Saffron spice plant
How To Grow Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice
Table of Contents
The most exotic and sought-after rare spice in the world, the saffron crocus is a beautiful bloom that people love all over the world. While the flower itself is small, if you’re growing saffron, it’s for the even smaller three stigmas that lie in its center. Once dried, the saffron loses 90% of its weight, making it worth more than several times its own weight in gold. It’s easy to learn how to grow saffron! This hardy little bloom is a delight to behold and well worth space in the garden!
Grown from corms instead of seeds, the saffron crocus is primarily grown in Iran. Over 90% of the saffron consumed around the world grows there. This is in large part due to the labor-intensive harvesting and drying of the stigmas, and the relatively cheap labor force in Iran. However, the saffron crocus bulbs (called corms) are relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain for gardeners wanting to add this bloom to their gardens.
Packed full of nutritional benefits, this spice is said to help with heart disease and depression. Many even say that handling the flowers and stigmas can cause uncontrollable laughing and joy!
Farmers in the US have been growing the saffron crocus since the 17th century when the Pennsylvania Dutch first brought these little bulbs to the US. It’s possible to farm this spice here if labor costs permit. Grown in a raised bed garden or containers, this plant can fit anywhere! Just keep in mind, a family of 4 needs at least 150-200 corms for a year’s worth of cooking.
Quick Care Guide
Love saffron? Learn how to grow saffron in your garden! Source: kightp| Common Name(s) | Saffron crocus |
| Scientific Name | Crocus sativus |
| Days to Harvest | 6-8 weeks |
| Light | Full sun |
| Water: | Moderate water during production; no water during dormancy |
| Soil | Well-drained sandy to loamy soil |
| Fertilizer | Compost or bone meal |
| Pests | Rabbits, voles, mice, gophers, saffron bulb mite |
| Diseases | Corm rot |
All About Saffron Crocus
As the petals unfurl, the flower’s center opens to the sunlight.
Source: LindaHThe world-renowned saffron crocus is by far the most expensive spice in the world. It’s known not just for its vibrant red color, but also for its scarcity. With 220,000 flowers needed to make a single kilo of dried spice, this spice needs several fields in production to make a crop worth selling.
The Crocus sativus has traditionally been used in Middle Eastern, Indian, Greek, and Spanish cooking but has since been incorporated into food all over the globe. The plant is believed to have originated in Minoan-era Crete and thrives in other similar temperate regions of the world. You can plant saffron on farms, in the garden, or in containers. The crocus saffron will adapt to any number of growing conditions.
The saffron crocus is a short and stubby flower that produces a purple cup-shaped bloom in beautiful jewel tones. The leaves or foliage are more like green spikes that look like pine needles and the entire plant is 4 inches tall at maturity. There are three stigmas in the center of the plant and this is the portion of the plant that is known as ‘saffron’.
It is a brightly colored red-orange tri-pronged thread that emerges from the base. It is shockingly bright and incredibly easy to spot. Only a single flower is produced from each bulb, however, each bulb does reproduce as it goes into its dormancy season over summer.
The saffron life cycle can generally be broken down into 5 stages. Saffron crocus bulbs sprout 6-8 weeks after planting in late fall to early winter. It flowers and develops leaves and then begins to develop daughter corms while heading into dormancy.
Planting Saffron Crocuses
If you’re growing saffron crocus, it’s ideal to start the bulbs in the late summer or early fall. Your growing zone will dictate the exact time. If in USDA zones 3-6 plant them in August, if in USDA zones 7-10, try for September.
Plant saffron corms about 4 inches deep and 4 inches apart, although a bit closer together for dramatic effect won’t do much harm. Some people even grow 12 per square foot. Be sure to plant the bulb pointed size down in the planting hole.
Care
The yellow center gives way to three slender red stigmas. Source: graibeardIt’s quite easy to grow saffron crocus bulbs! A great addition to the herb garden, this brilliant spice is great for beginners and a hardy corm that will come back year after year. There are just a few rules to follow to make sure these little guys have the right growing conditions.
Sun and Temperature
For gardeners wishing to learn how to grow saffron crocus, most will find that saffron is easily grown in their climates. While not all will be able to grow saffron and leave the corms in the ground year-round, most will find that with a few adaptations, these plants will grow well almost anywhere. How is that? The saffron crocus thrives in temperate regions and is adaptable to growing zones 6-10. It needs a full day’s sun (at least 8 hours) and a steady warmth at the end of fall.
