Companions

Colchicum Compadres:

Combining autumn crocuses with other plants can prove frustrating.   There are two issues.   They bloom low to the ground in early Autumn when many other perennials are much taller.   Tall floppy foliage may obscure the colchicums so interplanting some of the best late season bloomers (Japanese anemones, turtlehead, great blue lobelia) is risky.

Colchicum" The Giant" blossoms obscured by daylilies and asters

Secondly, the foot-long leaves emerge early in Spring.   Smaller bulbs, like scilla and crocus, can be completely covered .  

Colchicum foliage emerging to obsure Crocus blossoms

Even a bed of tall daffodils can be "uglied up" buy the course foliage.   And unlike most bulb foliage which fades quickly, the leaves of colchicums take a full month to wither away.   Fortunately there are solutions.

Three of the best colchicum displays use different methods for combining autumn crocus.   At the Washington University Arboretum there are stands of blazing bright colchicums by the dozens planted underneath specimen trees.   Autumn crocus adds a colorful accent under trees and shrubs with interesting features and/or fantastic fall colors, including: stewartias, fothergillas, witch hazels, rhododendrons, flowering dogwoods, lacebark elm, and franklinia.  

Secondly, the University of Wisconsin at Madison plants some of their colchicums in raised beds (some of the beds resemble alpine gardens or rocky berms).   Perennials and colchicums are intermixed on different levels adding interest without blocking the colchicum flowers.   Sedums, dahlias, "Raydon's Favorite" aster, and perennial sunflowers work well in this planting scheme.  

Finally, one of the most common companion plantings can be seen at the Chicago Botanic Garden.   Horticulturalists there use ground covers, like ivy and vinca , to camouflage the foliage and support the flowers.   This is a winning combination and raising the blossoms seems to prolong their display.   Creeping vines work the best, but many other groundcovers are possible.   Suitable perennials include dwarf varieties of coral bell, hosta, barrenwort, astilbe, foam flower, and geranium.   Low growing annuals add constant color as well as support.   Alyssum, lobelia, and portulaca sown around colchicum leaves in Spring will compliment the flowers in Autumn.

C . "Waterlily" in vinca

If you have a part sun woodland garden, colchicums are a great fit.   In the Spring the foliage clumps provide contrast and background for hellebores, lungworts, and primroses.   In Autumn the colchicum flowers look great among the evergreen hellebores.

Has anyone tried interplanting colchicums with bunchberry ( Cornus canadensis ) or winterberry ( Gaultheria procumbens )?    Let me know what happened.