Crocus ancyrensis

Crocus ancyrensis is an early-flowering bulb with brilliant buttercup-yellow blooms. It can bloom as early as the end of winter. This botanical species easily naturalises in moist but well-drained soil, spreading in large carpets. It is cultivated in the sun, in rockeries or borders. It also looks beautiful in containers.

Crocus ancyrensis belongs to the Iridaceae family. It is native to the mountains of Turkey, where it grows spontaneously on dry and sunny slopes. This botanical species blooms from February, or in March depending on the climate. Its cup-shaped flowers sit perched on slightly transparent tubular stems that reveal the slow ascent of the buds. They bloom into superb golden-yellow flowers. The beautiful orange stamen heart is only visible during the day and in good weather, as the flower closes at night and under a grey sky. The foliage is deciduous, composed of thin, thick linear leaves, which are simple and alternate. They are medium green and shiny, with a white-silver midrib. The 'bulbs' here are corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ that resembles a bulb, but is formed from a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocus ancyrensis works wonders in rockeries and borders, when its flowering emerges from stones bleached by the sun. It will also thrive in the edge of clear undergrowth, along a path or a hedge, planted in large groups at the base of deciduous trees or bushes (spindles, viburnums, lilacs) with Anemone blanda and Cyclamen coum, or in the middle of a lawn with winter aconites, snowdrops, or a carpet of violets. Of course, it looks wonderful with other early-flowering crocuses. This crocus is also well-suited for outdoor pot planting. Note that this plant can be used in green roofs.

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