It’s after the stigmas have been harvested that growers need to watch out for the temperature.
In zones below USDA zone 6, the winters get too cold for the corms to overwinter in-ground. You’ll need to lift the bulbs and store them over winter to protect them from extreme cold. In zones 8-10, you’ll need to bring in the saffron crocus bulbs and artificially ‘winterize’ them in order for the saffron crocus bulbs to know to sprout the following season.
Water and Humidity
It’s wonderful to see a blooming crocus in the landscape. However, be careful not to overwater these beautiful and hardy little saffron flowers. In the days leading up to harvest, saffron crocuses need only a moderate amount of water, about a 1/2 an inch a week from the time of planting to harvest. After the saffron has been harvested, stop watering altogether. This will encourage the crocus to complete its life cycle and go dormant.
When watering, it’s best to use a drip irrigation hose to evenly water your harvest. Using a strong hose or watering can accidentally damage these fall-blooming plants.
Soil
Saffron crocuses are a fairly hardy plant and tolerate sandy soils to loamy soils. They can even be grown in poor soils if the soil is partially amended with compost or bone meal. The one requirement needed is that the soil is well-draining. Soil that retains too much water will invite rot, one of the very few problems to affect the wonderful saffron spice.
Fertilizing
For gardeners who want to learn how to grow saffron, this fall-blooming flower is pretty low maintenance. The saffron flowers do not require much in the way of fertilizing. However, if amending poor soil or fertilizing overwintered in-ground corms, add 1 inch of compost over the ground where the crocus corms have been planted. Alternatively, you can amend the soil with some bone meal at the time of planting. Given the quick bloom time of the plant, and the tiny crop, little is truly needed in order for these bulbs to produce.
Pruning
The only time a saffron crocus is pruned, is when it’s harvested.
Using sharp scissors or your hands, gently separate the flower from the stem and separate the petals from the stigma. Be sure to leave the foliage to allow the bulbs to slowly develop daughter bulbs as it heads into dormancy.
Propagation
The saffron crocus is exclusively propagated by allowing each corm to complete its full life cycle. After the saffron flowers have been harvested, the leaves need to be allowed to die back. It’s during this time that ‘daughter’ bulbs develop. If desired, you can dig up these new corms and select the healthiest to store for the next year’s growth, or cover with mulch and leave them until the following fall if your climate is amenable.
Harvesting and Storing
The stigma is the part we use for culinary color and flavor. Source: graibeardThe saffron spice is a somewhat labor-intensive spice to pick and store. This is why the spice costs so much despite it being a rather easy plant to grow. The bright red stigmas of this wonderful plant are a beautiful and eye-catching sight, and easily signal when they’re ready to be picked.
Harvesting
The time window for harvesting saffron crocus is pretty short. You’ll ideally need to visit your garden mid-morning while you’re in the harvest window. Saffron is best harvested in the morning on a dry day when the sun has not yet begun to beat down on the flower. This is usually about 6-8 weeks after the corms are planted. Wait until the bloom is partially open to pick the flower. Snip the bottom portion of the flower without taking any of the leaves. You’ll want to first open up the flower, letting all the parts fall onto a table or napkin, and pick out the stigma gently either by hand or with tweezers.
Storing
Saffron threads are finicky, they can’t take too much sunlight before their quality starts to degrade. After picking, immediately store them indoors in a shaded area.
Saffron threads can be used immediately after picking (within a 24 hr period), or it can be dehydrated for long-term storage. If drying there are two methods available.
For a small crop, try drying on a paper towel on a shaded table or shelf. They should be dry within 3 days. If using a dehydrator, spread the threads out evenly on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 3 hours at 45 degrees.
After drying, the stigmas need to be sealed in an airtight container in a dry place. Try wrapping the stigmas in foil or another light blocking material to store them for the long term as sunlight degrades the quality of this spice. Commercial sellers use black plastic to shield them from the sun.
Don’t be surprised when your saffron loses much of its weight! The dehydration process strips 90% of the weight from the stigma!
