My first time trying saffron. I planted 4 bulbs about 4 weeks ago and left these to store. And they’re blooming without soil or water?? Why did it do this can you not preserve the bulbs.

by No-Fondant-4719

30 Comments

  1. Dazeyy619

    Where did you store them? Bulbs need to be kept in the dark and cool. Why not just plant them all? It’s hard to keep bulbs long term in storage.

  2. Smarty_Plant5

    Bulbs are not seeds, so they typically don’t store dormant for very long. That’s not to say it’s impossible though. I’ve had some forgotten elephant ear corms that sprouted and grew just fine after being dormant and forgotten for over a year. It’s possible you may have been able to delay sprouting with strict environmental control, saffron crocus bloom in fall when temperatures start to drop, so I imagine you’d have to keep them consistently warm (summer temps) but eventually they’d sprout or dry out or rot. Plant them if you want them, but they’ve expended a lot of energy to flower without water, light and nutrients, so it might be worth just getting new ones if/when you want them.

  3. The energy to grow and bloom is stored in the bulb from the previous year. So if you don’t plant and nourish these now there will be no blooms next year and probably no growth at all. Now that they are in active growth it’s probably too cold to plant outside and not enough light inside unless it’s supplemented with a grow light. Not sure what to advise except to always plant bulbs as soon as possible after receiving them. The only exception to that is if you live in zone 8 or above you would need to refrigerate some cold climate bulbs like tulips so they get enough cold to bloom. 

  4. dammitall0

    Some bulbs store well for a little while, but saffron crocus really don’t like being out of the soil for any amount of time so not one for ‘storing’.

  5. TosaGardener

    Saffron are fall blooming. Get them in the ground and they will be fine.

  6. Repulsive-Ad7501

    I’m impressed that you’re trying. Anybody know how many you have to plant to get enough for maybe one dish? Are the stamens difficult to harvest?

  7. Gayfunguy

    Saffron crocuses are fall blooming crocuses and they will bloom regardless of being planted in the ground or not. Just make sure that you plant all of this right away and all will be ok.

  8. oldfarmjoy

    They have enough energy and moisture in the bulb to bloom, but now that bulb is depleted and will have a much more difficult time blooming again. ☹️

    In the ground, they are pulling up water and nutrients from the soil to maintain the plumpness of the bulb, and allow new bulbs to bud off and grow alongside the original bulb.

  9. AcanthisittaNo6653

    They may have been refrigerated before you bought them. Warming up wakes them up.

  10. MSenIt4Life

    You can also keep these inside if it’s the wrong time to plant outside. I’d try Leca …

  11. The pic i took doesn’t look like it posted, ill post a pic without text
    *
    I let the bulbs for these sit, I got caught up with stuff, and they started to send out shoots but no leaves or blooms. I put them in soil and they just took off.

  12. VegetableBusiness897

    Life wills out

    They are using the stored energy in the bulb to bloom.

    They should be planted….but if stored, in the dark and in a cooler/ cold cellar

  13. TeguhntaBay

    Probably too warm. They think it’s growing season. They need to think it’s winter to stay dormant.

  14. The_Island_Idiot

    I’d plant them back where they were, but in a pot with soil. They seemed to have liked living there.

  15. Sad_Cantaloupe_8162

    Where did you purchase them? They look to be of great quality if they bloom on a shelf.

  16. I don’t have any advice, but the same thing happened to me. I bought some saffron bulbs this fall. I was lazy, and didn’t plant them immediately like I was supposed to. I also kept them in my living room with the box slightly ajar so it was warm and they got light. I noticed that they were starting to sprout. I did end up planting them maybe two weeks ago? I’m a little worried if they’ll survive to next year, but that’s what I get for waiting.

  17. Marguerite_Moonstone

    Store bulbs in the freezer or fridge next time, for now this batch is going and freezing now would kill them. Get a pot out and enjoy them.

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