Crocus Ard Schenk

If you have purchased the bulbs in advance and it is not yet the right time for autumn planting, store them in a dry, dark, and sufficiently cool place with good air circulation.

An ordinary paper bag kept in a cooler pantry, cellar, or garden shed works perfectly for this purpose. Definitely avoid closed plastic bags, where moisture could easily condense and cause the bulbs to mold.

We know well that the reliable foundation of all successful gardening is the highest quality. That is exactly why we carefully select and ship the largest available crocus bulbs to you.

You can easily recognize a first-class bulb in your hand by the fact that it is nice and firm to the touch and completely hard, with no obvious signs of any mold. If a piece of the outer papery skin (the tunic) happens to be missing, it does not matter at all and will not affect successful flowering.

The 'Ard Schenk' variety is a wonderful first messenger of spring. It usually blooms as one of the very first, as early as February and March.

It stands out for its beautiful, pure white flowers with a highly contrasting, bright yellow center, which open wide immediately with the first warm rays of sun. You will be pleased to know that its flowers are also pleasantly aromatic and smell lovely, which will further enliven the awakening garden after a long winter.

Not at all; the beautiful 'Ard Schenk' crocus is intended purely as an ornamental spring bulb and is therefore definitely not edible.

Furthermore, you cannot obtain the popular culinary spice saffron from it. True saffron is actually laboriously obtained from a very specific type of autumn-flowering crocus called saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). Do not consume this variety in any way, and happily leave it to simply please your eyes.

Definitely! The white 'Ard Schenk' crocus acts literally like a powerful magnet for spring pollinators.

It plays a crucial and indispensable role as one of the earliest and most abundant sources of nectar and pollen for hungry bees, bumblebees, and other beneficial insects waking up from their winter slumber. By planting this crocus, you will greatly support local biodiversity in your area.

The spring variety 'Ard Schenk' is not at all suitable for cutting for vases or for drying.

The main reason for this is primarily its very short stems, as the entire flowering plant reaches a height of barely 10 centimeters. Additionally, the delicate flowers would very quickly lose their amazing charm in a vase with water. You will get much greater and longer-lasting joy if you leave them untouched to bloom naturally out in the garden bed.

Great news for every gardener is that the plant itself is naturally completely disease-free and does not require any chemical sprays for healthy growth.

The only annoying complication you may occasionally encounter is hungry rodents (such as voles or prying field mice), which unfortunately find the underground bulbs quite tasty. If you have frequent problems with rodents on your property, we recommend planting the bulbs preventively in special plastic bulb planting baskets.

Not at all! The 'Ard Schenk' crocus is an extremely hardy perennial that easily tolerates temperatures from -31.7 °C down to an impressive -34.4 °C (hardiness zone 4a).

You can leave the bulbs in the ground year-round; there is no need to dig them up for the winter or cover them with brushwood. These winter-hardy bulbs overwinter naturally in the soil and will delight you with their flowers again as soon as spring arrives.

These bulbs prefer well-drained, humus-rich soil. They strongly dislike waterlogging, which puts the bulbs at risk of rotting, so it is extremely important that excess water can drain away easily after rain.

If you have heavy or dense clay soil in your garden, we recommend thoroughly improving it with a little sand and quality compost at the time of planting.

These elegant spring beauties from the bulb family require only very moderate watering throughout their cultivation period.

During their early growth and full bloom in February and March, they usually have sufficient natural spring moisture in the soil from snow or rain. Additional watering is therefore not necessary. Furthermore, during the hot summer, the bulbs are in a resting phase and prefer safer, drier conditions; otherwise, there is a risk of damage from rot.

This sad phenomenon is most often caused by a fatal mistake: the premature removal of the leaves in the previous spring season. Once the plant has successfully finished flowering, you must never cut off the green leaves immediately. The bulb uses them to store valuable nutrients.

A second common reason may be that after many years in one spot, the bulbs have formed a cluster that is too dense and crowded in the ground. In such a case, they unfortunately no longer have the strength to produce large flowers. Simply dig them up carefully during the summer, divide the entire clump, and replant the healthy bulbs with more spacing.

Certainly, crocuses are perfect for growing in decorative containers! Although they only grow to about 10 centimeters tall, they make a huge statement in spring planters, and their pure white shade will beautifully brighten up any balcony or terrace.

Just make sure the chosen pot has necessary drainage holes at the bottom and a sufficient drainage layer (such as expanded clay). This will reliably and safely prevent the dangerous waterlogging of sensitive roots.

The 'Ard Schenk' crocus loves full sun, but it also performs excellently in partial shade.

A very popular choice is planting them under deciduous trees and shrubs. In the spring, when these crocuses are in bloom, the trees do not yet have leaves and allow plenty of sunlight through. Once the trees are fully leaved later on, the crocus has already finished flowering and naturally retreats underground.

Crocuses naturally and very readily multiply and spread using small daughter bulbs. If you like planting them in your lawn and desire to have them naturalize into rich, floral carpets, you just need to follow one important rule carefully.

In the spring, always wait with the first mowing of the grass until the long crocus leaves turn yellow on their own and die back. The green leaves need time to draw all the energy from the sun back into the bulb for growth the following year. Premature and reckless mowing would permanently weaken the bulbs.

It is best to plant these crocus bulbs in the autumn, ideally during the months of September, October, and November.

It is important to finish planting before the ground freezes permanently. This gives the bulbs enough time to safely take root and fully prepare for their early spring flowering.

Plant the bulbs at a depth of 8 to 10 centimeters. The ideal distance between individual bulbs is 5 to 10 centimeters.

If you want to achieve a truly dense and lush carpet of flowers in your garden, we recommend planting 100 to 150 bulbs per square meter.