Crocuses Around Your Raised Bed: Plant Now, Feed the Bees in Spring
A handful of bulbs and two small helping hands are all it takes to get your raised bed buzzing in late winter – long before the first sowing begins.
From September into November is the right time to get crocus bulbs into the ground. They cost little, need hardly any space, and make a perfect project for kids: plant today, forget about them over winter, marvel in spring. Along the way they feed the first wild bees waking up in late winter.
Why the edge of the raised bed?
The strip around a raised bed is often bare in early spring, because vegetables only move in from March or April. Depending on variety and weather, crocuses bloom from February into March or April, and their leaves usually die back by May. So plant them in the ground right next to the raised bed rather than in the bed soil itself: that way they don’t get in the way of your vegetables, and you don’t have to work around the bulbs when planting or hoeing. A narrow strip is enough, since crocuses need only a few centimeters of space.
How to plant the bulbs
Choose a spot in sun or light shade. Plant the bulbs about 5 to 8 cm deep, pointed end up, spaced 5 to 8 cm apart. As a rule of thumb, a bulb sits about three times as deep as it is tall – kids can easily check that with a finger. The soil should drain well, because bulbs rot quickly in waterlogged ground. Water once after planting, and that’s about all the care they need.
Why the bees will thank you
On mild days in late winter, the first wild bees and bumblebee queens take flight but find hardly any food. Crocuses provide pollen and nectar exactly then. Choose single-flowered varieties, because insects can barely reach the pollen in double blooms. If the insects get to know your garden as a feeding spot early in the year, they may well come back later when your vegetables flower.
A word on safety with kids
Flower bulbs are not meant to be eaten. Daffodil bulbs and other ornamental bulbs look similar to kitchen onions but are poisonous. Store them separately from edible onions and garlic, and have children wash their hands after planting. Important: don’t confuse crocuses with the autumn crocus (meadow saffron). It looks similar to a crocus but is an entirely different, highly poisonous plant that is flowering in meadows right now, in autumn. Never collect bulbs in the wild and don’t plant anything you can’t identify with certainty. Always buy crocus bulbs packaged and labeled, and don’t hand unknown bulbs to children.
Leave the foliage alone – here’s why
After flowering, crocuses look unremarkable. Still, don’t cut the leaves until they yellow on their own, usually by May. During that time the bulbs store energy for next year. That way they return year after year and even spread slowly over time. In Rootivo you can mark the spot in the bed editor and note in your garden journal when the first blooms open, so you can see over the years how your garden develops.