SAFFRON'S dirty little secret! 

Why don't you try indoor plantation in lab

@@ASKYOGI I don't have the space or setup indoors

I agree 100%. I have discovered so much about this amazing spice/flower/plant and have truly enjoyed the beauty and the wonderful scent. It's been such a rewarding experience!

So true!!!

I would also love to get to a point where I am not needing to buy soil. I am blessed to have plenty of leaves and I collect and compost all of them!

so nice to hear, I'm in zone 6a. I randomly planted some last year and got 1 flower (as the squirrels ate the other bulbs). I've planted 50 in a caged raised bed, so fingers crossed in October, I'll get at least 2x 😂

@KarnivorousKeyz good luck!!!

Oh that's wonderful! My saffron bulbs are currently asleep. They are in ground as well as in pots that are far away from any irrigation. Come September, as the weather cools, I will start watering them, and the cycle will start over! Thanks for subscribing! And hope your saffron grows well. Please do update us on how saffron does in the Mid-west!!!💜🧡💜

Might be the size of the bulb too, you might need to wait another year till they get big enough

Oh my, that's a lot of Saffron! Any expert tips on how to get more blooms?

What does saffron contribute? No disrespect, but it doesn't seem worth all that effort.

@@Beeautifullifefarm where did you order them. I want to start farming them

​@clivebanda9238 baker and eden provided decent ones as well as shesrooted. We don't sell it, we only use it.

​@janicewolk6492 it depends what your goal is and what you want it for. I'm in my mid thirties ,retired and enjoy working on my land. My family and friends mostly enjoy the complex flavor of it. To some it's sweet and aromatic to others it's bitter and has an earthy smell. You won't know until you have a good quality saffron. But, just a little goes a very very long way. Too much can potentially kill you, but no one here will ever grow enough for that.

So glad you found it useful!

@@str8jacket9perf95 that's great that you found it useful, you're welcome!

Can anyone just clarify for me, as I've just planted saffron crocuses, is it ONLY the long, thin element that can be used in cooking?

Yes, the stigma - that's the only edible part. I have a short video on how to harvest saffron in my "Growing Saffron" playlist

@@GreenLove1 I'll check it out, thank you

Exciting indeed. Which gardening zone are you in?

@@GreenLove1 I’m 7b in TN. I’m kinda scared I’m on the cusp here. Hoping!! 🧡💜

@@creekbird_homestead 🤞🤞🤞

You are very welcome!!

That's awesome, it is such a fantastic experience growing this very unique flower!

Same here, I been buying saffron from world market now I just want to grow my own

You are going to LOVE the experience of growing your own saffron!!

Aww, how very kind and generous of you to compliment and send blessings! May you be blessed too!

@@GreenLove1 You’re very welcome ! Likewise ! Amen !

Yep, though of course I am only speaking from my own personal experience!

@@VagabondAnne yes, the squirrels really love them! Glad you enjoyed the video, I made that a year ago. I just did a Yr 4 video, if you are interested!

You are so welcome 🪷

Yes I love sweet people too. My mother inlaw like this.im blessed

so kind! thank you 🙏

Ginger is much harder to grow than saffron! iMO!!

@@79klkw aww,yes, I hear you!!! Same!!!

I've grown saffron for years here in Central Connecticut, so you probably can grow it as well.

@@KitchenFairy61 that's great. Any interesting or different findings, living in a cooler climate? Any special considerations or treatment?

@@79klkw And saffrons mad about me :)

🌸❤️🌸🧡🌸

You are so welcome!

You are so welcome! Glad you liked it!

Oh how very interesting. I have to read up about it. Thanks for sharing!

@@SeventhSamurai72 🙏💚

@@jenn976 I have been watching some videos where Saffron farmers plant bulbs really close together, so I think the 2-3 inches apart is just generic guidance!

Wonderful! I have read and watched videos of people who have done this indoors successfully and in fact, they don't even need dormancy from what I understand. They will go through their life cycle - produce blooms, then green growth, which will then dry out. And then the lifecycle cam restart, non-stop! But I do not know much about this. Typically, in native conditions, saffron goes dormant once the summer hot dry temperatures hit. Would love to know how your experiment goes. Now is the time to buy the corms of you want to try!

Will try that next time, thank you

Odd trick. I took a cordless drill with a 1½" spade point bit, drilled down 3 to 4 inches in my parents lawn and scattered out several hundred crocus bulbs about 25 years ago and they're still popping up all over the lawn as thick as ever. Such a wonderful sight when everything is still winter dreary.

@mikelouis9389 I can only imagine how lovely that must look!!! 🤩

Great tip, thanks!

@@pamelarose1834 yes indeed it is Crocus sativus. And what's even more strange is that the flower is perfumed but smells nothing like Saffron...the saffron perfume develops only after the stigma is dried. Something I would probably never have known if I did not grow it myself!

