Saturday, November 28, 2020

Saffron in the house?

What's going on here? Confined crocus? 

It's just me, gardening by the seat of my pants. 

I planted saffron crocus corms in the last week of September. Unlike their cousins, the sweet harbingers of spring, saffron crocuses bloom in late fall slash early winter (when exactly does winter begin, anyway?). 

I last grew them at 1st Place, in-ground, in the last row of the vegetable plot, where I hoped they'd suck up the last inch of diminishing autumn sunlight. Those crocuses flowered (in early December), even though they lost the sun altogether. And I harvested their lady-parts. The famous red saffron is the pistil and style of Crocus sativus

But these pots are an experiment, like so much in my gardening life. More of a what-if than an I-know, although it often turns into an ah-ha. 


At first, the pots lived on the terrace all day and night, covered with some wire against the dastardly, digging squirrel. Then the leaves filled out and the squirrel gave up. Wire came off. Then the sun dipped, as it does, and swung south of its eastern summer rising, as it also does, and the terrace now sees only an hour of post-dawn sunshine. And the squirrel returned. 

So first the wire enclosure happened, and then the carrying indoors during the day to bask in the bedroom's sunlight. At night out they go to get a good nip of cold. Since Sq. Irrel wakes up earlier than I do I did not want him/they/her digging before the pots could be moved. Angry start to day.

So! I have no idea if this will work. Warm, bright days, dark, cold nights. Just like their Eurasian homeland, I keep telling them.

We shall see. 

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13 comments:

  1. If it works (at all!) i'm gonna follow your lead and try them next year. I probably get more outside sun during the day, but don't really have a sunny indoor window, so it will be a slightly different challenge. Please keep us posted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could just plant them outside, in-ground, Win. Much easier!

      Delete
  2. Oh what a neat idea until "I harvested their lady parts". After the last four years. No. Marie. Just no.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, at least I didn't grab their lady parts. And I asked. Nicely.

      Delete
  3. Is this him/they/her Canadian for Transgender squirrels or American for organized crime squirrels. ..When did the world become so crazy that I ponder such things on a lovely gardening blog?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know how the squirrel identifies and didn't want to give offence. Which is the same as being polite, which is another word for formalized kindess, so... there may be Canadian undertones?

      This is an exciting time for language.

      The squirrel may actually belong to an organized crime syndicate, though.

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. No! Frustrating - the first time saffron has not bloomed for me...

      Delete
  5. Maybe the crocus can be pardoned?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Maybe the crocus can be pardoned?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Could it be a new hybrid that doesn't?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why would a saffron crocus be bred not to bloom...?

      Delete

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