Crocus vitellinus

Crocus vitellinus is a delicate botanical species sought after by collectors of rare bulbs. From the end of winter, this crocus produces large, sweet-scented, yellow-orange flowers, sometimes brushed with bronze on the reverse. It has retained certain requirements from its origins in order to thrive: the bulb needs a cool winter followed by a hot and dry summer. Well adapted to sunny rock gardens in Mediterranean mountains, it should be grown in an alpine greenhouse under different climates.

Crocus vitellinus belongs to the Iridaceae family. Its natural habitat corresponds to rocky or slightly bushy areas in Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon, where it grows up to 1400m (4593ft) in altitude. In these regions, it blooms from late January or early February. In cultivation, the plant blooms in February-March. Each bulb produces 1 to 3 flowers measuring 8 to 9cm (3 to 4in) in length that emerge from the ground. The elongated cup-shaped flowers open into a star with 6 branches. The exterior of the outer petals is often speckled or brushed with bronze, while the interior is a vibrant orange-yellow. The heart of the flower is filled with stamens and a highly divided style, which is orange-vermilion in colour. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, opening wide in sunlight. The foliage is deciduous, drying shortly after flowering. It consists of 2 to 4 linear leaves, which are quite wide for a crocus (up to 3mm wide). They are dark green with a central zone of silver-white. The 'bulbs' here are corms covered with a membranous tunic of parallel fibres. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ resembling a bulb, but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocus vitellinus is not the easiest to acclimatise. Outside of climates that are favourable to it, it is more suitable to cultivate it in an alpine greenhouse or in pots that are protected from humidity in summer. Like other botanical species, it is irreplaceable in rock gardens and at the base of bushes, when its radiant flowering emerges as a beautiful surprise from the end of winter. When cultivation in open ground is possible, it can be planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees with blue anemones and Cyclamen coum, and of course, combined with other early-flowering crocuses. It is ideal for alpine gardens.

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