How to Grow Saffron Indoors

How to Grow Saffron Indoors. Being one of the most costly herbs in the world, learning how to produce saffron indoors in your own home is such a brilliant concept! You get to spend less money while still growing a lovely, fragrant herb that can add a touch of charm to any cuisine! Saffron bulbs could be a little difficult to locate at your neighbourhood nursery, but you should have no trouble finding them online!

How to Grow Saffron Indoors

What is Saffron:

1. Start with the right variety; only the Crocus Sativus cultivar yields an edible herb.
2. Contrary to other plants, saffron blooms in the autumn and hibernates in the summer.
3. Saffron needs a lot of direct, bright sunlight because it is a light-hungry plant.
4. Strong growth depends on proper irrigation practices. Use only a small amount of water to avoid rotting the roots by keeping the soil moist.
5. When given the right care, a saffron plant can blossom for several years.
6. Homegrown saffron is a big money saver for frequent users because the price of store-bought saffron may reach thousands of dollars per pound.

Choosing Saffron:

Choosing the proper type is the first step in indoor saffron cultivation. Make sure to choose saffron crocus, also known as Crocus Sativus, when buying saffron. It is occasionally mistaken for the iris-family plant known as autumn meadow crocus, also known as Colchicum autumnale, which is not used in cooking.

Saffron is grown from bulbs or corms rather than seeds, which can be acquired from a nearby nursery or online. Looking online is typically the best option because it is frequently difficult to discover them in nearby nurseries or garden shops. To ensure the highest quality, be sure to select a reliable supplier for your saffron bulbs.

To avoid overspending and minimise wasted bulbs, you should also buy a set number of bulbs. The component of the plant required for cooking, the stigmas, is produced by each saffron flower in threes. When preparing a meal for one person, three stigmas are sufficient. Therefore, when buying saffron corms, think about how many people you’ll be feeding at each meal and multiply that number by the number of saffron-required meals you’ll prepare annually. The quantity of corms you must buy is the outcome.

Planting Saffron:

1. Buy saffron bulbs from an established nursery or internet merchant.
2. Saffron crocus should be used instead of autumn meadow crocus as the name suggests.
3. Use this formula to determine how many corms you could require: The number of individuals in the family multiplied by the number of saffron meals prepared annually equals three threads per person. For instance, 24 plants are required if a family of four enjoys saffron meals around once every two months.
4. Saffron corms should typically be planted in the fall, and the ideal environment for them is indoors because they cannot survive moist soil.
5. Fill the bottom of a 6-inch planter with 1-2 inches of coarse or fine sand.
6. Rich, well-draining potting soil should fill the remaining space in the container.
7. The corm should be planted with its tips pointing up, about 2-3 inches deep.
8. Each bulb should be placed 2-3 inches apart and covered with soil.
9. Make sure the saffron courses receive 4-6 hours of direct sunlight each day and are kept in a chilly area (35–48°F).
10. Until the grass-like foliage starts to grow again, lightly water the bulbs every other day. Around April is usually when this occurs.
11. Then relocate the container to a warmer location (50-70F).

Care:

1. The day after the blooms open, the flower stigmas—there should be three per flower—must be collected from the blooms.
2. To remove the saffron threads from the bloom, snip the flowers open from their stems. To dry, place the thread on a piece of paper.
3. The threads should be kept in an airtight container.
4. Saffron must either be toasted and ground into a fine powder or infused into a liquid in order to be used.
5. It’s now time to roll up your sleeves and start planting since you know how to cultivate saffron indoors!

Saffron Domination:

Saffron is a plant that blooms in the fall, unlike many other kinds of plants. As a result, you’ll be able to harvest it in the fall and witness the biggest growth.

Additionally, it signifies that its dormant season will occur in the summer. You won’t need to water or feed the plant as much as usual throughout the summer because the plant will likely die back. This is a result of its native, Mediterranean environment and is the reverse of the growth cycles of most plants. Keep this in mind because the plant requires different maintenance during dormancy.

