Last Updated on August 14, 2025 by Thompson & Morgan Horticultural Team

Crocus flowers take centre stage in the late winter garden
Image: Crocus ‘Botanical Mixed’ from Thompson & Morgan

If you’re looking for advice on crocus care along with some nifty planting tips, check out this helpful collection of independent articles, Instagram posts and video tutorials. Crocus bulbs bring bright bursts of jewel-like colours at a time of year when not much else is growing. These versatile blooms brighten gardens and lawns long before other popular spring favourites like narcissi and tulips appear. 

Inspired by this colourful content? Browse our high quality range of online crocus bulbs including delicate saffron crocuses, autumn flowering Colchicum and classic spring varieties.

Crocus bulbs need well-drained soil

Crocuses deliver a powerful punch of early colour
Image: Crocus ‘Yellow Mammoth’ from T&M

“As a general rule, plant your bulbs in well drained soil. Those sitting in waterlogged soil will rot,” say the expert team at the Thompson & Morgan blog. Find out when to plant your crocuses, how deep the bulbs need to be buried, and how much space to give them in this ultimate bulb planting guide.

Select a sunny spot for crocus bulbs

Crocus flowers look especially lovely peeking through gravel
Image: The Blackberry Garden

In her ode to the crocus, award-winning blogger Alison Levey extorts its merits as a sun-loving mood-lifter. “The crocus times its moment, it refuses to open its flower unless the sun is on it, and then it just goes,” she says. Read Alison’s full article: ‘The brilliant heads of the crocus’ over at The Blackberry Garden to find out how she uses crocuses in her own garden.

Arrange your bulbs in fun shapes

Roger brightens up a roundabout with crocus bulbs
Image: Roger Crookes

YouTuber Roger Crookes uses crocus bulbs to spread joy in his local area. Try planting your bulbs in the shape of a love heart or a rainbow, recommends Roger. He opted for a simple ‘crocus chuckle’ on his local roundabout. With a colour scheme including purples, stripes and yellows, his efforts are sure to raise a smile! Watch his video to see how he plans and executes his designs.

Allow bulbs to naturalise in your lawn

Colourful crocus flowers appear like jewels in the lawn
Image: @tayviewgarden

“North-facing garden? I’ve got you covered,” says Instagrammer Ashley at @tayviewgarden. Go for crocus! She advises planting a few, and watching as they multiply into a carpet of colour over time. She’s naturalised crocus bulbs throughout her lawn – take a look at her post to see how far her bulbs have spread in just two years.

Choose ‘Pickwick’ for powerful impact

Crocus ‘Pickwick’ brings a magical atmosphere to Ramona’s garden
Image: monalogue

If you want to know how to plant a crocus lawn, Ramona from the popular YouTube channel monalogue has you covered. She grows thousands of bulbs, lifting large squares of grass to bury batches of crocus bulbs in September and November. She especially likes Crocus ‘Pickwick’, as the large flowers create an impressive display. Watch her video to learn more, and get a sneak peak of her fairytale cottage garden.

Crown ‘bulb lasagnes’ with crocuses

Crocuses are best placed at the top of your bulb lasagne display
Image: Simplify Gardening

Fancy having a go at making a bulb lasagne? Crocus bulbs are the crowning glory of Tony’s container display, providing some of the earliest colour. Tony plants five layers, each with a different type of bulb, to make sure he gets four months of fabulous flowering from his pot. Check out his excellent video over at Simplify Gardening to see how it’s done.

Plant crocuses for pollinators

Crocus flowers provide food for bees early in the year
Image: @seeds_with_stephanie

“My first bee of the year visited the garden and landed on my new crocus flowers,” says Instagrammer @seeds_with_stephanie. The crocuses are the earliest flowers to bloom in her bulb lasagne, looking lovely and providing an attractive food source for hungry pollinators. Check out Stephanie’s page to keep up with her gorgeous images and gardening adventures.

