Planting and Harvesting My First Saffron Crocus Grown in a Container

Saffron is still the most expensive spice in the world.

I can see why - many stigmas hardly weigh anything at all. And you get 3 stigmas, or “saffron spice” per flower.

Luckily, Saffron Crocus is rather easy to grow. At least compared to something like vanilla. I got to see this first-hand these past two months.

I was able to order 25 saffron bulbs known as “corms” from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds this past summer and they arrived sometime in the beginning of September. They arrived very well packed and in great condition. I planted them as soon as I got them.

I made a funny shaped grow bag to fit all the corms in - an 18" x 18" x 6" square from landscape fabric. It would have been better to have two of those, but I ran out of time. Better yet, it would be best to make a little wooden crate in those dimensions to hold the bag so I can move it around. I also used cactus/palm potting soil from Kellogg’s, to make sure it was well-draining. The corms cannot sit in water since they’re prone to decay – err on the side of being too dry.

Oddly enough, Saffron Crocus is a Fall flower - it seems to be needed to be planted in September and it blooms sometime at the end of October. This is unlike regular Crocus flowers that are Spring flowers.

I got my first 3 saffron flowers today, October 26. They appeared extremely quickly.

I pulled out the stigmas when it warmed up in my area. There are many opinions out there on what is the proper way to harvest saffron and what makes “good quality” saffron. A lot of that information is probably some kind of marketing so I cannot determine what’s “the right way” at the moment.

Nevertheless, I’m personally not going to sweat all that. I just took my tweezers, got as close to the base of the stigmas as I could and pulled them out. I put them in a glass jar that I’m keeping slightly open so they can dry out. If the stigmas would be damp from the morning fog, I would set them on a piece of paper towel.

It was not so easy to pull out the stigmas either, being careful not to damage them. I also noticed the male stamens give out a ton of pollen when the flower opens. I do wonder if it’s better to harvest the stigmas when the flower is still a bud before the stamens open up and pollen gets on everything.

I did end up harvesting one fully open flower, and 2 bud-type flowers, and the buds were easier to harvest. Whether or not harvesting saffron buds results in better quality saffron, I don’t know yet.