Botanical name: Crocus ‘sativus’ (Corsinii)
Description: This fall flowering species have been known to survive outdoors in the Manitoba landscape (sheltered/mulched), but it is more reliable in pots. Plant three bulbs in a 4″ pot and you will be rewarded with purple blooms, and the all-important saffron in late November. Allow plants to go dormant in later December (keeping the bulbs potted), and then start watering again the following August for a repeat show. Apply an organic fertilizer regularly during any of the plant’s leafy phases.
To harvest saffron spice, remove the flowers when fully open and dry on a baking sheet for several days. The culinary part is the stigma (the three deep red filaments that surround the pistils in the center of the flower); carefully remove these and store them out of direct sunlight in a dry location.
Package Size: 10 bulbs
Zone: 5
Bloom Time: Fall-blooming
Height: 10 cm
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Bulb Size: 7-8