Crocus tommasinianus Lilac Beauty - Early Crocus

Crocus tommasinianus 'Lilac Beauty', also known as Thomas' crocus, Tommasini crocus or Serbian crocus, is an early-flowering bulbous plant with light lilac-blue cups with a silver reverse, highlighted at the throat by a cluster of bright orange stamens. Rare in our gardens, this cultivar derived from a sought-after botanical species is nevertheless among the easiest to grow. It offers a beautiful flowering at the end of winter. This plant will naturalise in cool and sunny or even shaded areas of the garden, or in a rockery.

Crocus tommasinianus 'Lilac Beauty' belongs to the Iridaceae family. It originates from Hungary, Croatia, the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro), and Bulgaria, and has naturalised in the Netherlands and the British Isles. This prolific plant forms significant colonies in upright tufts measuring 10cm (4in) in height. It has a rapid growth rate. Flowering takes place from February to March. The plants bear elongated cup-shaped flowers. They are light lavender-blue with a bright white-silver reverse, also present at the throat. The foliage is deciduous, composed of narrow, thick linear leaves, which are simple and alternate. They are shiny medium green with a white-silver central strip. The 'bulbs' here 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.

'Lilac Beauty' works wonders in a rockery when its flowering emerges from stones bleached by the sun. It will also thrive on the edge of light woodland, along a hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees (spindle tree, heather, camellia) 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, combined with other early-flowering crocuses. This crocus is well-suited for outdoor container planting and is suitable for green roofs.

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