Colchicum autumnale is My Favorite Plant ... This Week

When we first looked at our house 17 years ago, there was a large number of these lovely, late summer crocus-like blooms popping up in what was then a grassy slope.They have multiplied nicely and have been moved all over the garden.

The leafless appearance in late August of these delicate, spring like blooms is a delightful sight!  It's also a bit bittersweet as it signals, along with the proliferation of spider webs and heavy dew on cars in the morning, that change is at hand.  Time for me to go back to work and that A.L. (after lily) time in the garden.  Seems like after the last of the fragrant oriental lilies fade, the inexorable slide into fall happens awfully quickly.    

Their one drawback is that they put up huge, some say hosta-like, foliage in the spring which is lovely but must be left in place as it yellows and flops over smothering plants nearby.  It can be scooted about a bit to allow some light in to companions.

That can be forgiven when they pop up in such profusion.  

 Because Brent and Becky's Bulbs has them on sale, some different varieties  will be joining the inherited  ones, including a couple of the double "waterlily" types.  We'll see.  There's something about the simplicity of these that tugs at my heart.

This is an appropriate choice for the favorite plant meme hosted by Loree at Danger Garden as its leaves, corm, and seeds are poisonous.  Murderess Catherine Wilson is thought to have used it to poison a number of victims in the 19th century. That's a dangerous plant! On the other hand, the plant contains the alkaloid colchicine which is used pharmaceutically to treat gout and Familial Mediterranean fever.

Light: Full sun to partial shade in hotter climates. 
Moisture: Autumn crocus likes a well drained soil that doesn't completely dry out. It doesn't need any moisture in its dormant season (summer), but it likes some water during the flowering period. This species tolerates wetter soils better than any other Colchicum. 
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 - 8. C. autumnale is the most cold hardy of the autumn crocuses, and easily survives winter temperatures a little below 0ºF (-17ºC).
Propagation: Established clumps may be divided while they are dormant every 3 years or so. Plant corms 4-6 in (10-15 cm) apart and so that the tops are 2-4 in (5-10 cm) below the ground surface; deeper in sandy soils and more shallow in compact soils. They should be planted in summer. Corms that don't get planted in time will bloom anyway!

Colchicum autumnal is the most well known and widely cultivated of the autumn crocuses. It comes originally from Europe where it grows wild from southern England, Spain and Portugal to Russia.

Oh, they go nicely with bowling balls as well. 

Happy weekend all!