@@GreenLove1 And how much is saffron perfume worth? That is one I hadn't heard of. Of course, the only fresh saffron I've seen is the one plant. When I went back to transplant it at home it was gone. Never could afford it for cooking.

@@pamelarose1834 I call it perfume but really, it's just the scent of the spice when you cook with it!

@@GreenLove1 I see I have been trying to learn how to distil essential oils from flowers. I live in central Texas. will Crocus grow around here. I have never known anyone that grows it.

@@pamelarose1834 I am sure you can get it to grow. It's warm enough. However, someone from Texas recently commented (in quite a bit of detail) on my community post about having some struggles growing in Texas, you might want to check that post, and maybe even pose your questions to the commenter.

Good tips, thanks

Ha ha, no I'm definitely not doing it for an investment, but we normally expect plants to grow and multiply rather than diminish over the years. Fortunately it picks back up in about 3 or 4 years which is good. And ya, I keep saying bulb, even though I know it's a corm😂😂😂

Lol, yes, epic is right! I just published video with my 4th year planting - over 600 corms. Not bad for my initial 25 corm investment!

@GreenLove1 wow! Not a bad investment at all!! 1 day I wish for a hill side of saffron 🥰 not just for the stamen but it would be a beautiful sight 😊❤️ I will go watch that video soon 😁👌

@@mrkrucks724 thanks for sharing this important piece of information, indeed phosphorus run-off is a danger downstream, and it's great that Minnesota has taken action. And a soil test is really important to determine whether or not your soil actually lacks phosphorus. Thanks for sharing this information.

@@GreenLove1 And Thank you Beautiful.

I will certainly do another video closer to September, just like I did last year. I want to leave at least some undisturbed in the soil for a couple of seasons. But I will be unearthing some to see how the bulbs did. So far, my experience has been similar to yours!

Same thing little bulbs and mother shriveled. I tried in ground and pots both did same thing.

@@Terri_Stauffer I have published my findings this year, check out my new video. It's actually pretty encouraging this year, I am excited!

You are so welcome!!

Hmm, mine were just bulbs when I got them. In the Northern Hemisphere, Saffron is typically planted in September/Oct, blooms in November, and then produces a ton of green growth through around April/May, then that dies off...and the bulbs (and divisions) restart the cycle in September. Not sure where your location is, but I think you should contact customer support. Does not sound right that they should die off.

@@BrokeTheGamer very interesting recommendations. Am curious though, since saffron reproduces vegetatively, how can cross pollination help? In fact studies have shown that saffron across the globe is genetically identical, with mild variations due to environmental conditions. Just wondering if you have any scientific research that has been done so far, that you can share. I do live in pretty ideal conditions for growing saffron, and my plans produce blooms in a brief 4 weeks after I plant them. I am not sure if indoor conditions can better that. But it's worth trying with a few corms, just to see if there's a difference! Thanks for your suggestions!!

@@GreenLove1 While it does reproduce vegetative, the whole point of the flowers is to produce seed. But this isn't done commercially because seed take very many years till first bloom and commercial growers have an abundance of new bulbs every year. You could, in theory, start towards developing an improved variety by using the pollen from your most vigorous bubs to pollinate each other. But that takes many generations and ideally you want significant variation in the population you start with. So realistically, for something that takes so many years from seed to flower, selective breeding becomes a decades long project.

@@siggyincr7447 sounds right in theory!

@@GreenLove1 great another plant that doesn't have genetic diversity. Probably a good thing individuals like you are growing it. Don't need another banana blight on something like saffron

Saffron is in the crocus family, but it is a very specific crocus called Crocus sativus. Crocuses are often toxic, but saffron has an edible stigma. There is no substitute crocus for saffron unfortunately. And it has a very different growing season and climate compared to regular crocuses. So unfortunately I think the answer is no.

@@michaelcolors happy to consider participating in your project when you're ready. Please get in touch with me then. Good luck!

You are so welcome!

You are very welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting!

That's awesome, I have heard about hydroponic saffron, but from what I understand it's still in the experimental phase. I cannot help, unfortunately, since I do not have experience doing this, but do update with your results after you try it,I am keen to hear how it went!

@@GreenLove1 I am looking forward to learn ur technique so that i can reduce my electricity cost to run the mechines nd save extra cost nd effort

I hope you achieve your goals! I have many videos in a playlist called Growing Saffron...check it out!

I am guessing about 2 years,maybe 3

@@warrensanders5744 no, it is the dried stigma of the flower!

I made this video last year, and just published my 2024 planting video. I have been digging up and replanting every year, mostly because I am growing in containers and wanted to refresh them. But I really don't think it affects multiplication. That first year I planted 25 corms. This year I planted 670 - all from multiplication. However, I am not sure if it is disrupting something else, like the growth of the corm itself (size). This year I have given them a permanent spot in the ground, and have carefully documented how many I planted. So will continue to experiment and document my journey! Follow along if interested!

