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Gardening

Crocuses

(16 Posts)
winterwhite Mon 15-Feb-21 18:55:02

Why oh why do my yellow crocuses thrive while my mauve and purple ones do not? I don't much care for the egg yolk yellow colour but you'd think they can hear me say so and be determined to be fruitful and multiply just to spite me.
I have both sorts in intended clumps and treat them the same, yet the mauve ones stand up for a day then fall splat in the mud and don't get up again while the yellow burst forth whenever the sun comes out.
Any advice? Any reliable mauve ones that I could try? Thanks.

geekesse Mon 15-Feb-21 19:29:38

Mine are exactly the opposite - purple ones are robust and lasting, but the few yellow that bother to flower at all give up in 24 hours and flop. Whatever you are doing right, I’m doing wrong, and vice versa! Could it be a soil / sun /position in the garden thing?

Blossoming Mon 15-Feb-21 19:33:27

I’ve never had any luck with crocuses. Loads of snowdrops, bluebells and daffodils though.

May7 Mon 15-Feb-21 20:16:48

Spotted growing wild today on our walk

Ellianne Mon 15-Feb-21 20:20:01

I think geekesse might be right about the sun aspect. The yellows thrive in light - think like sunflower, buttercup, even gorse - maybe the mauve ones need more shade? My yellow ones are happier too, they're in a south facing coastal garden.

NotSpaghetti Mon 15-Feb-21 20:22:59

My father planted crocus every year in my childhood garden.
Every year the rabbits are most of them.
Could it be rabbits? Are some tastier than others according to the soil maybe?

NotSpaghetti Mon 15-Feb-21 20:24:52

We had loads of bluebells, snowdrops and daffodils by the way...

Auntieflo Mon 15-Feb-21 22:10:45

I thought it was the birds eating all our yellow ones.

Blossoming Mon 15-Feb-21 22:14:36

I haven’t seen any rabbits in the garden, though there are some in the woods nearby. We have a couple of resident hedgehogs but I don’t think they would eat them.

winterwhite Tue 16-Feb-21 09:45:27

How very interesting that others struggle with them too and have noticed differences. Will certainly try some mauve in a shadier place for next year. This is only our third winter in this garden. Snowdrops (brought with us) thrive, aconites very slow. Crocuses were just the same in the old house - strident thriving yellow, weedy mauve.

Lisagran Wed 17-Feb-21 07:48:44

It’s the opposite in my garden! Very few yellow crocuses, but lots of thriving purple ones. Not sure about the light / shade theory, as my purple ones are in full light / sun. They’re very cheerful!

Kim19 Wed 17-Feb-21 07:53:30

Just seen my snowdrops for the first time yesterday. Lovely. Seem to think I've always had a good mixed colouring of crocii but will pay particular attention this year. Certainly their shoot are appearing in abundance. Roll on.

BlueBelle Wed 17-Feb-21 07:58:39

None of my crocuses are flowering at all yet nor my daffs had a few little snowdrops but only greenery of everything else

Puzzler61 Wed 17-Feb-21 08:04:33

Seen lots of mauve ones along the walkways here. I wonder too if the type of soil encourages some colours over others, similarly with hydrangeas?

NotSpaghetti Wed 17-Feb-21 18:43:05

Blossoming - we lived next to woods. It was definitely the rabbits in our case.

Blossoming Wed 17-Feb-21 18:52:36

We saw some growing wild on our walk yesterday.