Crocus olivieri subsp. balansae Orange Monarch

The 'Orange Monarch' Crocus is very similar to a botanical species called Crocus olivieri balansae, a small robust plant with flowers that have a truly unique colour, resembling the Monarch butterfly, a magnificent American migratory butterfly. Each bulb produces 3 stems that each bear 3 flowers, and what flowers they are! They display a gorgeous orange colour, striated and streaked with almost black purple on the reverse of the petals. They emerge in late winter, sometimes piercing through the last snow with their flame-like flowers. Plant this small bulb where you can enjoy its exceptional flowering, not far from the house or even in a planter.

The 'Orange Monarch' Crocus belongs to the iris family. Its ancestor originated in western Turkey. 'Orange Monarch' forms significant colonies over time, with upright clumps reaching a height of 15 cm (6in), for rapid growth and multiplication. Flowering takes place from February to March depending on the climate. The plants produce numerous cup-shaped flowers that open like stars. The exterior of the corolla is bi-coloured, widely striped and mottled with almost black purple-violet on a coppery orange background. The throat is bright yellow, adorned with stamens clustered in a 'tube', of a very bright orange-yellow. They close at night and during bad weather, only to open widely in the sun and even in partial shade. The foliage is deciduous, composed of very thin linear leaves, simple and alternate, of a shiny dark green colour, with a white-silver central stripe. The 'bulbs' here are corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground reserve organ that resembles a bulb, but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocuses are undisputed stars, as they are the first smiles of spring. The dazzling 'Orange Monarch' Crocus works wonders in rock gardens, well-drained borders, and along pathways. It will also thrive at the edge of a clear woodland with snowflakes and primroses, along a hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees (lilacs, mock oranges, viburnums) with hellebores and winter cyclamens, or in the middle of a short grass meadow with winter aconites, snowdrops, or a carpet of violets, and of course, combined with other early-flowering crocuses. This crocus is also suitable for outdoor container planting. It is worth mentioning that early-flowering crocuses dislike waterlogged soils in winter and excessively humid soils in summer: always plant them in perfectly well-drained soil, even dry in summer.

A tip for crocuses: the roots have the particular ability to contract like a spring, allowing the plant to establish itself at the ideal depth for the plant.