Crocus speciosus Conqueror

Crocus speciosus 'Conqueror' is the most vigorous selection among C. speciosus, which are known for their robustness and ease of cultivation. This small bulbous plant flowers at the beginning of autumn with large intense blue-violet cups, rivalling the most beautiful colchicums in sunny lawns and rockeries. It faithfully flowers every year, quickly spreading in large colonies.

Like all crocuses, Crocus speciosus 'Conqueror' belongs to the Iridaceae family. Its wild ancestor is native to northern and central Turkey, the Caucasus, northern Iran, and Crimea. This 'Conqueror' selection is both more prolific and more colourful than the type. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with a corm, which is sometimes called a bulb. The flowers emerge from the ground before the foliage, usually in October, sometimes as early as September in warmer regions. The cup-shaped flowers are 6cm (2in) long. They open in a star shape, revealing lightly veined light blue-violet petals. The golden yellow heart of the flower is adorned with stamens of the same yellow and a bright orange feathery style. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, then open wide in the sun. The foliage emerges from the ground in late winter and disappears in late spring. It forms a small tuft 15cm (6in) tall, composed of thin, slender, and arching dark green leaves. The 'bulbs' here are corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ that looks like a bulb, but is formed from a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocus speciosus 'Conqueror' brings spring back to the garden in autumn, creating a beautiful surprise in the dormant garden. Its large showy flowers enliven the lawn, the edge of a bed, or a rockery. It will also thrive on the edge of a light woodland, along a sunny hedge in the company of colchicums and Neapolitan cyclamens. Plant it in the middle of the lawn with snowdrops or violets, and of course mixed with other crocuses that flower in autumn.

Crocus roots can contract like a spring, allowing the plant to settle at its ideal depth.

Our advice: grow them in pots near your front door. They will greet you every day! Once the leaves have withered, they can be returned to the garden where they will bloom again next year.

Plant the bulbs upon receipt of your order. Bulb size 5+. Sold in packs of 15 and 30 bulbs.