Troubleshooting
These lovely flowers are beautiful ornamentals as well! Source: antonychammondFortunately for people who grow saffron crocus, these bulbs have relatively few predators and growing problems. Aside from the hungry rabbit or gopher, this hardy little bulb is sometimes affected by rot or mites, but rarely at that.
Growing Problems
Growing saffron crocus is thankfully a pretty easy task! This plant is blessed with very few growing problems. However, it’s important to keep in mind your growing area if growing in regions dissimilar from its native environment of Greece. It performs best in USDA zones 5-8; while it can grow in zones 9-10, be careful not to plant too early as it will need cool temperatures to flower. If it’s too hot, the corm may produce just leaves and none of the flowers we crave.
Pests
Most of the pests that affect the saffron crocus are small mammals. The bulb of the saffron plant is a very delicious nugget of nutrients that can be dug up and eaten by a variety of animals such as rabbits, gophers, voles, and mice. These corms are especially susceptible to attack during the winter months when food is scarce.
The saffron bulb mite is a small .8mm long beetle-looking bug that causes the plant to grow in a stunted manner.
The flowers will grow shorter with thinner leaves as well. It’s best to prevent it as the short-lived plants cannot be truly cured once the problem shows itself, but you can consider spraying the corms with miticide before planting.
Diseases
While fortunate to not suffer from too many diseases, corm rot is a definite concern for growers with soil that retains too much water. Corm rot is actually a collective term for several different fungal diseases including Rhizopus, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium. They all manifest themselves by rotting the bulb and foliage of the plant and making them appear yellow or brown in appearance. These rots, similar to root rot, can be avoided by planting in well-draining soil and reducing watering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where does saffron grow best?
A: Saffron grows best in well-draining soil with full sun and a moderate amount of nutrients.
Q: Is it profitable to grow and sell saffron?
A: It can be profitable to grow and sell saffron.
However, as much of the cost is from the labor-intensive process of harvesting, that will be a big factor in its profitability.
Q: Is saffron easy to grow?
A: It’s pretty simple to grow saffron crocus if you have a sunny location with well-draining soil.
Growing Saffron Crocus (SaffronCrocus) | Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County
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Growing Saffron Crocus
submitted by Sarah Browning, UNL Extension Educator
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If you're planning to plant bulbs this fall, it's time to decide what you need and get them ordered. Fall bulb planting begins in late September and continues into October. An interesting bulb to consider planting this fall for its beauty, but also for its culinary value, is saffron crocus.
Saffron has been an important spice since ancient times, used as a dye, spice, medicine and perfume.
Unlike most crocus, saffron crocus, C. sativus, blooms in early to mid fall. Plants are sterile male triploids meaning they cannot reproduce via seed, but must be propagated vegetatively through their bulb-like root structures called corms.
In the garden, it's a small plant, with several slim, green grass-like leaves growing from a globe-shaped corm. Plants reach 6 to 12 inches tall, and 2 to 4 inches wide. Each plant typically produces 2 to 4 large, lavender to violet-blue flowers, with a sweet, hay-like fragrance.
Their leaves appear in early spring and grow until hot weather induces summer dormancy. A second crop of leaves appear in fall, followed shortly by flowers.
Harvesting Saffron
Flowers are the key to saffron production. Each flower is made up of the showy outer violet-blue petals. Inside the petals are three short, yellowish male pollen structures called stamens, and three very long blood-red stigmas, the female pollen receptors.
The stigmas are harvested with tweezers, shortly after the flowers open.
Avid saffron gardener Wallace Howell from Washington State University states that 150-200 corms keep his family fairly well supplied with enough spice for a year's cooking. Any extras he gives away to family and friends.
Saffron is light sensitive, so wrap the threads in a foil packet to protect them. Then place them in an air-tight container, and store in a cool, dark place to retain the best flavor.
Iran produces over 90% of saffron globally, followed by Greece, Morocco and the Kashmir region of India.
Growing Saffron Crocus
Plants are hardy in Zones 5-8, and prefer full to partial sun. For best plant growth, choose a protected planting site that gets at least five or six hours of direct sunlight per day.
Saffron crocus require very well drained soil, especially in winter, preferably sandy loam. Wet soil causes bulb rot, so if your garden is poorly drained or heavy clay then soil amendment is needed.
