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Spring jumps to mind with the words bulb and corm, but
some hardy fall bloomers are also available. One of these
is the lovely Colchicum autumnale,
whose common names are autumn crocus (though it is not
a crocus) and naked ladies, since the pink, lavender or
white flowers emerge without foliage, which comes the
following spring.
Some true crocuses do flower in the fall, such as saffron
crocus (Crocus sativus), the source of the spice
saffron, Kotschy's crocus (C. kotschyanus) and
showy crocus (C. speciosus). Fall crocuses look
like their spring-blooming kin but are not nearly as
tough. Most are reliably hardy only in American zone
5/Canadian zone 6 and warmer.
Depending on your climate, you may also have many additional
fall-flowering perennial and bulb choices. An autumn
visit to local display gardens and nurseries will give
you some ideas for alternatives to potted mums that
will carry your perennial garden through to the frost
with freshness, structure and color.
Lorri MacKay
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