Crocus
The crocus is a simple plant but one we all can’t wait to see. There are hundreds of varieties of Crocus. One of the popular varieties is Crocus versicoloris. They exhibit purple, white, yellow, and blue and flower in the spring. There are varieties that flower in the fall and early winter. Crocus are extremely hardy and usually can be seen sprouting up through the snow in mid-February.
Thinking about investing? One late autumn flowering cultivar of Crocus gives us the spice Saffron. The flower of Crocus sativus is harvested and made into this spice, which sells between $5,000 and $10,000 per pound. The reason it is so expensive is because it takes about 70,000 crocuses – an area the size of a football field – to make just one pound of saffron! Also, with a bloom time of only 2 weeks per year, these delicate flower parts must be hand-picked by a small army of field workers and processed in a very specific way. The country of Iran produces the largest quantity of saffron in the world – and still only a meager 80 tons per year. Yup…saffron is more expensive than gold!
Plant crocus bulbs in the fall for spring flowering types and wait for them to bloom – while imagining yourself to be incredibly wealthy!
