Colchicum 'Violet Queen'
meadow saffron 'Violet Queen'
A cormous perennial 15cm high with semi-erect, broadly lance-shaped leaves, 18-25cm long, from winter to spring, and 1-5 fragrant, funnel-shaped flowers, 4-6cm long, with strongly tessellated pinkish violet tepals with white centres and yellow anthers, in autumn; colchicums are a useful late-season source of pollen for honeybees
Buy this plant
Size
Ultimate height
0.1–0.5 metresTime to ultimate height
2–5 yearsUltimate spread
0.1–0.5 metresGrowing conditions
Moisture
Moist but well–drainedpH
Acid, Alkaline, NeutralColour & scent
| Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit | |
| Spring | Green | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | ||||
| Autumn | Pink Purple White | |||
| Winter | Green |
Position
- Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered Hardiness
H5Botanical details
- Family
- Colchicaceae
- Native to the UK
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Potentially harmful
- TOXIC if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling
- Genus
Colchicum are cormous perennials with usually coarse, broadly strap-shaped leaves which appear with or after the goblet-shaped flowers
- Name status
Accepted
How to grow
Cultivation
Using gloves to handle corms, plant 10cm deep in summer or early autumn in deep, fertile and well-drained but moisture-retentive soil in an open site in full sun; for more advice, see bulb cultivation
Propagation
Propagate by removing cormlets when dormant in summer; for more advice, see bulb propagation
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- Cottage and informal garden
- Rock garden
- City and courtyard gardens
- Gravel garden
- Patio and container plants
- Low Maintenance
- Flower borders and beds
- Underplanting of roses and shrubs
- Wall side borders
Pruning
No pruning required
Pests
May be susceptible to slugs
Diseases
May be affected by grey moulds (Botrytis), smuts, and tulip grey bulb rot
Get involved
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.