Colchicum × tenorei
Cilician meadow saffron
A cormous perennial 10cm high with semi-erect, narrowly elliptic to elliptic-lance-shaped leaves, 30-40cm long, from winter to spring, and 3-25 funnel-shaped flowers, 4-7.5cm long, with purplish pink tepals, sometimes deeper in colour towards the blunt tips, in autumn; colchicums are a useful late-season source of pollen for honeybees
Synonyms
Colchicum speciosum 'Tenori'Colchicum tenorei Parl.
see moreColchicum × tenorei
Colchicum decaisnei misapplied
Colchicum balansae var. macrophyllum
Colchicum × byzantinum var. cilicicum
Colchicum × byzantinum auct.
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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 | |||
Winter | Green |
Position
- Full sun
Aspect
East–facing or South–facing or West–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 TOXIC to pets - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
- Genus
Colchicum are cormous perennials with usually coarse, broadly strap-shaped leaves which appear with or after the goblet-shaped flowers
- Name status
Correct
- Plant range
- Turkey Syria Lebanon
How to grow
Cultivation
Using gloves to handle corms, plant 10cm deep in summer or early autumn in deep, fertile and well-drained but reasonably moist soil in an open site in full sun; for more advice, see bulb cultivation
Propagation
Propagate by seed, sown in containers in an open frame as soon as it is ripe, or by removing cormlets when dormant in summer; for more advice, see bulb propagation
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- Cottage and informal garden
- Gravel garden
- Rock garden
- Wildlife gardens
- Flower borders and beds
- Wall side borders
Pruning
No pruning required
Pests
May be susceptible to slugs
Diseases
May be susceptible to grey moulds (Botrytis), smuts, and tulip grey bulb rot
Get involved
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