How to grow saffron crocus
- The fall-blooming, purple-flowered saffron crocus grows from a bulb-like structure called a corm. The corms are planted in the spring or early fall.
- Saffron crocus smells a little like vanilla and spice, and the dried stigmas add a distinct flavor to foods like Spanish paella, rice dishes, and bouillabaisse.
- To plant saffron crocus, start with high-quality corms. They can be purchased for a reasonable price from several different online companies, including Nature Hills Nursery and Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.
- Chose a planting site that is very well-drained and has soil rich in organic matter.
- Plant the corms in spring or in the early fall, to a depth of about four to six inches.
- Once planted, you won’t see anything sprout from the bulbs until late fall.
- When the flower comes into bloom in the autumn, the elongated, orangeish-red stigmas are plucked from the flower. The flowers are small, and the stigmas are like little orange threads, making harvesting large quantities of this spice quite time-consuming (hence, its hefty price).
- Spread the harvested stigmas on a cookie sheet to dry in a warm room until they easily crumble.
- Each bulb produces one flower and each flower produces three stigmas.
- As soon as the flowers fade, you can gently dig up the crocuses and separate the bulbs, replanting them immediately. Doing this yearly quickly results in a large colony, but if you only want to take on this task every three or four years, that’s okay. Just remember to divide them before the corms become over-crowded and production is affected.
- Saffron crocuses are hardy down to -10 degrees F. If you live in a region where temperatures regularly dip below that limit, be sure to mulch the planting site with several inches of straw or compost soon after the plants are finished blooming.
- When stored in an air-tight container, dried saffron remains fresh for up to two years.
Do you grow saffron crocus? Share your experiences in the comment section below.
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