FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello!
Recently, a local nursery had saffron bulbs for 99 cents a piece. This is true saffron, the plant that makes the spice.
So far, they have just begun to sprout, which is a little bit late.
I had thought they rotted from te over 19" of rain we had a few weeks back.
Anyway, they are just starting to poke their little leaves above the soil!

Is anybody else growing this awesome plant?

Nope, but if you get the spice, send some my way

I don't think I'll get any this year, but I likely will next year...
The plants are still doing well, at around 6" high, despite almost one week with freezes every night or so...

Wow!
One just flowered.
I just harvested 3 threads, and am drying them right now.
One of the other bulbs is about to flower too.

Also, 3 little cormlets are sprouting up!
I never knew it would be this easy to grow!

If you bought them from the department or a groceries stores, probably not the saffron that you want to use a spice. The true saffron or Crocus sativus for spice is not an easy plant to come by. I wouldn't count on it. It's hard to believe that a spice that sells for so high would be selling the corms for 0.99. Its probably just your run of the mill spring crocus flower.

It came from a local nursery. The plant itself is really easy to propagate and grow. I looked up the bulb suppliers information, and this plant is C. sativus.
The plants I have growing also meet all descriptions of saffron crocus.
This is clearly not a spring crocus as the bulbs were planted in September and began to sprout by November.
The price is to be expected for a plant this easy to propagate. In fact, I just found someone selling true saffron bulbs for 3.40 euros per 10 corms.
The only reason the spice is expensive is that each flower only has around 35 milligrams of it, and each corm can only produce up to 4 flowers. Also, the threads have to be harvested by hand. There is no machine that can extract saffron threads. That explains it's really high price.

On the other hand, the plant itself is really easy to grow. If you read at all about growing it, you'll see that it is exceptionally easy to propagate.

Oh, I'm so sorry bananaman. I totally read the initial post wrong. You're pretty lucky to get them so easily.

Saffron buns, a cornish icon here in Cornwall.

Are they good in your opinion?
I'm looking for a recipe that would really feature the flavor of the saffron, but because I only have 6 strands it would have to be a small batch...

Isnt saffron really pretty?

The flower is awesome, but the plant looks like grass...