Crocus chrysanthus Fuscotinctus

Crocus chrysanthus 'Fuscotinctus' is a charming botanical crocus that is easy to naturalise in the garden. It bears fragrant and brilliantly coloured flowers of gold-yellow streaked with brown, which appear as early as the end of winter. Easy to grow in well-drained soil that is dry in summer, it brings a cheerful touch to rock gardens, at a time when flowering is rare. They also work well in pots on a patio.

Crocus chrysanthus 'Fuscotinctus' belongs to the Iridaceae family. It originates from Turkey and the Balkan Peninsula. This prolific plant quickly forms significant colonies, in upright clumps measuring 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) in height. It has a rapid growth rate. Flowering takes place from February to March, depending on the climate. The plants have fragrant cup-shaped flowers that open into a star shape, in a dazzling yellow streaked with brown. The reverse of the petals is marked with bronze veins at the base. The heart of the flower is filled with bright orange-yellow stamens grouped in a 'tube'. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, and open widely in the sun and even in partial shade. The foliage is deciduous, composed of fine, thick, linear leaves, which are single and alternate. They are shiny medium green with a white-silver central band. The 'bulbs' here are corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ that looks like a bulb, but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocuses are undisputed stars of the garden, as they are the first signs of spring. Crocus chrysanthus 'Fuscotinctus' works wonders in rock gardens and flower beds, and along pathways. It will also thrive at the edge of lightly wooded areas with primroses, along a hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees (lilacs, mock oranges, viburnums) with hellebores and Cyclamen coum, or in the middle of a lawn with winter aconites, snowdrops, or a carpet of violets, and of course, paired with other early-flowering crocuses. This crocus is well-suited for outdoor pot planting and can be used for green roofs.

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