@wmd

How do they do it?

My Saffron stays green all winter and has completely died back above ground by early June. They come up again at the end of August-early September. It’s hard to imagine they are creating more plant mass in the winter — but they keep making new corms every year??

I’m glad I left the saffron to mind itself because no flowers have opened since those four blooms occurred. I think I am going to rotate the planters again to swap who has been getting more and less sunlight.

@ludibriumventis my daughter Rebecca and I made a raised bed and planted about 150 Saffron corms in 2020. Last June I dug up all the corms and divided into 3 sizes groups: large, medium, and tiny. I shared a bunch with friends and replanted. Seems new daughter corms start every year and after a couple years the original fades away. We had many more flowers after replanting the bed this year!

Our Saffron harvest so far this year!

It's Oct 22, I have had saffron blooming for 11 days, and have only had four flowers open. However, last evening I told a friend I had 60 corm tips or leaves showing, and this morning there are 74 tips/leaves emerged. Corms are waking up and growing. Two years ago the crop bloomed from mid-November into December. I just need to keep observing.

I made the executive decision to allow the saffron to fend for itself while I travel even if that means I lose spice to weather exposure. I was considering asking the downstairs neighbor who works from home, but the clear sounds of coughing from both members of the couple over this last week made me decide otherwise. Making the simpler/easier decision is not bad at all.

A bumblebee enjoying herself in one of the Saffron flowers!

This is one of the slowest rollouts of saffron flowers in my growing history. I have the planters swapped around so that the one showing the least development so far is now in the sunniest spot.

I stirred the top inch or so of the soil to lessen pooling and run-off when I water, and to prevent pockets from forming along the sides of the fabric liners when the soil contracts as it dries. I have been a little mechanical in my watering and am going to try to be more random/natural.

Flower number three is well up this AM, but not yet to where it’s easy to pick, and really it would be nice to let it open in the sun and get the really swank pictures. Once again, considering reconfiguring the wire cover.