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Bulbs for Shady Places -- Part 4

© Marge Talt

Fall Blooming Bulbs

In the other parts of this series, I've talked about bulbs planted in the fall for spring bloom. There are bulbous plants you must plant by late summer so they can bloom in the fall. This means getting your act together and ordering them in summer, something I've had a lot of trouble doing over the years!

Colchicum (Autumn Crocus or Meadow Saffron)

Description and Natural History of the Autumn Crocus, Colchicum autumnale with links to the Pharmacology of Colchicine, an alkaloid found in colchicum. From Cyberbotanica, a free online botany education resource produced as a part of Indiana University's BioTech Project. More characteristics, cultural information, companion plants and photographs of Colchicum autumnale

Despite the common names, colchicum are not crocuses, but members of the Lily Family. Although some are found in moist meadows, most do best in good, well-drained soil. There are many different species and forms, most having flowers of white or pinkish lilac to strong reddish-purple; some with double flowers. The fairly rare C. luteum, from Turkestan is the only one with yellow flowers, which bloom in February and March.

I saw my first colchicum blooming about fifteen years ago in Cambridge, England. From that day until this fall I have wanted to grow these charming plants in my own USDA zone 7 garden. Until this year, however, I have given the word procrastination a new meaning and not gotten an order placed in time. I almost added this year to my list of "years I should have ordered sooner," but a Net friend took pity on me and shared her order with me. Bless her!

My corms arrived and got planted. They are curious corms, somewhat resembling a large tulip with a paddle shaped foot sticking out of the side, which the corm uses to position itself in the soil. The corms can be quite large. I got both small and jumbo sizes of Colchicum speciosum and the jumbos are exactly that -- jumbo -- about the size of a good sized lily bulb.

After only a few weeks, they started blooming. Since they bloom when they are dormant, they will even try to bloom in a paper bag, so be sure to plant them immediately.

Having waited so many years for my very own blooms; I checked those beds every day. I'm sure you understand the thrill I felt when the first "noses" broke ground. The flowers were enchanting. The photos I've found don't quite catch the luminous quality that's so refreshing in the early fall when almost everything else is going over.

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