This native of Mediterranean climates can produce long stalked lavender flowers anytime between late September and mid-November, depending on the warmth and extent of Indian Summer. It reaches a height of 5 inches in bloom and the flowers benefit from a ground cover that can add support to their long, delicate flowers during heavy rains and wind. Because it starts into growth shortly after flowering, it benefits from planting under the canopy of sheltering deciduous trees and shrubs that drop their leaves relatively early in fall. The tree and shrub branches mitigate the worst effects of radiation frosts while the lack of leaves in the upper canopy permits sunlight to reach the thin, grass-like leaves of this crocus at ground level.