About
Colchicum x ambiguum is a hybrid perennial that blooms in autumn, producing funnel-shaped flowers in shades ranging from lilac to pale pink. Its strap-like green foliage emerges in spring, following the flowering period.
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
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- East-facing, South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H5
Plant details
- Plant type
- Bulbs
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Spread
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 2-5 years
- Suggested uses
- Cottage and informal garden, Gravel garden, Rock 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, moist but well-drained, deep, humus-rich, fertile soil in an open site in full sun in summer or early autumn. Intolerant of waterlogging. See bulb cultivation for further advice
- Pruning
- No pruning required
- Propagation
- Separate corms when dormant in summer
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to slugs
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to grey moulds (Botrytis), smuts, and tulip grey bulb rot