Crocus in a pot: how to care and grow

A bright accent of winter and spring holidays can be crocus in a pot. How to care for a plant to get blossoming specimens by a certain date? Growing crocus in the room is not difficult, if properly prepared corms for forcing. It is desirable to use the planting material of Dutch breeding, in this case, the room will decorate large flowers of bright color, reminiscent of the shape of an elegant bowl.

Crocus, or saffron - a harbinger of spring

Crocuses are herbaceous bulbous perennials, representatives of the genus Saffron, all species belong to the family Iris. Plants begin vegetation in early spring, colorful buds appear from the ground before narrow long leaves. Crowns of crocuses, reminiscent of the shape of the ancient cup, open widely on a clear day and close in inclement weather. In the people these large flowers on a small thin stalk are called harbingers of spring, ornamental onions.

In the coloring of petals of different species and varieties of crocus, almost all shades of violet, blue, lilac are found, there are varieties and hybrids with white, yellow, pink and purple corolla. Saffron in the wild is found in the countries of the basins of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, its cultivars have spread throughout the world. Breed in the premises of crocus in the pot, the care of this plant should recreate as much as possible the conditions resembling the temperature changes in the native land of the plant. At the first stage, bulbs need warmth, and before forcing out - in the cold, what happens in the winter in the soil. All the pre-plant period, the temperature conditions change in stages, so that the bulbs adapt to them.

Which crocuses are suitable for indoors

The choice of planting material should be carefully considered, taking into account the characteristics of different groups of varieties of this flowering plant. For example, widespread in nature species give indoors small buds. Care for crocuses - hybrids of saffron chrysanthemum - complex, its petals often wither in the room. It is easier to obtain large flowers from Dutch hybrids created during the selection of Crocus vernus (Crocus vernus).

The most common of the cultivated species in the wild is found in the Pyrenees mountains and in the Alps, where its solitary purple or purple corollas reach a diameter of 5 cm. From this species, cultivars are formed, grouped into a group of large-flowered or Dutch crocuses. They are unpretentious, and in size, the goblets exceed the flowers of the natural species by a factor of 2. More than 50 varieties are distinguished, differing in size and color. There are cultivars with white, purple, blue, yellow, purple petals. Many hybrids are characterized by contrasting transitions of shades, strips, dashes. Plants reach a height of 15 cm, long narrow leaves appear after buds. Bulbs of varieties of crocus of the Dutch group are covered with brown skin.

How to choose a corms shop for forcing

For distillation in the premises different varieties of saffron are used. Very decorative looks in the room of large-flowered crocus. How to care at home for indoor plants, most of the florists know, but few are able to choose corms of saffron to get flowers for the New Year and the Orthodox holiday of the Nativity of Christ. You should pay attention to the early hybrids, because the late varieties are blossoming in April-May.

In the flower shop for planting material it is better to go in August or September. At the end of the summer corms of a new crop go on sale. Usually they are extracted from the ground after flowering, then stored for some time at a temperature above 30 ° C. In the store you need to inspect the bulbs, choose those that have a diameter of at least 5 or 7-8 cm in circumference. If you plant large specimens, then from them the flowers will appear faster, the crocus in the pot will be more lush. Care for the next 4-5 weeks is to store the corms in a cool and dry place.

How to prepare crocuses from the garden for forcing

How to grow a crocus in a pot, how to care for it, if the bulbs are dug in a garden plot, grown on a flower bed? Such material is also suitable for planting. It is better, if it will be large-flowered varieties of the Dutch group:

• "Flower Record" (dark purple) - most often used for distillation;
• Remembrance (violet);
• "Vangart" (light blue, lilac) - early variety;
• "Nigro Boy" (dark purple) - late;
• "Joan of Ar" (white);
• "Yellow Mammoth" (yellow).

The process of preparing selected bulbs for forcing takes at least three months. In June, crocuses are excavated from the ground in a garden plot or in a rock garden. Then dried and selected for distillation large specimens without visible defects, from which you will get a beautiful crocus in the pot. How to care for corms, so that the result of forcing was excellent?

Bulb storage

Duration and temperature conditions of storage of planting material:

• 1 week - at a temperature of 32-34 ° C;
• 2 weeks - 20 ° C;
• 5-6 weeks - 17 ° C;
• 4-5 weeks - at a temperature of 4-9 ° C (in the refrigerator or in a dark cool room with low humidity).

If you get a blossoming crocus is planned earlier, then the cooling period of corms can be reduced. With the forcing of saffron for the New Year's holiday, the bulbs should be planted in the first ten days of September. And if flowers are needed in February or in March, then plant crocuses 1-2 months later.

How to grow crocuses in a pot

After cooling, saffron bulbs are placed in pots, where rooting takes place. Crocuses are usually grown in shallow, but wide containers. Place several bulbs in one pot or container, which belong to the same variety to receive flowers at one time. Fill the tanks with drainage material, then with loose soil with good air and water permeability.

Reaction of the substrate should be neutral, and its nutritional properties do not matter, because everything necessary for the future of the flower is stored in the bulb. Knowing this, some florists conduct distillation in fine granite, sand, expanded clay. In containers filled with a mixture of leaf land, turf and large washed sand, you can also grow crocus.

How to care for saffron after planting

It is very important not to let the bulbs rot, so they should not come in contact. Also, when planting, do not press crocus in the pot against the walls of the container. How to care before forcing:

• Blind the soil around the bulbs;
• To water;
• Remove the pot or other container with crocuses in a dark cool room for rooting;
• Water only when the upper layer of the substrate dries.

Rooting crocuses at a temperature of no higher than 9 ° C lasts for 9-12 weeks. In the event that flowering should begin later, cool the bulbs to 2 ° C and store a little longer. Towards the beginning of the budding, a sprout appears about 5 cm long at the tip of the bulb, white threads of roots in the drainage holes of the pot are visible.

Dredging crocuses

How to care for crocuses before the appearance of flowers? In about two weeks, containers with corms are transferred to a room where they should blossom. It should be a cool place, because crocuses do not tolerate heat. For a flourishing saffron, the room where the temperature rises above 20 ° C is not suitable.

Negatively affects the excess of sunlight or artificial light: the buds blossom faster and wilt after a few hours. Flowering crocus lasts up to three weeks, if you provide a moderate scattered light and a temperature of about 15 ° C. At night, in the room where the flowers are, must be cool.

Frequent watering is harmful for crocus, it is better to add water once every 2-3 days. Plants can not be sprayed with water, they tolerate the low humidity of the air well.

Possible problems in the cultivation of saffron, their elimination

You have on the windowsill in the pot appeared charming "green pet" - crocus (flower). How to care for this plant to ensure its decorative appearance?

1. If the temperature is too high during storage, the buds will not appear or unfold.
2. When yellowing leaves, you should shorten the watering a bit.
3. When flowers appear, water is poured only into the pallet, and not onto the substrate.
4. Crocus does not need top dressing during flowering.
5. Do not allow the stagnation of water in the pan, its excess should be drained.

When the flowering is over, the bulbs can be left to dry in pots. In autumn they will be useful for disembarkation into the open ground. If you leave corms in a container and store indoors, then they are not suitable for re-forcing in this form.