@GreenLove1 On the contrary to the OP suggestion, I think you are doing what is best for the bulb division. If you think about it, the process is requiring space. If you dont dig them up and part them yearly, the mother plant will not have space around it to divide again. In fact, the disturbance might just be encuraging division much like a trauma to a fruit tree encourages more fruiting. Let us know how the perma bed goes, but I would not be surprised if the yield is larger in size but smaller in quantity or neither. Just from plant behavior, it seems in other cases that disturbance gives plants the sense it should put out more of itself somehow in case the mother plant dies. Plant survival tactic. Of course it needs those nutrients and roots to do that, so its interesting to see.

I bought mine online from Renee's Garden

To be perfectly honest, I don't think there is any ROI, at least for the past 3 years that I've been growing it. I will continue to update every year, and maybe at some point I will feel that I have broken even. But that point has not arrived yet! But I hugely benefited from learning about the crocus family of flowers, how saffron is grown and harvested, and I have been able to experience the beautiful flower, and the heavenly scent! Can't put a price tag on those!

Plant soon!!!

Well, technically you are right, you just plant, and they are supposed to grow!!! Unless some critter eats them!! Glad you enjoyed the video.

@@GreenLove1, I live in Hollister (about 35 minutes SSE of Silicon Valley) which is NOW classified as 9B, previously 9A. I'm curious which area of Silicon Valley you're in, and if you'll be giving us (your common sense) help with fruit trees soon for our area please?? Also, we have noticed that since about 2000 after we noticed the chemtrailing, our gardens have produced less every year when our gardens until then were very prolific; despite the same conditions, we get much less! Any advice? We thank you for all your help, my Darling Granddaughter Sierra and I LOVE gardening together.

Hi Cheryl, how lovely that you garden with your grand-daughter, what special memories you are making ❤️💚❤️. I am not a great expert on fruit trees and still learning, but what I suggest you do is to submit your question to your local Master Gardener chapter...here is the link: mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/contact-us/ask-a-gardening-question/ If the link is not clickable, then just search the Internet for Santa Clara Master Gardener Help Desk and you should find the website. This is a free service of very knowledgeable gardeners who will be happy to guide you. Thanks for watching my videos!

You could certainly try, but your summers may be too wet...saffron corms need to go dormant. Of course you could always dig them up and bring them indoors to a dry place for summer!

I have not tried companion planting, but this year it happened naturally when volunteer Claytonia started growing. It was a disaster. Saffron is such a skinny delicate plant, the claytonia just took over. Will be diligent to remove any volunteer companions next year. I also planted some saffron in ground, and will leave them there for a few years to see if things improve! The experiment continues!!!! Thanks for your questions/suggestions! Happy and grateful to learn from your experiences too!

You can intercrop them with garlic as garlics share similar requirements and the smell of garlics also helps deter pests. Chickpeas are also suitable companion plants.

@@sistrbrb1378 Shalom! ❤️. So glad you liked it!!

You are so welcome

💯 agree!!

@@Mrbfgray lol, the apex predator!!!!!

@@GreenLove1 Yeah squirrels better stay off the ground around here, hehehe.

@@Mrbfgray oh most certainly! We have a great climate for these beauties

Yes, saffron is definitely "duplicated" a lot, because it is so expensive. Another advantage of growing your own saffron if you can, but it's difficult to produce a lot in a home setting. So find a reliable shopping source and stick with it. I buy from Costco!

Just plant...it will probably produce a flower next year, or maybe in 2 years

@@Dr.Elliott no, they are a Mediterranean climate. Hot long dry summers during which they remain dormant, and short mild winters where the ground does not freeze.

Yes, and in India too. Still experimental though, and they have not found a way yet to make it profitable from what I understand...but I think saffron is a good candidate for hydroponic success

@@12345678998624 during Summer - NEVER. When they start growing in September, only if the soil is getting dry

Sorry I am not in the business of selling, so cannot help with this question!

@@GreenLove1 Actually iam from Andhra Pradesh, I also want to grow this into my garden ,, could you suggest how to maintain the temperature of that plant ..please

@@Hafsa_sheikh my climate here in California is ideal for saffron - it needs hot and very dry summers when it is dormant, and cool mild winters. You might need to do an internet search for how to grow saffron in Andhra Pradesh. Sorry I can't help much here!

@@GreenLove1 thankyou for replying

It starts to sprout in mid-Sept. I live in California so long hot dry summers, and mild wet winters. Saffron starts to sprout right as the temps are starting to cool off.

Omg, that's awful, I am so sorry!

Mulch with broken glass?

🤣🤣🤣

Ok, fine, "nasty" little secret!! Better ?! 😉