Crocus chrysanthus Princess Beatrix

Crocus chrysanthus 'Princess Beatrix' is a very pretty botanical crocus whose flowers are bright blue on the outside, lighter blue inside, and golden yellow at the base. They bloom at the same time as snowdrops. These colourful flowers are slightly fragrant. Easy to grow, this botanical species naturalises in flower beds and rock gardens, in well-drained soil. The bulbs are ideal for planting in pots on a patio.

Crocus chrysanthus 'Princess Beatrix' belongs to the Iridaceae family. The wild species, known as snow crocus or golden crocus, originates from Turkey and the Balkan Peninsula. This prolific plant forms large colonies in upright clumps that reach a height of 12cm (5in). Flowering occurs from February to March, depending on the climate. Each bulb produces up to 4 slightly fragrant, rounded, cup-shaped flowers. They open in a dazzling bicolour blue and yellow display. The flower's centre is filled with bright yellow stamens grouped in a 'tube'. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, but open wide in the sun and even in partial shade. The foliage consists of slender, thick, simple, alternate leaves. They are medium green with a white-silver central band. The foliage dries out some time after flowering, while the bulb enters a resting phase. The 'bulbs' in this case are corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ that resembles a bulb, but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocuses are undisputed stars of the garden, as they are the first heralds of spring. Crocus chrysanthus 'Princess Beatrix' works wonders in rock gardens and flower beds, and along pathways. It will also thrive on the edge of a lightly wooded area, along a hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees (lilacs, mock orange, 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, with other early-flowering crocuses. This crocus is also suitable for outdoor pot planting and can be used in green roofs.

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