The saffron crocuses are poking out their sweet and bountiful heads, which can only mean fall is well and truly under way.
Picking the saffron strands is an exercise in dexterity. Last year, I used tweezers; but this year I’m confident enough to start plucking them with my fingers. The strands (the crocus stamen) have a really good grip, so I have to really pull at them. I made a short reel on Instagram to show how I pick saffron.
Waiting to have enough saffron for a delicious paella is an exercise in patience. As it happens, that’s my only form of exercise these days.
The saffron crocus bulbs are naturalizing really well, in spite of being disturbed in the spring when I planted some perennials and again in late summer when I dug out some baby raspberries. I think it helps that, as soon as I accidentally popped some out when I was digging, I just tucked them back in. I didn’t let them dry or leave them exposed to the sun.
It looks like most saffron crocus bulbs have split into four, which is an unexpected surprise and it means that the twenty bulbs I planted last year will yield me about sixty flower heads this year. Although not all new bulbs might flower this year.
One detail I had completely forgotten about is the amazing fragrance of these flowers. To my senses, saffron crocuses smell like a combination of freesia and gardenia. Freesia is by far my favorite spring bulb, but it’s so hard to grow reliably.
If you want to plant saffron crocuses yourself, it’s not too late for this season. You can plant them in the fall (September or October) and they’ll bloom the same fall. Here’s a list of vendors that sell saffron crocus bulbs. I highly recommend you buy bulbs, not seeds, for every plant that forms a bulb.
If you’re growing this kind of crocus for the first time, my one piece of advice would be: don’t wait too long to pick the saffron. The flowers are rather short-lived and once they flop, the saffron might be blown away or get lost in the dirt.
*I commissioned the cottagecore fall art in the photo above from My Cozy Crafts. She paints wonderfully cozy scenery on wood slices.
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