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James Burghardt
Iridaceae
CROCUS 'Ruby Giant'
Hybrid Crocus, Spring Crocus
Providing a welcome burst of color at winter's end, this crocus opens its cheerful flowers even as the last remnants of snow linger. Introduced in the mid-twentieth century, it is a cultivar or hybrid of the southern European native Crocus tommasinianus.
Growing from a small bulb-like storage organ known as a corm, this diminutive herbaceous perennial sends up one or two rich reddish-purple flowers in winter or early spring, just as the grassy, shiny, medium-green leaves emerge. The leaves have a white midstripe. Held singly atop ankle-high, stalk-like floral tubes, the up-facing, goblet-shaped blooms have six "petals" (or segments) in two whorls. In bright sun the flowers open wide to reveal white-suffused purple interiors, yellow anthers, and orange stigmas. The floral tube is white shading to purple at its top. The foliage goes dormant by late spring.
Grow 'Ruby Giant' in friable, well-drained soil in full to partial sun (when it is in leaf). Plant corms at a depth of two to three times their height in late summer or early fall. Ten or more weeks of near-freezing temperatures are needed to induce flowering. Plants self-sow readily, making them ideal for naturalizing. Group this little beauty in rock gardens, mixed borders, alpine troughs, or turfgrass, or force it in pots to help quell winter doldrums.
8 - 1
3 - 8
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Bulb or Corm or Tuber
Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial Shade
3"-4" / 7.6cm - 10.2cm
2"-4" / 5.1cm - 10.2cm
Early Spring, Late Winter
Southern Europe
Acidic, Neutral
Well Drained
Loam, Sand
Drought
Medium
Average Water
Clump-Forming
Spring, Winter
Showy
Purple
Green
Yes
No
Single
Fine
Glossy
Container, Lawns and Turf, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall, Wildflower
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