Crocus speciosus Artabir

Crocus speciosus 'Artabir' is an autumn crocus renowned for the beauty of its flowering and its ease of cultivation. This selection seduces with its large flowers, adorned with a superb light blue to pale violet colour. This small bulb brings a second spring to sunny lawns and rockeries at a time of year when the garden is preparing to sleep. It faithfully blooms every year, spreading rapidly in large colonies.

Crocus speciosus 'Artabir' belongs, like all crocuses, to the family of irises. The species is native to northern and central Turkey, the Caucasus, northern Iran, and Crimea. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with a corm, which is sometimes called a bulb. In this crocus, the flowers emerge from the ground before the foliage, usually in October, occasionally as early as September, with the return of rain. The large cup-shaped flowers of the 'Artabir' selection are 5-6 cm long. They open in a star shape, revealing petals finely veined with violet. Their colour varies somewhat depending on the nature of the soil and the temperature. The reverse side of the petals is almost white. The golden yellow heart of the flower is adorned with stamens of the same yellow and a very bright orange, feathery style. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, and open wide in the sun. The foliage emerges from the ground after flowering and disappears with the frost. It forms a small tuft 10 to 12 cm high, composed of 5 to 7 thin, slender, dark green leaves, crossed by a white midrib. A corm is an underground storage organ in plant morphology that resembles a bulb but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocus speciosus 'Artabir', with its large colourful and bright flowers, brings life to the lawn, the edge of a bed, or the rockery. It will also thrive on the edge of light woodland, along a hedge on the sunny side, in the company of colchicums and Naples cyclamens, for example. In the middle of the lawn, plant it with snowdrops or violets, mixed with other autumn crocuses or spring crocuses.

A tip for crocuses: the roots have the particular ability to contract like a spring, allowing the plant to settle at the ideal depth.

Our advice: Plant your bulbs upon receipt. Grow them in pots near your front door to welcome you every day! Once the leaves have withered, plant them in the garden, where they will bloom again next year.