Add 2 to 3 inches of compost and work it into the upper 4 to 6 inches of soil.
Plant the corms about 2 inches deep is groupings. The flat side of the corm, where the roots and growth plate are located, should be pointed down in the planting hole. Plants are quite drought tolerant once established, so don't overwater!
If your site is good, and the plants are healthy, they will multiply fairly rapidly. Dig up and divide the corms every 2 to 5 years, during their late July or August dormant period.
Finding Saffron Crocus
Finally, a note about availability. Not many garden centers carry a specialty bulb like saffron crocus, so you may need to order them through a specialty bulb catalogue if you can't find them locally. Below are a few sources, but not every bulb company carrying saffron crocus is listed. No endorsement of these companies by University of Nebraska- Lincoln Extension is intended, nor criticism implied of companies not listed.
- Brent and Becky's Bulbs, 7900 Daffodil Lane, Gloucester, VA 23061; Telephone: (804) 693-3966; Website: brentandbeckysbulbs.
com - Michigan Bulb Company, P.O. Box 4180, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025-4180; Fax: (513) 354-1499; Website: www.michiganbulb.com
- Wayside Gardens, One Garden Lane, Hodges, SC 29653: Telephone: (800) 845-1124; Website: www.waysidegardens.com
- White Flower Farm, P.O. Box 50, Route 63, Litchfield, Connecticut 06759; Telephone: (800) 420-2852; Website: www.whiteflowerfarm.com
This resource was added August 2013 and appeared in the Lincoln Journal Star Newspaper Sunday edition. For information on reproducing this article or using any photographs or graphics, read the Terms of Use statement
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County is your on-line yard and garden educational resource. The information on this Web site is valid for residents of southeastern Nebraska. It may or may not apply in your area. If you live outside southeastern Nebraska, visit your local Extension office
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Saffron - spice, use, plant
KotányiSaffron is harvested in the golden morning sun. And we mentioned gold for a reason, because saffron is as valuable as this precious metal! This spice with a delicate aroma and honey taste is used in many dishes from around the world.
Saffron as a spice
It is difficult to imagine a more mysterious and desirable spice than saffron. Its persistent flavor is reminiscent of honey and musk, and has floral, earthy notes with slight spicy undertones. Even a small pinch of the most expensive spice in the world gives dishes an incredibly rich taste and bright yellow color. Saffron can be bought in the form of stigmas or powder. Saffron stigmas retain flavor better, and it's much easier to determine the quality of the spice. It takes about 150,000 flowers to produce one kilogram of saffron.
Products containing saffron
Currently Viewing: 1 of 0 Chili and vanilla will perfectly complement the taste of saffron.
Saffron is a great addition to almost any dish, but it pairs especially well with fish, poultry, rice, pasta, or cakes. Since the flavor of saffron only comes out when heated (but it should not be heated too much), we will show you how to get the most flavor out of this spice: use a pestle to crush the stigmas in a mortar or grind them with your fingers, and then soak in a little water or milk. In this form, saffron can be added to the dish when it is almost ready.
Good advice!
Saffron is very sensitive to heat: it should only be added during cooking if the temperature is not too high. If you sprinkle saffron on a hot dish, the spice will lose its delicate taste.
Similar recipes
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Plant
It is believed that saffron came to Central Europe from Crete, as a result of which it was also grown in Austria. This plant can still be found in the Burgenland and Wachau regions.
The light blue and purple saffron flowers were harvested from the Maisau mountain region in lower Austria and north of Burgenland in the early morning, before the buds opened to avoid damaging the stigmas. The high price of saffron is due to the fact that each bright orange stigma is seed saffron is selected by hand. In this regard, the trade in fake saffron is flourishing. In Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt, much cheaper safflower is sold to tourists under the guise of saffron.
Interesting information
- Scientific name
- Crocus SATIVUS
- Family
- Iris family (Iridaceae)
- Other names
- Nameless Iznovannaya, Shafran Sowing
- Crete
- Crete
- Crete
- Crete
- 0066
Learn more
Chives
Top 5 spices for immunity and cold protection
It is believed that spices in food are more harmful than useful. Fortunately, the latest scientific discoveries are forcing us to reconsider our views: spicy and spicy also have a positive effect on the body!
Cardamom
Cardamom is native to the evergreen forests of South India and Sri Lanka.
