Crocus fleischeri

Crocus fleischeri is a botanical species native to Turkey and the eastern Greek islands. At the end of winter, it produces small stylised flowers in white stars with a throat adorned with yellow stamens and a feathery red style. It should be planted in well-drained, even limestone, soil that is dry in summer. It can be cultivated in an alpine garden, a gravel garden, or a rockery.

Like all crocuses, Crocus fleischeri belongs to the Iridaceae family. Its natural environment corresponds to rocky hills, evergreen oak and pine woods found in southern and western Turkey and the eastern Greek islands. This species mainly grows on clay-limestone soils. In these regions, it sometimes flowers as early as January. When cultivated in less favourable climates, the plant flowers in February-March, after the last severe frosts. Each bulb produces a 3cm (1in) long flower that emerges from the ground. The rounded bulb has a unique outer covering composed of fine interlaced fibres. The elongated cup-shaped flowers have 3 long oval white petals and 3 sepals. They open widely in a 6-branched star shape, around a centre adorned with yellow stamens and bright red styles. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, but open widely in sunlight and even in partial shade. The foliage is deciduous in summer, while the bulb enters dormancy. It consists of fine linear leaves, which are single and alternate. They are green with a white central vein. The 'bulbs' here are corms. A corm is an underground storage organ that resembles a bulb, but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocus fleischeri will naturalise without requiring care. This small bulb is irreplaceable in rock gardens and at the base of bushes, where its white flowering is a beautiful surprise from the first warm days of spring. It will thrive in well-drained soil, along a path, planted in groups at the base of trees or shrubs with Anemone blanda and Cyclamen coum, or even in a raised bed. It can be paired with other crocuses, as well as early blooming narcissus and botanical tulips. It is also well-suited for alpine gardens.

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