Crocus corms

Rotary clubs help to plant millions of purple crocuses every year to raise awareness for efforts to end polio.

Adding a splash of purple to our communities.

 

The campaign is now open.

 

Spring each year sees a beautiful purple carpet of crocus blooming in many communities across Great Britain and Ireland thanks to the Purple Crocus Corm planting to raise awareness of the Rotary fight for a polio free world.

Planting the purple crocus corms by Rotary and many community groups is a great way of getting active, having fun and talking to lots of different people about the need to eradicate the life threatening and disabling polio virus.

Download our Planting Guide for a step by step guide on caring and planting your corms.

 

Availability, ordering and other materials

Two million purple corms are available this year on a first come first served basis at the special price of £175 for a box of 4,000. The crocus corm variety this year is Crocus tommasinianus – Ruby Giant (deep purple).

The deadline for ordering corms is 18th August 2023.

Other materials and resources for promoting and supporting your crocus ordering, planting and blooming are also available.

 

Rotary and Community Groups

Rotary clubs are keen to work with the community in their area to plant more purple crocus corms in different places this autumn as well as building on where they already flower each spring.

So if you are a community group of any sort such as a school, a healthcare trust, the local park, a Britain in Bloom group or other Royal Horticultural Society community gardening group or anything else interested in getting involved you can either reach out to your local Rotary club or go ahead and get ordering and planting yourselves.

Please note the crocus species is Crocus tommasinianus (Ruby Giant). Children should be supervised at all times and crocus corms should not be ingested. Crocus species are not toxic to people, however, if signs of sickness are seen medical advice should be sought immediately.