After the snowdrops have faded it is time for masses of other bulbs to take to the stage and crocus are possibly the most popular. Flowering so early they often get battered by the weather and the Crocus sieberi I planted last autumn were not treated kindly by the wet this spring. Fortunately Crocus chrysanthus is a week or so later and these are just coming into their own, teased into bloom by today’s fine weather.

I love the common Dutch crocus but I always think they are  little bit ‘common’. I know that makes me sound like a terrible plant snob and I would not not plant them – I just prefer some of the others and the ‘others’ I prefer include the wonderful Crocus chrysanthus forms. This species typically has golden yellow flowers as the name suggests but it has been extensively hybridised, possibly with the closely related C. biflorus, to give us a wide range of cultivars with flowers in many shades and colour combinations.

Now the flowers are smaller than the Dutch hybrids but I like them because the corms produce many blooms and the flowers are shapely with a pinched waist and the outer tepals are often beautifully streaked and marked, in contrast to the open flower which usually has a golden centre. They are hardy and easy to grow in any well drained soil. They are certainly worth planting in containers and even in pots to bring indoors when in bloom because they have a rich, honey scent.

My favourite is probably the oddly-named ‘Ladykiller’ which is feathered in deep purple on the outside but glistening white inside but a close second must be ‘Blue Pearl’ which is a subtle lilac in bud and almost fading to white inside. So I planted 300 of these in autumn and they are now cheering me up as the sun kissed them today.

crocus biflorus, crocus blue pearl, crocus chrysanthus, crocus ladykiller, crocus sieberi