Elaine I would plant them now. I’ve grown them here in N New Jersey for 20 years. They survive complete neglect. I see the flowers in Oct-Nov and If I’m around I pick a couple of threads and dry on the TV cable box. I don’t have the burrowing critters you guys have to endure. Just squirrels that eat my fruit and Deer that eat my lilies. The foliage of the saffron crocus persists well into winter Arnold Sent from AOL Mobile Mail Get the new AOL app: mail.mobile.aol.com On Friday, July 24, 2020, Elaine Jek via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: Hi Tim, Thank you for the great ideas! Really appreciate the specifics on the hardware cloth. Sounds like the hardware cloth needs to surround the bulbs on all sides. Even under the bulbs as well, maybe with the aluminium wire. I think I'll have them in a deep pot that will sit on a brick patio. as I monitor that area better. I might forget them in the ground. (The peruvian lily that was in the ground was accidentally sheared!) I will follow your advice and plant at the end of August. And start watering then. I'll have to be very vigilant to keep the bulbs hydrated but not too wet as I've lost some regular grape hyacinths that way. Btw is there a good website about crocus sativus growing to recommend? The ones I've seen don't go into much detail about the growing itself. I've combed through the pbs forum pages to gather what I can about it. Very excited to start the saffron crocus! Best regards, -Elaine. Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2020 07:06:04 -0400 From: Tim Eck <timeck17582@gmail.com> To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> Subject: Re: [pbs] saffron Message-ID: <CA+ur5iY+Fzm2akRPLJpHAZRxJVgTVS0JnVOdDriGs3vhbb8oWA@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" I think the critters are your main worry - voles in particular. Voles are quite capable of entering pots through their drain holes, so maybe cover the drain holes with aluminum window screen or quarter inch hardware cloth and enclose the top. I believe saffron is fairly forgiving wrt soil type but don't have much direct knowledge. I have heard they grow fine in clay soil with a slope for drainage, but no personal experience. The voles care nothing for the flowers and foliage. Only the bulbs. With this in mind, I have had success planting the bulbs 3" or more deep and embedding half inch hardware cloth over the soil so it extends a foot or so past the bulbs in every direction. The flowers and foliage seem to find their way through the hardware cloth just fine and the method should protect other similar bulbs with fine foliage too. Note, I use half inch hardware cloth embedded in the soil or quarter inch above ground. Either seems sufficient. As far as planting time, I can't recall the exact date they will start growing but they will bloom (at least the larger ones) sitting on a shelf if you don't plant them in time and they will be pushing leaves at the same time. I will plant mine toward the end of August to be safe. Tim _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…