How to Plant Saffron Bulbs

Plant bulbs in well drained, partially sandy or gritty soil in a location that receives full sun or several hours of sun per day. The preferred planting depth is 3 to 4 inches. Saffron bulbs need a climate that is hot and dry in the summer and cold in the winter for best results. They are hardy in temperatures as low as minus 15 and do well in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 5 to 7.

Plant a cover flower such as creeping phlox over the saffron bulbs for additional bloom time for that area of your flowerbed. Saffron have no difficulty sending shoots up through low spreading plants, and the extra cover will also keep your sprouts free of splashed debris during a heavy rain.

Divide saffron bulbs every two years to prevent overcrowding. Carefully dig up bulbs during the dormant summer months and replant about six inches apart to allow for the growth of new bulbs. The upside and downside of bulbs may be difficult to identify when they are dry or dormant with no stem. Usually the bottom of the bulb is flat and the top side will be showing the tips of shoots. The roots will grow in the right direction even if they are planted upside down.

Plant bulbs in the early fall for blooms and harvest in the fall of the following year. Saffron bulbs will grow grassy looking clumps of shoots soon after planting, and will develop strong roots over the winter. Shoots grow up to 24 inches tall in the winter before summer dormancy, producing new leaves and first flowers the following fall.