This page describes spring blooming Crocus species T-Z.
Crocus index - Fall Blooming crocus A-H - Fall Blooming crocus I-O - Fall Blooming crocus P-Z - Spring Blooming crocus A-B - Spring Blooming crocus C-E - Spring Blooming crocus F-L - Spring Blooming crocus M-S
Crocus tommasinianus Herb. has lilac to purple flowers and is native to Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Hungary where it grows in woods and shady hillsides and blooms in winter. The plants below photographed by Kelly Irvin in the first three photos are naturalizing and growing well. The second is a close-up and the last a lighter colored clump. Photo 4 by Dell Sherk shows a sport that appeared in his garden and has extra petals, 8 or 9.
Photos of seed and seed pods by David Pilling. Photo 3 shows a millimeter scale. Photo 4 is unconnected with the others.
Crocus tommasinianus 'Ruby Giant' has larger and darker flowers and is extra vigorous. See a video of a solitary bee pollinating the flower here. Flower photo taken March 2005 by Jay Yourch. Corm photo by David Pilling shows Crocus tommasinianus 'Ruby Giant' left and Crocus chrysanthus right.
Crocus tommasinianus 'Barr's Purple'. Peter Barr founded the eponymous Covent Garden bulb and seed merchant in 1860 and was one of the first popularisers of Narcissus, becoming known as "the daffodil king". Photos by David Pilling include corms shown on a 10 mm grid. Photo 6 is of a seed pod at the end of May; note the bottom edge is at ground level and the total height of the pod is around 20 mm.
Time-lapse video by David Pilling, taken between 2:43 and 5:37 pm on the 14th February 2013, shows flowers in greenhouse closing as the sun sets.
Crocus tommasinianus 'Whitewell Purple'. Photos by David Pilling.
Crocus tommasinianus 'Yalta' is a Janis Ruksans cultivar. He described its history here and believes it to be a hybrid between Crocus tommasinianus and a Crocus vernus hybrid such as 'Vanguard'. Photographs by David Pilling with corms in photo 1 shown on a 10 mm grid.
Crocus veluchensis Herb. grows in the Balkans. The third and fourth photo show the albino form. Photos by John Lonsdale.
Crocus vernus (L.) Hill is a species from which many cultivars have been selected by the Dutch. For a while Crocus heuffelianus Herb. was considered synonym or subspecies of this, but has been reinstalled as valid species as of early 2023.
Crocus vernus ssp. albiflorus (Kit. ex Schult.) Ces. is the spring flowering mountain plant of the Alps. It is smaller flowered and can be white, purple or striped. Three photos of plants growing in the wild near Wengen in the Swiss alps all photographed by Tony Goode show some of the variation in this species. In the last picture there is a back to front bicoloured form which is a possible match for Jane McGary's mystery crocus.
Crocus vernus ssp. vernus is a spring flowering Crocus with a wide distribution in the mountains of central and eastern Europe where it is found growing in woodland and sometimes subalpine meadows. It has purple flowers. Photos #1-3 by Arnold Trachtenberg. Photo #4 by Jane McGary shows a rogue form in exchanged seeds. It has narrow petals with unusual white margins. It flowers very early for C. vernus (first week of February) and produces seedlings of similar appearance.
Crocus vernus 'Flower Record' is a purple Dutch crocus. Photos by David Pilling, Crocus tommasinianus can be seen in some of them giving an idea of the relative sizes.
Crocus vernus 'Grand Maitre' (Grand Master in French) is a violet Dutch crocus. Photos by David Pilling.
Crocus vernus 'Jeanne d'Arc' is a vigorous late blooming white Dutch crocus named after the 15th century French heroine Joan of Arc. See a video of a honeybee pollinating the flower here. Photos by David Pilling.
Crocus vernus 'Pickwick' is an extravagantly patterned cultivar. Honeybees and bumblebees like the flowers, see a video here. Photos by David Pilling. The coin in the last one is about one inch in diameter.
Crocus versicolor Ker-Gawler from southern France and northwestern Italy grows on stony and grassy places and in open woodland. Flowers are white, purple or lilac with a yellow throat and darker stripes on the outside. The outer segments are silver to buff. Bloom time is February-March. Photos 1-2 from Mary Sue Ittner taken January 2008 and photos 3-4 from Paige Woodward of a form descended from a collection in Provence that grows 5-8 cm (2-3.5"). She suggests this species is hardy to Zone 5.
Crocus vitellinus Wahlenb. varies in flowering time from late autumn to early spring. It is native to Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. The first four photos were taken by Mark McDonough on March 22, 2003 who wrote that it was the very first bulb to bloom in his garden that year. The particular plants shown were purchased as bulbs from Paige Woodward's Pacific Rim Nursery and planted out in the fall. Just 2 days after 24" (60 cm) of hardened snow and ice receded on the warm south side of his house, this tiny species popped into bloom. The golden flowers have a pleasant sweet scent, and are brushed and speckled with brown on the exterior base of the tepals. Looking down on the flowers, they have a triangular countenance. The large glossy green leaves seen near the crocus bunch is Sternbergia lutea, which amazingly keeps its beautiful leaves even with an iceberg sitting on them all winter. The last two photos were taken by Paige Woodward.
Crocus yalovensis Rukšāns from the Can province in Turkey was recently elevated to species level, formerly been identified as a blue form of Crocus pestalozzae. With those it shares the dark spot at the base of each anther, but does not seem to be fertile with when crossed. Its an easy, small but floriferous species.
Crocus index - Fall Blooming crocus A-H - Fall Blooming crocus I-O - Fall Blooming crocus P-Z - Spring Blooming crocus A-B - Spring Blooming crocus C-E - Spring Blooming crocus F-L - Spring Blooming crocus M-S