Crocus: Colchicum 'Waterlily'

description for "Crocus: Colchicum 'Waterlily'"

'Waterlily' defies reason. Imagine peering into your garden one sunny autumn morning and discovering a waterlily blossom that seems to float above the soil. The source of this tranquil illusion is 'Waterlily,' a lovely double colchicum that blooms in October, with its warm mauve-colored petals opening fully in the sun. The similarity to a real waterlily blossom is remarkable. Colchicum, also known as meadow-saffron, is a unique flower bulb genus that blooms while dormant. If you're tardy to plant you may find your corms blooming in the wheelbarrow. The corms produce flowers only weeks after planting in the fall. Ants relish the seed coating of colchicum (and puschkinia), thereby spreading intact embryos to naturalize areas with fall blooms. -- edited by dtd pbcouchman

History:

Colchicum 'Waterlily' is a hybrid of C. autumnale 'Pleniflorum' and C. speciosum.