Cloth of Gold Crocus (Crocus angustifolius)

Late winter-flowering, hardy bulb
Description: Deep golden yellow flowers with three outer petals brushed mahogany
Habit: Grows 3 to 6 inches high
Culture: Prefers full sun and well-drained garden loam; plant bulbs 3-4 inches deep
Hardiness: USDA Zones 3 through 8
Jefferson documented

10 bulbs per bag

Cloth of Gold Crocus was introduced in 1587 and described in early British herbals including John Parkinson's Paradisi in Sole (1629). In 1812, Thomas Jefferson was sent a dozen bulbs of this early-flowering 'herald of spring' from Bernard McMahon, a Philadelphia nurseryman and author of The American Gardener's Calendar (1806), who offered many rare and unusual plants. McMahon described it as 'golden yellow, striped with brown outside.' It is also known as Crocus susianus. Cloth of Gold can readily naturalize in flower beds, lawns, and deciduous woodlands.