Crocus sativus a backyard treasure

During the middle ages, alchemists dreamed of turning lead or other metals into gold. While that never happened, perhaps they should have considered growing gold instead.

Saffron — or Crocus sativus — is the world's most expensive spice: It sells for $6 to $7 a gram.

The spice is so expensive because it must be harvested by hand, and it takes more than 4,000 of the tiny flower stigmas to yield 1 ounce of saffron. Put another way, an acre of established planting yields 8-10 pounds of the spice.

Two local gardeners, Dave and Julene Fisher, are growing Crocus sativus successfully in their garden. True crocus, of which there are 80 species, grows well in areas with cold winters and warm, dry summers, making it suitable for our area.

Julene grew up in Phoenix, while David spent his early life on the family dairy farm in Salt Lake City. They now live on a portion of Julene's grandfather's farm in what is the Hunter area of West Valley City.

Dave said they began growing saffron because his late sister, who was a great cook, got him interested in the spice. After doing some research, "we finally found some bulbs (technically, corms) from Spain. We figured we could not get any more authentic than that, so we ordered 48 bulbs and paid 50 dollars. We didn't even know if they would grow here."

That was about 15 years ago. Those 48 bulbs have "transformed into some 20,000 bulbs, and we would have many more, but we have dug and sold some at the farmers market," Dave said.

"Because our climate is at the northern end of the parameters of where you can grow them, you have to be careful of how you put them in the ground," he said. "The best depth is about 3 inches. If you plant them too shallow or if you plant them in pots, they die or they do not bloom. Park City would be too cold for these plants," Dave explained.

Julene added that Crocus sativus, which blooms in the fall, needs at least four hours of full sun — and more is better. She noted that if you plant the corms too deep, they could bloom when there's snow on the ground — and who wants to be out on their hands and knees, in the snow, picking the flowers?

Other than the sunlight requirements, the plants are not very fussy. They need reasonable soil drainage and fertilizer but not much else. The only common pest problems are slugs and snails, so keep a close eye out for them. The thin leaves emerge in late summer, followed by the striking flowers.