Colchicum byzantinum ‘Album’

– Posted in: Colchicums
3 comments

Colchicum byzantinum 'Album'Colchicum byzantinum 'Album' clump
Some of you may recall that my first acquistion of Colchicum byzantinum ‘Album’ was an impostor. This beauty is undoubtedly the real thing. Not only is it white, but it has the same structure of petals and general floriferous character of the species. I just received and planted this earlier this autumn from Odyssey Bulbs, and it bloomed like a well-established clump. I had thought the first photo was as good as it was going to get, but I was pleasantly surprised. Whoever edited the Colchicum species page of the Pacific Bulb Society wiki claims that the proper name for this flower is not ‘Album’ but ‘Innocence,’ so you may find it in a catalog listed that way. And I do hope you find it, and grow it.

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

What differentiates a bulb from a perennial plant is that the nourishment for the flower is stored within the bulb itself.…There is something miraculous about the way that a little grenade of dried up tissue can explode into a complete flower.

~Monty Don in The Complete Gardener pp. 142

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Kathy November 9, 2004, 8:57 am

I don’t think you’ll regret it. The byzantinums are probably the least fussy; the speciosums seem equally vigorous. They have larger flowers but not as many of them. You just have to plan for the leaves coming up in the spring.

ilona November 8, 2004, 11:06 pm

Those are so beautiful! I have never grown colchiums… I only tried the autumn sorts of crocus. I am tempted to order some next year- and use your info as my planting guide!