This plant of the ginger family has long broad leaves and delicate purple flowers. In their place, small pod-boxes later ripen, filled with seeds with a spicy aroma and a delicate lemon tint in taste.
In folk medicine, cardamom has often been used to treat nausea, diarrhea, mouth infections, and digestive and kidney problems. This seasoning contains proteins, fatty oils and even some fiber. And also ascorbic acid for immunity, B vitamins for the nervous system, manganese for the thyroid gland, zinc against inflammation, iron for maintaining hemoglobin, as well as magnesium, copper, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and sodium. Plus, according to some studies, cardamom can lower blood pressure. This seasoning is also useful for the stomach. By the way, in the same India, after eating, it is customary to chew cardamom - and for good reason: it freshens the breath and disinfects the oral cavity. Connoisseurs claim that the spice acts against five types of bacteria that provoke caries.
Cinnamon
This evergreen plant of the laurel family, like cardamom, comes from India and Sri Lanka. Cinnamon has been popular since ancient times, it was highly valued and delivered from the East by caravans. It has been used for centuries in the recipes of healers of different nations as an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antitumor agent. And modern scientific research confirms its beneficial properties. The composition of the seasoning contains a lot of health value: there is a high content of vitamin K, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the heart, and vitamin E, the keeper of youthful skin, hair and nails. But it is especially rich in manganese and calcium.
There are even more antioxidants in cinnamon than in other spices, scientists from Hong Kong came to this conclusion after studying phenolic compounds in extracts of 26 plants. It is no coincidence that it is actively used in oriental medicine as a remedy for colds, cardiovascular diseases, chronic gastrointestinal and gynecological problems.
In addition, as it turned out, it reduces the level of glucose in the blood, which is important for diabetics. Carnation
The clove tree is grown in India, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Caribbean. Red-brown dried buds are very pungent in taste, since they contain quite a lot of essential oils. When it comes to vitamins and minerals, cloves break records for the content of "heart" vitamin K: in 100 grams - 118.2 percent of the daily dose. But most of all in the spice of manganese - 2614.2 percent of the recommended norm per day! So regular use of cloves will benefit the immune system, brain and skeletal system. In addition, it contains a lot of iron, calcium, magnesium and copper.
What else is useful for cloves? It has powerful antimicrobial properties and neutralizes bacteria that cause food poisoning, including E. coli.
Nutmeg
The evergreen nutmeg tree (nutmeg), growing in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Brazil, produces yellow fruits similar to apricots.
In the middle of the juicy pulp, you can find bones in a brown shell, from which a fragrant seasoning is obtained. The spice has a very subtle woody aroma and a warm nutty taste.
Nutmeg is rich in fiber, and it also (as, indeed, in other seasonings from our list) contains vitamins important for our health: C, A, plus several representatives of group B. Of the minerals, copper, iron and manganese have the highest concentration.
Nutmeg contains a variety of antioxidants including plant pigments, essential oils and phenolic compounds including protocatechin and ferulic acid. Both substances are actively used in anti-aging cosmetics. It has nutmeg and anti-inflammatory properties.
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world
Dried stigmas of saffron seed, or crocus, are an expensive orange spice. The cost of one kilogram is up to 10 thousand dollars! Since one flower produces only three stigmas, it would take 200,000 flowers to produce a kilogram of saffron.
Most of the world's spice harvest (90 percent) comes from Iran. Records of this noble spice contain Chinese medical books of the 3rd century BC! Well, in the kitchens of Europe, it appeared only in the 16th century, when one Italian, out of curiosity, added saffron to rice.
The aroma of saffron is quite strong, tart, with bitterness, and the taste is spicy, sweetish, with hints of fresh hay. Orange seasoning is valuable for its high content of ascorbic acid (in 100 grams - 89.8 percent of the daily requirement) and vitamin B6, useful for the liver and blood vessels. Manganese and iron, which increase the level of hemoglobin, are also abundant in it. The chemical composition is supplemented by phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, selenium and copper.
The main component of saffron essential oil is safranal, which gives the spice its unique flavor and aroma. This organic compound has a powerful effect on the nervous system and helps fight Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, strengthens memory, has a pronounced antidepressant effect, calms and improves mood.
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- Crete
