Crocus chrysanthus Ladykiller

Crocus chrysanthus 'Ladykiller' is distinguished by its delicate and remarkably contrasting flowers, in small bicoloured cups combining ivory and violet, enhanced by a yellow heart and bright orange stamens. It is a vigorous variety, with lively small bulbs that flower very early in the season, just after snowdrops. Easy to grow, floriferous and reliable, it naturalises easily in borders or rockeries, as long as it receives enough sunlight and is planted in well-drained soil. 

Crocus chrysanthus 'Ladykiller' belongs to the Iridaceae family. Its ancestor, the golden crocus, is native to Turkey and the Balkan Peninsula. This rather prolific variety quickly forms significant colonies in 12cm (5in) tall upright clumps. Flowering occurs from February to March, depending on the climate. The plant bears a multitude of cup-shaped flowers that open into dazzling white-ivory stars with a bright yellow throat. The reverse of the petals boasts a beautiful violet shade. The bright orange-yellow heart of the flower is filled with stamens grouped in a 'tube'. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, only to open widely in the sun and even in partial shade. The foliage is deciduous, drying up and disappearing some time after flowering, while the bulb goes into dormancy to escape the hot season. It consists of fine, thick, linear leaves, that are simple and alternate. They are shiny 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 one of the first signs of spring. Crocus chrysanthus 'Ladykiller' thrives in rockeries, borders, and along pathways. It will be happy on the edge of a clear woodland with primroses, along a hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees (lilac, mock orange, 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, combined with other early-flowering crocuses. This crocus is also suitable for outdoor pot planting. 

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