Crocus tommasinianus Roseus - Early Crocus

Crocus tommasinianus 'Roseus' is a pretty variety with almost pink flowers. Its flowering is one of the earliest in the garden, starting from the end of winter, before the Dutch hybrid crocuses, heralding the return of spring. Its small flowers open in star shapes with a golden yellow stamen tube and a very thin white base. It is one of the easiest species to grow and naturalise in the garden, in lawns, meadows, beds, and rockeries. It will even grow in dry and poor soil.

Crocus tommasinianus, also known as Thomas' crocus, belongs to the Iridaceae family. It originates from Hungary, Croatia, former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro), and Bulgaria. This prolific plant quickly forms significant colonies, in upright clumps measuring 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) in height. Flowering occurs from February to March, depending on the regions.

'Roseus' bears delicate flowers, measuring 2 to 3.5cm (1in) long. They are cup-shaped and open in star shapes. They bear a light pink-mauve shade with a silver sheen on the reverse, with whiter areas inside the petals, down to the throat. The flower's centre is filled with yellow stamens grouped in a 'tube', with a white base. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, opening widely in the sun and even in partial shade. The foliage consists of fine, thick, single and alternate linear leaves. They are shiny medium green with a white-silver central stripe. The foliage dries a few weeks after flowering, while the plant enters a dormant period to escape the summer heat. The 'bulbs' here are corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ that looks like a bulb but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Crocus tommasinianus 'Roseus' looks wonderful in a rockery, when its flowering emerges from stones bleached by the sun, or when it adorns the edge of a winding path. It will also thrive on the edge of light woodland, bordering a hedge, planted en masse at the base of deciduous trees (lilac, mock orange, viburnums) with Anemone blanda and Cyclamen coum, or even in the middle of a lawn with winter aconites, snowdrops, or a carpet of violets. It will be perfect when planted with other early-flowering crocuses. This crocus is well-suited for planting in outdoor pots. 

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