Manitoba’s flower making its entrance

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/05/2015 (4036 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Leave it to pale purple petals to pronounce spring in the heart of Canada.

The prairie crocus, Manitoba’s provincial flower since 1906, is in bloom at Living Prairie Museum (2795 Ness Ave.) and throughout the city.

According to Living Prairie Museum director Kyle Lucyk, the best place to see crocuses blooming in the city is at Little Mountain Park, or Blue Stem Park.

While the museum once held an annual Crocus Day celebration, less and less crocuses are popping up each year at the site to warrant holding an event. In the past, Crocus Day typicallymarked Living Prairie Museum’s grand opening but with Manitoba’s unpredictable winters these past few years, the flowers are blooming at different times each year, some years as early as the middle of the March.

Lucyk says crocuses like to be in sandy, dry, well-drained soil and typically are in bloom for about two weeks.

“Out here, it’s borderline too wet, we have photographs from the 1980s when it was really, really dry and we had crocuses everywhere,” Lucyk said.

Crocuses can still be seen at Living Prairie  Museum but they are significantly harder to come by in comparison to three decades ago. The plant is well-adjusted to a colder climate and can survive the sporadic snowfalls of early spring.

Lucyk says many who buy the perennial flower often end up killing it with love by either planting it in very fertile soil or by overwatering it.  

Even though the flower is not as abundant as it has been in the past, Lucyk says many still call to inquire about when it is blooming so they can stop by for a visit.