Safe to Plant

Crocosmia · Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey

When to sow crocosmias in Fatih

Main outdoor window

19 Dec - 6 Feb

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

20 February

In Fatih, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

1 Jul - 30 Sep

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Fatih

Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.

Plant the corms

19 Dec - 6 Feb

Any time the plant is dormant and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged: after leaf fall in autumn, or at the end of winter before growth restarts.

In flower

1 Jul - 30 Sep

Frost tolerance
Hardy
Damaged below
-15°C (5°F)
Hardy to
Zone 5a–9a
Spacing
20 cm
Sowing depth
80 mm (3.1 in)
Sun
Full

Crocosmias through the year

Against the frost risk in Fatih

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Plant Harvest Today

Why these dates

Plant corms while dormant, in autumn or early spring, 8cm deep. Divide congested clumps every three or four years in spring - flowering falls away noticeably once the corms are crowded, which is the usual reason an old planting stops performing.

Hardy to about -15C, and the common orange montbretia rather hardier than the large-flowered named forms. Mulch in the first winter after planting; established clumps need nothing.

Crocosmias are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Fatih is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.

Fatih sits in zone 9b, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.

See every crop timed for Fatih →

Growing crocosmias in Fatih

When should I plant crocosmias in Fatih?

Aim for 19 Dec - 6 Feb in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 5 Dec - 4 Mar - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When will crocosmias be ready to harvest in Fatih?

Expect to start picking around 1 Jul - 30 Sep, based on 120 to 150 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.

How much frost will crocosmias tolerate?

Hardy to about -15C, and the common orange montbretia rather hardier than the large-flowered named forms. Mulch in the first winter after planting; established clumps need nothing.