowers that bloom in the summer season near the crocus to hide their unsightly appearance.

Watering

Colchicum is a crop that does not require frequent watering

But it is important to remember a few points:

1. In the spring, the soil on the site is already moistened with snow and frequent rains. Only if flowers appear on the plant, and by the beginning of May there will be a strong heat, you can water the crocus, but no more than once a week.
2. In summer, droughts occur more often, but during this period flowering either did not start, or has already ended. In this case, the bulb is dormant and does not require much moisture.
3. In autumn, some varieties bloom, but during this period it rains more often. It is necessary to water the crocus only in very dry weather once every 7-9 days.

It happens that for the entire vegetative period, gardeners do not water the culture even once.

Top dressing

You need to feed this plant only twice for the entire period:

1. In the spring. It is necessary to carry out work when the first leaves appear, which will strengthen the crocus, make it more stable.
2. In autumn, after flowering ends. This work is necessary so that the plants do not die in winter.

For feeding, it is advisable to use complex additives with nitrogen in the composition. They are diluted in water (15-20 g of the product per bucket of water), applied by the root method.

How to transplant

From time to time, this culture needs to be transplanted to a new place, since the bulbs grow strongly and interfere with both other crockworms and other crops on the site.

1. Dig up the bulbs. Work should be carried out as carefully as possible using a shovel, but in such a way as not to damage the planting material. Separate the daughter bulbs from the mother ones - they are small, resemble shoots. They must be used for the subsequent transplant.
2. Peel and trim. Rinse the bulbs, cut off the dead roots, leaving the scales in place. The mother's bulbs can be thrown away as they are no longer needed and will not germinate. Soak for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This is necessary to disinfect them. Finally dry in a warm and dry place.

After flowering

There are gardeners who cut the wilted flowers and leaves of such a plant to preserve the attractiveness of the flower garden. However, this is by no means necessary. The fact is that a ripening onion needs all vitality. In this regard, it is necessary to remove from the site only those parts that have disappeared on their own.

Reproduction methods

You can propagate the crocus by offspring located around an adult bulb or by seeds.

Reproduction by daughter corms

This is the most efficient and easiest way to propagate this plant.

Planting material is harvested when the seeds of the colchicum are ripe, and the leaves have withered and died, around mid-July.
Dig up the tubers carefully, taking care not to damage them.
The corms are cleaned from the ground, from the leaves, and the "children" are separated.
The scales covering the corms do not need to be removed.
Then, the separated onions are kept in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, dried in a dry, semi-dark place at + 24C.
The actual planting of tubers in the ground takes place in August.

Cultivation of crocus from seeds

Not every crocus can be propagated with the help of seeds. In this way, wild species, spring flowering, or species that do not form daughter tubers are propagated.

This breeding method is rarely used by flower growers. Seedlings grown from seeds bloom only after 5-7 years, since the tubers need a lot of time to gain strength for flowering.

Nevertheless, the technology of sowing colchicum seeds in open ground is as follows:

• The seeds are ready to plant immediately after harvest.
• Before sowing, the seeds are soaked for several hours in warm water, then washed. After washing, the seeds germinate better.
• It is necessary to make drainage into the sowing furrows, pour a layer of pebbles, sprinkled with sand.
• It is necessary to sow seeds to a depth of 1-3 cm. They will germinate only next spring, and sometimes even later.
• Crop care consists in weeding and moistening the soil.
• Moisten the soil with crops until the leaves die off.
• 2.5 months after germination, the plant will form a small corm.
• For the winter, young plantings need to be covered.

Care

It is not difficult to take care of the crochet crop, and the whole range of activities is minimized, however, you should familiarize yourself with the basic procedures for successful cultivation:

1. Watering. Only required once a week during flowering and only if the weather is hot. An excess of water is harmful to the plant. To get rid of stagnant moisture during a thaw, grooves are made around the tuber, along which water will leave, and the soil is cleared of snow.
2. Fertilizer. A prerequisite only during planting of the plant, the rest of the time it is required infrequently (simple varieties feel great even without dressing): in spring and autumn. For intensive spring growth, you can use nitroammophoska (40-50 grams per square meter). Fertilize with compost in autumn.

Weeding, removal of faded buds and dried leaves. This procedure prolongs the decorative effect of the flower.

Preparing for winter

It is especially important to cover low-hardy varieties. For the winter, they are covered with dry leaves, rotted manure, garden compost (the optimal layer is 10-15 cm) or non-woven material.

Seating

The flower must be thinned out (planted) regularly and in a timely manner. Otherwise, with a large accumulation of tubers, the crocus will enter the vegetative phase and stop blooming. Planting is carried out every 2-3 years after the final foliage withering away (mid-summer - early September). Colchicum tubers are dug up, cleaned of the ground, dried and planted in a new place. If the soil has not changed, it must be enriched with humus (compost) mixed with a small amount of sand. The depth of the hole should be three times the diameter of the bulb, and the required distance between flowers should be 15–20 cm.

