World Plants Logo

search the world

Bulbs, Perennials > Colchicum > Colchicum autumnale > Colchicum autumnale

Colchicum autumnale


Autumn Crocus, Meadow Saffron, Naked Lady




Origin:  West and Central Europe.
Family
Colchicaceae
Genus
Colchicum
Species
autumnale
Category
Bulbs, Perennials
Synonyms
Colchicum autumnale var. minor hort.
USDA Hardiness Zone
4 - 8
Canadian Hardiness Zone
2 - 8
RHS Hardiness Zone
H5
Temperature (°C)
-15 - (-10)
Temperature (°F)
5 - 14
Height
10 - 20 cm
Spread
10 - 20 cm
Photographs
Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
AugustSeptember
Landscape
Ground cover and border planting.
Cultivation
Full sun and partial-shade. Moist, well-drained and rich soils. Prefers chalk, clay, sand and loam soils with an acidic, alkaline or neutral pH. Intolerant of water-logging.
Shape
Columnar and upright.
Growth
Fast
Pests
Slugs and snails. Fugal smut may attack leaves.
Habitat
Meadows and woodland beds.
Leaf Description
5 - 8 lanceolate leaves that are 10 - 20 cm long. Naked flower stems (1 - 6 stems per sheath) that rise from the ground and are 15 - 25 cm long.
Flower Description
Coarse, broadly star-shaped, 6-petaled flower on each stem.
Colour Description
Leaves are a dark green and turns yellow as it matures and dies. The flowers are pinkish-lavendar to a pinkish-lilac colour.
Notable Specimens
The A.M. Cuddy Gardens, Strathroy, Ontario, Canada.
Propagation
Seed, sowing in containers in open frame when ripe and separate corms when dormant in summer.
goToTop
top