How to Grow a Crocus in a Vase

Crocus is one of the first corms to bloom at the end of winter.

When Old Man Winter has overstayed his welcome, the world around you can seem bleak and gray. While you can’t influence Mother Nature to force an early season change, you can create a spring of your own inside. Growing a crocus in a vase can light up the room, as crocuses usher in the promise of a spring garden. Crocus (Iridaceae) is a hardy corm in brilliant hues of purple, white and yellow that can be forced indoors.

Things You'll Need

• Vase
• Pebbles

Instructions

1. Fill a bulb vase with water to the point where it will not quite touch the bottom of the corm. If you do not have a special bulb vase, place a layer of small pebbles in the bottom of your vase before adding water and placing your crocus corm. You don't want the bottom of the corm to touch the vase. If you are growing several crocuses, fit the corms tightly together in the vase.

2. Place the corm with the pointed end facing up.

3. Chill the crocus corm in the refrigerator for 14 to 16 weeks. Early fall is the best time to start chilling the corms so that you can force the bulbs indoors in the middle of winter. Replace the water when it becomes murky. Forcing a corm means that you are hastening a plant’s natural growth cycle to bloom early.

4. Remove the corm from the refrigerator after the chilling period. The crocus will bloom in about two weeks.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose corms that are firm and blemish-free. Bypass any corms that are bent, mildewed or soft.

• Taller flowers will likely result from longer storage.

• Rather than chilling the corms in a vase, it’s possible to chill them in a mesh bag before forcing them in the vase. Experts recommend different methods, so you can try each one to determine which yields the most vigorous, beautiful blooms for you.

References

• The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Garden Plants; Christopher Brickell
• University of Minnesota Extension: Forcing Bulbs for Indoor Beauty in Winter
• University of Rhode Island Landscape Horticulture Program: Forcing Bulbs

Resources

• University of California Cooperative Extension: Crocus
• Clemson University Cooperative Extension: Spring-Flowering Bulbs