Autumn crocus - Colchicum autumnale 'Waterlily'

This is a great fall flowering bulb.  It is commonly called Autumn Crocus, but it isn’t really a crocus at all.  It flowers in October with lovely lavendar-pink petals before the leaves emerge.  It will slowly spread and naturalize an area.  It prefers sun to light shade and well drained, moderately fertile soil.  Mine come up through a mat of glaucus Helianthemum every year.  We offer these and another variety that is pure white here at our nursery.  The flowers last about 3 or 4 weeks and you can see I took the picture just as they were on their way out.  Extremely hardy here in Monroe and to zone 5.