I planted about 50 one year and they all were gone next year,but then a group appeared near the oak tree were I did not plant them ( unless they were mixed up with another batch of crocus ) but they ate in an area where the soil is very hard dried clay type and they have survived in this spot. In the commercial field growing Saffron in Kashmir India the soil is also hard and they are grown on a flat plateau. Vijay On Nov 4, 2013, at 8:20 PM, James Waddick wrote: > > On Nov 4, 2013, at 5:02 PM, Gastil <marygastil@yahoo.com> wrote: >> >> I was able to grow Saffron crocus in my yard years ago, before we had gophers. > > Dear Gastil and all, > > Here all Crocus are squirrel treats. They persist a year or two and then they get found, eaten and gone. I can’t keep a collection, but a couple isolated clumps, except for this bigger patch of saffron. On this same s. w. facing hillside I have perhaps 500 daffodils planted and they fill the entire area in spring with foliage and flowers. I suspect there are enough daffodils that squirrels have just given up on finding anything tasty here and the crocus survive. Sort of a bait and switch. I am fairly certain that if dug almost any where on this site you’d hit a daffodil bulb. The chance of eating a crocus are probably small. > > Right now with crocus coming up in foliage and blooming, there’s no sign of the daffodils, but in spring it is exactly the opposite and I effectively get two floral shows for the price of one in the very same area. > > I may be counting my days, but the critters have not found the crocus in over a decade. Wish me luck. Jim W. > > James Waddick > 8871 NW Brostrom Rd > Kansas City, MO 64152-2711 > USA > Phone 816-746-1949 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/