Crocus tommasinianus Albus - Early Crocus

Crocus tommasinianus 'Albus' is the very pretty but also rare pure white-flowered form of this intrepid botanical crocus. Its flowering is one of the first in the garden, from the end of winter, before the Dutch hybrid crocuses, announcing the return of spring. Its small flowers open in star shapes with a golden yellow stamen tube and a very thin white base. It is one of the easiest species to cultivate and naturalise in the garden, in lawns, meadows, flower beds and rockeries, even in dry and poor soil.

Crocus tommasinianus, also known as Thomas' Crocus, belongs to the Iridaceae family. It originates from Hungary, Croatia, former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro), and Bulgaria. This prolific plant quickly forms significant colonies, in upright clumps measuring 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) in height. Flowering occurs from February to March, depending on the regions.

'Albus' bears delicate flowers, 2 to 3.5cm (1in) long. They are cup-shaped, opening in sparkling white stars, which are iridescent silver on the reverse. The flower's heart is filled with yellow stamens grouped in a 'tube', with a white base. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, opening in the sun and even in partial shade. The foliage consists of thin, thick linear leaves, which are single and alternate. They are shiny medium green with a white-silver central band. It dries a few weeks after flowering, while the plant enters a resting period to escape the hot season. The 'bulbs' here are corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ resembling a bulb, but formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocus tommasinianus 'Albus' works wonders in a rockery, when its flowering emerges from stones bleached by the sun, or when it adorns the edge of a winding path. It will also thrive on the edge of light woodland, along a hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees (lilacs, mock oranges, viburnums) with Anemone blanda and Cyclamen coum, or even in the middle of a lawn with winter aconites, snowdrops, or a carpet of violets. It will be perfectly paired with other early flowering crocuses, especially Crocus 'Lilac Beauty', C. 'Barr's Purple', or the more common tommasinianus wild species. 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.