Crocus biflorus Blue Pearl – Silvery Crocus
Delicately marked petals are mauve outside and inside white with a yellow throat and orange stamen.
Habit:
This is one of the best spring flowering crocuses, flowering in early August. It is a reliable plant that naturalises well and has the UK Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Award of Garden Merit (AGM). This crocus is not only extremely attractive, but also floriferous, vigorous, scented and reliable. The downside, as will all crocus, is that they can tend to get a bit bashed around by wind and rain, as you can see in the picture above.
Origins:
C. biflorus comes from a region stretching from the Balkans to Iran. Blue Pearl is on of the varieties to come out of the breeding program at van Tubergen nurseries which worked with C. chrysanthus and C. biflorus. I believe the assignment of Blue Pearl as a variety of C. biflorus rather than a hybrid is based largely on the colour, C. chrysanthus being bright yellow and C. biflorus being variable but close in colour to Blue Pearl.
Soil / Aspect:
This is a tolerant plant, growing well in full sun or partial shade. It can be grown in lawns, under trees, or in rockeries. In our personal garden we grow it in front of shrubs, besides paths.
Maintenance:
It is best not to move Blue Pearl as it bulks up well over time if left undisturbed, as well as flowering a couple of weeks earlier than recently planted or moved specimens. If grown in a lawn you will have to delay mowing until mid-October