Crocus vernus Whale Shark

Crocus 'Whale Shark' is a small bulbous plant that is easy to grow and highly ornamental, heralding the return of spring with its beautiful bicolour flowering, in mauve and white. Vigorous and reliable, this crocus quickly naturalises in lawns and rockeries, in the sun.

Crocus 'Whale Shark' is a recent variety, derived from Crocus vernus, the spring crocus. It is a perennial plant with a corm from the Iridaceae family. Like many spring-flowering horticultural hybrids, this variety produces large flowers. The species itself is native to central and eastern Europe, and is extremely hardy as a result. 'Whale Shark' forms a clump of dark green linear leaves with a white-silver median, from which solitary flowers emerge 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) above the ground in March-April, lasting for about 3 weeks. These cup-shaped flowers are composed of 3 mauve petals surrounded by almost white sepals. They close at night and in bad weather, only to fully open under the sun, revealing a heart adorned with beautiful yellow-orange stamens. The foliage dries up and disappears in late spring or early summer. The bulb then enters summer dormancy.

Crocuses are undisputed stars of the garden, as they are the first heralds of spring. 'Whale Shark' is a beautiful mammoth variety that blooms after Crocus chrysanthus, for example. When planted in large groups, it forms magnificent carpets of colour in lawns, along pathways, and rockeries. It also grows very well in pots or containers, to liven up balconies. Crocuses prefer to stay in place where they easily naturalise and thrive year after year. Do not remove the leaves before they have yellowed and withered. The leaves help the bulb replenish its reserves for future flowering.

There are also autumn-flowering crocuses, such as saffron or colchicums, which are equally charming and easy to grow. Sternbergia lutea, on the other hand, is a small bulbous plant that resembles a golden yellow crocus, but blooms in September, along with colchicums.