Container:

How many saffron corms you plant will determine the size of the container you require. Choose a typical clay potter with a diameter of about 6″ for a little crop. Additionally, it must be at least 8 inches deep to allow the area for the roots to expand.

Only appropriate drainage is required in addition. Make sure the container you choose has enough drainage holes so that any extra water can drain. This is crucial because saffron dislikes sitting in very wet soil. To further encourage proper drainage, you can also add an inch of tiny pebbles to the bottom of the container.

Soil:

To avoid the roots from decaying, you must choose soil that drains well because saffron despises very damp soil. Although you can also make your own, potting mix is a good choice. Give the saffron the nutrients and drainage it needs to thrive by mixing equal quantities of potting soil, gritty sand, and milled peat.

Watering Saffron:

You need to start watering as soon as you take the saffron container out of the after-planting cold area. It can be difficult to know when to do this because too much moisture can cause the saffron plant’s roots to rot, while not enough moisture puts the plant’s life and eventual death at risk.

Flood the soil and allow any extra moisture to drain out of the container’s drainage holes for the best results. Before providing more water, let the soil almost fully dry up. Till summer, when the plant enters its dormant period again, continue this pattern. It’s normal to water plants only once every two to four weeks, depending on your environment.

Saffron Light Needs:

Saffron requires a daily minimum of 8 hours of direct sunlight to grow. If possible, put it close to a window that faces south or west. If necessary, you can even move the pot back inside during the colder months of the year after leaving it outside during the summer. Then, in the spring, when the plant enters its dormant cycle once more, you can cut back on both its water intake and light exposure.

Temperature/Humidity:

Saffron prefers slightly warm temperatures once it has emerged from dormancy, though it can tolerate cooler temperatures if necessary. Keep them in a room with a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, but not exceeding 80 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is too high, saffron’s growth will be accelerated, resulting in spindly, floppy foliage.

Because saffron does not require humidity to thrive, there is no need to mist the plant or keep a humidifier nearby. Watering the soil will provide more than enough moisture to keep this plant happy. Saffron is extremely hardy outside of its growing season. It can withstand temperatures below zero, so it can be safely relocated to cooler areas of your home to save space if necessary.

Fertilizer:

You probably won’t need to use saffron fertiliser if you use nutrient-rich potting soil. In most cases, this plant can survive without it. If you believe it could benefit from some extra help, you can apply fertiliser once a year, but only if it contains very little nitrogen. If you do too much of this, your saffron will develop more leaves and fewer flowers. A balanced fertiliser blend of 10-10-10 is a good choice. Apply this in early fall, at the start of the growing season.

Harvesting Saffron:

The stigmas in the flowers, which are long thread-like pieces, are the edible part of the saffron plant. Three of these should be present in each flower. When the flower blooms, cut it from the stem and remove the stigmas with tweezers. If you want to preserve the beauty of the flowers, you can pick the stigmas without clipping them, but this is often more difficult. If you go this route, harvest around noon on a sunny day when the blooms are just starting to open.

Propagation:

If properly cared for, each saffron crocus corm can produce flowers for up to 15 years. They also produce more corms each year. You can gently separate these from the main ones every 4 to 5 years for more saffron plants. Because these small bulbs do not store well, plant the new corms as soon as possible.

Growing Saffron Indoors:

Saffron can be difficult to cultivate, but it is well worth the effort. Having this expensive herb on hand can help you and your family save a lot of money while also making this exotic herb more accessible to more people. If you enjoy saffron, growing it indoors is a great way to have fun while saving money.

FAQ

Q1. Is Saffron Difficult To Grow?

Ans: Saffron has some unique care requirements that make it difficult but not impossible.  Understand its requirements and growth cycle, as it differs from many other plants 

Q2. How Much Do You, Water Saffron?

Ans: While its price fluctuates, it is always prohibitively expensive. It typically ranges from $5,000 to $10,000 per pound, making it expensive regardless of price.  This is largely due to its time-consuming harvesting process and low crop yields per plant.

Q3. How Much is Saffron Worth?

Ans: Saffron does not like wet soil, so wait until it is completely dry between waterings. This can be as infrequent as once per week, and in some cases even less.