When spring flowers, especially the dainty crocuses, fade, we often wish their fleeting beauty would remain with us longer. However, planting colchicums allows us to enjoy a delightful flowering carpet in the fall when other flowers prepare for winter. Seeing these showy chalice-like flowers emerge from the ground without leaves is a joy. Commonly referred … Read more
The so-called “autumn crocus” (Colchicum autumnale) is of easy culture and deserves to be more widely grown. In color, it is a soft rose-lilac. Varieties are the following: Colchicums Speciosum C. speciosum, with large bowl-shaped, deep rosy-purple flowers on long stems, comes from the Caucasus. Its large leaves grow to one foot and are as … Read more
South of the equator, spring comes in September and October. And here in our Northern Hemisphere, fall-flowering colchicum, crocus, and hardy amaryllis can stage a dramatic spring-like show in your garden in late summer or early fall. Unlike any other fall flower, they bring the same urgency and spontaneity that characterize and make spring-flowering bulbs … Read more