A simple guide to planting care-free crocuses

Few sights are as pretty as the first crocuses of spring blooming beside patches of melting snow. We'll give you all of the pointers you need to add these stunning plants to your lawn and garden. [Image credit: iStock.com/windujedi]

These diminutive heralds of spring can grow almost anywhere, but because they stand a few inches above the soil it's important to place them where they can easily be seen.

• You can group them in a bed, sprinkle them throughout the lawn, or use them to line a walkway or accent a rock garden.
• Crocuses do most of their growing while hardy perennials remain dormant, so they make excellent companions for peonies, lilies, and plants that wait until summer to grow. Crocuses also paint a delightful picture when informally grouped at the base of deciduous shrubs and trees.

• Often called the snow crocus because it blooms so early, Crocus chrysanthu is available in several cultivars whose names reveal their colours. Some of the best are 'Blue Pearl,' 'Cream Beauty,' and 'Goldilocks.'
• If you like larger flowers, try Dutch crocuses, such as the purple 'Remembrance,' lilac-striped white 'Pickwick,' golden 'Mammoth Yellow,' and white 'Jeanne d'Arc.'
• Not all crocuses bloom in spring. C. speciosu opens its lavender blossoms in fall, as does a similar-looking plant, Colchicum speciosu, which is often called autumn crocus. The large violet flowers of autumn crocuses make fall feel like a second spring, and the blooms are followed by grassy green foliage that can persist through the winter in areas that have milder winters, such as certain areas of southern British Columbia.

Crocuses grow from small, bulb-like corms sold in the autumn. Plant the corms in sunny, protected spots after the soil cools in the fall.

• Set the crocus corms about eight centimetres (three inches) deep, five centimetres (two inches) apart, and pointed end up.
• The most impressive display comes when crocuses are planted in groups of 10 or more.

After their blossoms fade, it's important to allow crocuses to keep their leaves until they naturally fade away. Crocuses will continue to photosynthesize and nourish the old corms as well as the new ones that are developing underground. Removing the leaves cuts off their supply of energy.

• The fading foliage is easily camouflaged by planting crocuses among leafy perennials. On a lawn, crocus leaves blend into green grass.
• If your crocuses become so crowded that they stop blooming, dig and separate the corms as the leaves begin to yellow in late spring. To do that, lift and separate the corms and replant them immediately.
• Spring-blooming crocuses need to be divided every five years or so, but autumn crocuses can be left untouched for many years.

Crocuses blossom and go dormant before most pests and diseases pose a threat. Rodents, however, relish the corms.

• To protect corms, encase them in a cage of wire screen or in commercial wire bulb baskets at planting time.
• To discourage digging rodents, you can also cover corms with coarse gravel before filling the planting holes with soil.

Use these tips to help you choose and plant the perfect crocuses for your lawn and garden. You'll be rewarded with a beautiful display of colour that will liven up the surrounding spring landscape.