Plant encyclopedia›Cilician meadow saffron

Cilician meadow saffron

Also known as: Information to be completed

A cormous perennial 10cm high with semi-erect, narrowly elliptic to elliptic-lance-shaped leaves, 30-40cm long, from winter to spring, and 3-25 funnel-shaped flowers, 4-7.5cm long, with purplish pink tepals, sometimes deeper in colour towards the blunt tips, in autumn; colchicums are a useful late-season source of pollen for honeybees

Scientific classification

Species: Cilician meadow saffron (Colchicum cilicicum)
Genus: Colchicum
Family: Colchicaceae

TOXIC if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling
Toxicity: Bulbs
Plant type: 0.1-0.5 metres
Height: 0.1-0.5 metres
Spread: Deciduous
Foliage: Clump forming
Habit: Spring · Winter · Autumn
Season of interest: Full sun
Sunlight: Information to be completed
Ideal temperature

Cilician meadow saffron pictures

Distribution of Cilician meadow saffron

Distribution map

Turkey Syria Lebanon

Information to be completed

Culture

Information to be completed

Toxicity

TOXIC if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling

Quick identification of Cilician meadow saffron

Information to be completed

Cilician meadow saffron care guide

Moist soil during autumn leaf growth, dry fully through summer rest
Watering: Full sun
Sunlight: Information to be completed
Ideal temperature

Watering

Moist soil during autumn leaf growth, dry fully through summer rest

Fertilizing

Weak bulb feed biweekly before autumn flower bud emergence

Pruning

No pruning required

Propagation

Propagate by seed, sown in containers in an open frame as soon as it is ripe, or by removing cormlets when dormant in summer; for more advice, see bulb propagation

Growing

Using gloves to handle corms, plant 10cm deep in summer or early autumn in deep, fertile and well-drained but reasonably moist soil in an open site in full sun; for more advice, see bulb cultivation

More growing and care information →