Flower. Photo from R. V. Roger

Click on photo of flower from Pacific Rim Native Plant Nursery in Canada , from Marg Cousens of GAP Gardens and from Hung Vuong Dalat

Foliage

See photo of foliage with its form from Daves Garden

Form

See photo of flowers with their form from Rob's plants

Plant Name

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Colchicum and Crocus Bulb Site Map

Colchicum autumnale 'Alboplenum'

The name Colchicum is derived from Colchis, a location in Asia Minor, from which the bulbs are distributed.

Common Name

Naked Boys (common name possibly because colour is pale pink)

Soil

Sand, Chalk

Sun Aspect

Full Sun

Soil Moisture

Moist

Plant Type

Perennial Corm

Height x Spread in feet

4-6 inches x 10 inches

Foliage

5-10 Green leaves about 10 inches long and 1 inch wide are produced in the Autumn. Moisture required in the Spring for the roots and August-October for the foliage and flowers.

Flower Colour in Month(s). Seed

White in August-September before the leaves are produced

Comment

"Colchicum - plant the bulbs in late summer, early autumn, approx. 10cm (4”) deep. Unless it says otherwise they all like deep, fertile soil in full sun that never dries out completely but is not too wet either. Flowers are then produced in the autumn and winter from naked ground followed by fleshy winter foliage emerging from a rosette, that dies down in early summer before its dry dormancy." from R.V. Roger.

This bulb is "a superb variety with double white flowers. The petals are narrow but there are masses of them." from R.V. Roger.

The 3 natural divisions of Colchicum are:-

• 1. Autumn-flowering species and hybrids
• 2. Winter- and Spring-flowering species and
• 3. Tessellated species, those marked with a crisscross pattern on the petals in colors of dark and light rosy mauve

and the relevant division is added to the Plant Description Page Title.

Native and cultivated since 1753. Plant 5 inches deep in average well-drained, moisture-retentive soil - 6 inches deep in sandy soil - and 4 inches apart in July. When planting, take care that the bulbs are set in an area where their foliage will not cover other plants; like along shrub borders to bring colour at unusual times of the year.

Like all doubles, it is too fragile to withstand heavy rain.

Colchicum - photos taken by Arnold Trachtenberg - are grown in his New Jersey garden, planted in garden soil augmented with 50% grit.

Available from R. V. Roger with Bulbmeister in USA