Grow crocus sativus for homegrown saffron

Home grown saffron has a superior quality
Image: Rekha’s Garden and Kitchen

Did you know that the spice saffron is harvested from Crocus sativus? Food and garden blogger Rekha uses homegrown saffron to make a delicious mango chutney. “My very own home grown organic saffron has the most delightful strong saffron aroma, unlike the shop bought varieties,” she says. Follow her recipe over at Rekha’s Garden and Kitchen to make something extra special with your own precious harvest.

Plant crocus sativus in late summer

The spice saffron is harvested from the stigma of the crocus flower
Image: Crocus sativus from T&M

Crocus sativus is best planted in late summer, says Benedict Vanheems at GrowVeg.com, and if you want to save money by harvesting your own saffron, you’ll need to plant about 50 bulbs. “Saffron crocuses are ready multipliers, taking just a couple of years to bulk out and reward you with enough saffron for a weekly paella,” he says. Find out how to pick and dry this valuable spice in his detailed article.

Autumn crocuses are actually colchicum bulbs

Colchicum flowers are unrelated to crocus, but are very similar in appearance
Image: The goldfinch/Shutterstock

Did you know that ‘autumn crocuses’ are not true crocuses? They are, in fact, Colchicum bulbs that produce very similar low-growing flowers in the autumn rather than the spring. You can tell them apart in spring by their larger leaves and the shape of their corm, says gardener @jack_lamonby. He recommends popping these beauties in a sunny spot for a splash of autumn colour.

Lift crocus bulbs if you’re short on space

Prepare your crocus bulbs carefully for storage
Image: Shutterstock

Short on growing space like K from Balconia Garden? Try lifting your crocus bulbs after they finish flowering to free up pot space over the summer. The first step is to allow the foliage to completely finish growing and start to turn yellow, she says. Her informative video demonstrates how to clean, dry and store your bulbs. Then, when it’s time to replant them in the autumn, give her crocus planting video tutorial a quick watch for some useful tips.

Design a crocus carpet for spring colour

A crocus carpet brings your lawn to life
Image: @acreswildgardendesign

To make the most of their oval lawn during the quiet period at the end of winter, talented landscape designers Debbie and Ian from @acreswildgardendesign created a spring crocus carpet. “We started with some ‘tommies’ and added a few more larger varieties last autumn to pump up the colour and extend the duration,” they said.

“We created an inner oval of crocuses so that it still reflects the shape of the lawn and we mow around the edge to create an encircling path until it’s time to cut the entire lawn. This also shows that the longer grass is deliberate!” Check out the beautiful images and short reel over at their Instagram page.

Combine crocus bulbs with winter heather

Crocus combines beautifully with heather
Image: @bevs_happy_place

The tail end of winter is often a bleak time in the garden, but not at Bev’s mum’s house! Over at @bevs_happy_place, this gorgeous image of her mum’s February garden proves that a little forward planning can turn this time of year into a riot of colour and texture. Her beautiful carpet of crocuses and snowdrops looks stunning alongside the flowering winter heathers. What a winning combination!

We hope you’ve enjoyed these crocus posts as much as we did. If you’re looking for information on other winter-flowering bulbs, check out our winter flowers hub page, or for more info on creating a spectacular spring bulb display, head over to our dedicated spring bulb hub page. We’ll keep an eye out for your crocus pics on social media come spring – just remember to use the #YourTMGarden. 

Sophie Essex

Sophie Essex is a freelance garden writer with a passion for horticulture and environmental conservation. With a BSc in Botany/Plant Biology from the University of Plymouth, she further honed her expertise through a Masters of Science in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants from The University of Edinburgh.

Sophie has also worked as a professional gardener and landscaper, showcasing her practical skills by transforming outdoor spaces. Her commitment to fieldwork is further evident in her acquisition of a Certificate in Field Botany from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and over the years, she has interned at the Eden Project, Cornwall, the National Trust for Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Find more information about Sophie over at LinkedIn.