Colchicum leaves should not be cut off - they should turn yellow and dry on their own.

Important! All parts of the crocus are poisonous, so work must be done with gloves.

Place and soil for crocus

Colchicum is very popular with both novice gardeners and landscape design specialists. Colchicum is loved for it autumn flowering period, it blooms at a time when most flowers have long since wilted. In spring and summer, large beautiful leaves of colchicum adorn the garden. You can hide withered and fallen leaves of the autumn tree among other plants. To do this, it is enough to plant an autumn crocus between such creeping plants as periwinkle and tenacious.

Colchicum needs proper planting and care. Start by identifying a landing site. This plant loves sunny places with a little partial shade. It is better to refrain from a thick shadow, since various slugs attack the crocus there.

Colchicum needs light and loose soil with an adequate supply of nutrients.

Did you know? The name "crocus" was given to the plant due to the fact that some of its species bloom in late autumn, and the seed box develops the next spring.

Use in landscape design

Colchicum during its flowering in autumn always looks very impressive on a flower bed, it is impossible not to pay attention to it. Delicate and fragrant flowers appear at the moment when your garden is already has faded and is getting ready for rest

Blooming bright islets of Kolkhikum will be an appropriate decoration for the local area, they can revive the space near the fence, place various flower beds along the edge of the border, plant in a rocky rockery or decorate an alpine hill.

Landscape designers recommend planting a juniper or dwarf fir next to the crocus. This combination looks incredibly beautiful when pale pink inflorescences appear against the background of a dark green mass. Some gardeners are trying to place plants next to the crocus that could cover the bare peduncles of this bulbous perennial with their foliage.But because of his love for dry soils, finding a harmonious neighborhood can be quite difficult.

Autumn croplands are presented in the video below.

The special life cycle of the crocus

Colchicum grows in its own special cycle. Therefore, having planted his bulbs for the first time, a novice florist will be puzzled by the result. In the spring plants will appear leaves, but in June they will dry out and dry up. Then, in September, delicate flowers with an enchanting scent will suddenly appear from under the fallen leaves. They are pleasing to the eye for 2-3 weeks, then dry up, and the crocus passes into a state of dormancy until spring.

The fact is that this flower belongs to ephemeroid plants that can adapt to natural cycles. In the homeland of the crocus, he had to fight for survival due to the coming drought. Therefore, it transfers the summer heat in the form of bulbs, and in the fall, when favorable conditions come, it blooms.

In the spring, the plant produces green shoots with leaves. At the same time with them, the fruit from last year's ovaries appears, in which the seeds ripen. Thanks to photosynthesis, the bulb stores nutrients for the coming year.

How to care?

Colchicum is unpretentious, and it is not difficult to care for it, but if you need a beautiful succulent bush with spectacular vegetation, you will have to work a little. Caring for the crocus includes several activities.

• Watering is carried out only in severe drought.
• The abundant melting of snow in the spring can damage the bulbs; drainage grooves should be made from the area with the crocus.
• Like any plant, colchicum needs weeding. Especially small bulbs that are close to the soil surface suffer from it.
• Spring and autumn fertilizing with nitrogen-containing mixtures will give the plant a healthy, lush appearance.
• Yellowed dry leaves and flowers are cut off only after they are completely dry.
• For the winter, the area with the crocus is covered with compost and fallen leaves, creating a warm air cushion that will help the plant not to freeze. Ornamental varieties of colchicum can be sensitive to frost; they are insulated with agrotextile or pine branches.

Watering

The autumn crocus does not like a lot of moisture, it can lead to rotting of the bulbs. Natural precipitation is enough for him. Only in the most severe drought is evening watering recommended. The need for watering may arise during flowering or planting.

Top dressing

Fertilize the plant twice a year: in spring and autumn. In the spring, when the first leaves appear, nitrogenous compounds are introduced into the soil: urea (1 tablespoon per meter 2) or saltpeter in the same proportions. With their help, the leaves become large and juicy, and the bulbs accumulate nutrients.

Transfer

An old overgrown bush of 4–7 years old can be painlessly dug out to transplant it into fresh nutrient soil. At this time, the mother bulb is most likely in the stage of dying off. Knowing when to transplant a plant is easy. If a large number of leaves are concentrated in one bunch, then it is time to transplant the colchicum, otherwise it will start to hurt and will not bloom. The transplant can be combined with reproduction by separating and planting daughter bulbs.

Plants are dug out at the turn of spring and summer, when the greenery dries up completely.

The bulbs should be carefully washed, treated with a manganese composition, dried and put in the basement until August, only then the plant is transplanted separately from the daughter bulbs. If this is not done, the plantation will overgrow, the plants will quickly feel a lack of nutrients and react in the fall with weak flowering with small peduncles.

The soil is enriched with humus before planting.