About
This perennial reaches a height of up to 15 cm and produces 1 to 3 white flowers with green throats, each measuring around 6 cm long, during the autumn months. After flowering, it develops strap-like leaves that can grow up to 25 cm long, displaying a vibrant green color.
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, Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Well-drained
- Aspect
- North-facing, West-facing, South-facing, East-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H5
Plant details
- Plant type
- Bulbs
- Habit
- Columnar upright
- 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, Rock garden, Wildlife gardens, Wildflower meadow
- 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
- Grow in moist but well-drained, deep, humus-rich, fertile soil. Intolerant of waterlogging
- Pruning
- No pruning required
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed, sowing in containers in an open frame when ripe or separate corms when dormant in summer
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to slugs
- Disease resistance
- Generally disease-free