Crocus from Seed.

                               Crocus from seed.

Crocus hyemalis  Oron Peri seed from Eastern Mediterranean. Sown in 2019 with first flowers this year.

If you want to grow species crocus here in Australia, your best bet is to grow them from seed. And your best source of crocus seed is from overseas. You could try the seed exchanges of the Alpine Garden Society UK or the Scottish Rock Garden Club as well as the North American Rock Garden Society. Another option is to join the Crocus Group and participate in their annual seed exchange. Just make sure the species is on the BICON allowed list before importing. In my conditions here in Melbourne I find the autumn and winter flowering crocuses perform the best. I add a little extra grit to a good quality potting mix and sow the seed late summer. Depending on how much seed I have I sow them in 3” or 4” tubes. It's okay to sow thickly – they like company! I sow the seed maybe a ¼ of the way down from the surface as the corms will form there and do not contract further down into the soil until the second year. This is a suggestion from bulb supremo Ian Young of the SRGC. If you want more advice about growing various bulbs from seed, Ian's Bulb log on the SRGC website is certainly worth reading. I place a layer of grit as a mulch on the soil surface. This stops the surface drying out and in the first year reduces the growth of moss or liverworts. 

Like most bulb / corm seed crocus seed won't germinate until conditions suit. If you sow the seed too late you might not get germination until the following year so that's why late summer is a good time. And because of this don't be tempted to tip out your pot if nothing germinates in the first year. It might still come up the following year. I have all my seedling pots in part shade. Some crocuses are frost tender so read up on the conditions that your particular species require and treat accordingly. The second year you can place them where they’ll get more sun (if they normally grow in those conditions). Refer to the AGS Crocus pages for more information.

After they have germinated I start giving regular, half strength liquid fertiliser. I want to bulk them up as quickly as possible. Weed the pots regularly. You don't want the weeds taking all the nutrients and light. I label all my pots with the plant name, date sown, seed source, location (if wild collected seed) and any growing tips to help me remember what conditions they like (e.g. never completely dry, warm dry summer, part shade). 

The seedlings can stay in the same pot for 2 – 3 years. If a lot were sown in the first year you might want to move them up a pot size but I tend not to disturb them until after two seasons. 

Jon. B.

                       Crocus rhodensis from Marcus's wild collected seed.

Our next meeting is on Crocus by Mat Murray on zoom, August the 28th at 7.30pm if you are wanting to watch Mat you need to contact Fermi and he will send you the link for the lecture.