Tim is right about voles and crocuses. When I had bulb frames and lots of both voles and field mice (which come in through the top) I planted garden corms in plastic mesh aquatic pots, which stopped the voles. I covered the plunged pots in the frames with wire, but not hardware cloth, which (despite what Tim mentions) would have impeded the flowers. I used aviary wire, which is similar to chicken wire but has a smaller mesh. It is easier to shape than hardware cloth. You'd probably have to search for it -- I got it from a local factory that made all kinds of wire products. Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA On 7/24/2020 4:06 AM, Tim Eck via pbs wrote: > I think the critters are your main worry - voles in particular. Voles are > quite capable of entering pots through their drain holes, so maybe cover > the drain holes with aluminum window screen or quarter inch hardware cloth > and enclose the top. I believe saffron is fairly forgiving wrt soil type > but don't have much direct knowledge. I have heard they grow fine in clay > soil with a slope for drainage, but no personal experience. > The voles care nothing for the flowers and foliage. Only the bulbs. With > this in mind, I have had success planting the bulbs 3" or more deep and > embedding half inch hardware cloth over the soil so it extends a foot or so > past the bulbs in every direction. The flowers and foliage seem to find > their way through the hardware cloth just fine and the method should > protect other similar bulbs with fine foliage too. Note, I use half inch > hardware cloth embedded in the soil or quarter inch above ground. Either > seems sufficient. > As far as planting time, I can't recall the exact date they will start > growing but they will bloom (at least the larger ones) sitting on a shelf > if you don't plant them in time and they will be pushing leaves at the same > time. I will plant mine toward the end of August to be safe. > Tim > > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…