Saffron corms

[Elfeda]

despite me potted the corms very late, got 3 corms into bloom and I had ever my first harves of strands

not sure where to plant them due to uncertainity as we planning house improvements next year so should be away from home this time next year.

So here my question is, should we dig them up every year like garlic? can't it be treated like pereneial ?

[sparrow100]

Yes it can. Except that each year the firms divide into new ones and the space you have them in will eventually get too crowded. They also can get fungal diseases if you leave them in the same place for too long, which is why advice is to move them to new ground every 3-4 years.

[veggiechicken]

In the GC today they were selling all their bulbs for 10p a packet. Thanks to sparrow and her saffron, I knew that Crocus Sativus was saffron - although it wasn't named as such. I bought all they had - 3 bags of 8 corms.
They're all sprouted in the bag but still look and feel healthy so I will start another saffron colony in a pot.
No flowers on sparrow's corms but they look healthy

[sparrow100]

ooooooooh nice find VC!

[veggiechicken]

All have been planted in an old stone trough

[jackarmy]

Had a look in my local one today for them Vc after reading your post yesterday, no joy..
Although there were grape vines at 50 %

[sparrow100]

I booted the now dormant starter corms from last year out of their 40L pot to make space for tiger nuts. The tiddlers have developed into 8 corms of a size that I would say guarantees flowering this year (2p for scale) and a whole heap of new tiddlers. Including the tiny currant-sized one on the left in the picture!

Of the initial 10 corms, 2 didn't make it, and I have no clue why, they just didn't survive winter and there was no sign of them in the pot. The corms on the left in the picture are about the size that I sent out.

I'm about to dig up one of the big beds (I'm leaving the other be) to thin them out and add manure and will be offering out spares again, so if you'd like some, keep an eye on this thread/my blog.