About
Colchicum 'Benton End' is a perennial that flowers in autumn, featuring slender blooms with pinkish-purple petals that form a goblet shape, accented by a white star pattern in the center. The flowers emerge from a greyish-purple perianth tube. In spring, the plant produces narrow, semi-erect leaves, which diminish in size and eventually fade by summer. This cultivar establishes itself readily in garden settings.
About the genus
Colchicum are perennial plants that grow from corms, featuring typically coarse, broad, strap-like leaves. These leaves may emerge alongside or following the goblet-shaped blooms.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H5
Plant details
- Plant type
- Bulbs
- Habit
- Columnar upright, Clump forming
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Spread
- 0-0.1 metre
- Time to full height
- 2-5 years
- Suggested uses
- Cottage and informal garden, Wildlife gardens
- Toxicity
- TOXIC if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling TOXIC to pets - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Plant 10cm deep in summer or early autumn in deep, fertile, moist but well-drained soil in a sunny site
- Pruning
- No pruning required; allow leaves to die down naturally
- Propagation
- Propagate by separating corms when dormant in summer
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to slugs
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to grey moulds