Crocus chrysanthus Miss Vain

Crocus chrysanthus 'Miss Vain' bears pure white fragrant flowers with a hint of blue. It blooms early in the season, sometimes piercing through the last snow. Easy to grow, this botanical species naturalises in flower beds or rock gardens, in well-drained soil. It also works well in pots on a patio.

Crocus chrysanthus 'Miss Vain' belongs to the Iridaceae family. It originates from Turkey and the Balkan Peninsula. This prolific plant forms large colonies in upright tufts measuring 12cm (5in) in height. It has a rapid growth rate. Flowering occurs from February to March, depending on the climate. The plants bear fragrant cup-shaped flowers, which open like stars in a dazzling white with a hint of blue. 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, opening in the sun and even in semi-shade. The foliage is deciduous, composed of narrow, thick linear leaves, which are simple and alternate. They are shiny medium green with a white-silvery 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 of a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocuses are undisputed stars of the garden, as they are the first signs of spring. Crocus chrysanthus 'Miss Vain' works wonders in rock gardens and flower beds, and along pathways. It will also thrive at the edge of lightly wooded areas with snowdrops, along a hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees (lilacs, mock oranges, viburnums) with Anemone blanda 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.