We Grew the World’s Most Expensive Spice: Here’s What Happened

The world’s most expensive spice is more valuable than most metals! It’s a ground-up powder that comes from a specific flower’s parts. Epic Gardening founder Kevin Espiritu grew them successfully in his garden! Learn how he did it so you can replicate the process in your garden.

Written by Jerad Bryant Horticulture review by Sarah Jay Last updated: February 14, 2025 | 5 min read

A gardener harvests saffron flowers into a wicker basket from a garden bed growing the most expensive spice.

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You may have guessed it already—saffron is the world’s most expensive spice, but you can grow it yourself! It’s an orange-red powder that spice makers source from a species of Crocus, Crocus sativus. The flowers sport purple petals, yellow stamens, and glossy orange pistils.

The yellow stamens are the male flower parts; they’re irrelevant for spice collecting. It’s the female pistils you want! Three sprout off of each flower. To create a sizable amount of saffron spice, you must collect dozens, if not hundreds, of pistils! That’s why it’s best to plant saffron corms in a large area where they can spread and roam freely.

Epic Gardening founder Kevin Espiritu grew this expensive spice in barrels and raised beds. He planted a little more than 48 corms and collected enough saffron to make a delicious pot of rice. Try planting some as an experiment, or go all out like Kevin and plant 50 or more throughout your yard!

What is Saffron?

Female hands hold a wooden spoon filled with bright orange saffron stamens, surrounded by spilled stamens, a glass jar, and purple flowers on a wooden table. — Cultivate these precious blooms for a rewarding harvest.

Saffron is an age-old spice used in civilizations for over 3,500 years! It’s a product of selective breeding over generations. The flowers sprout from bulb-like storage units called corms. Corms are swollen stem bases with scaly leaves covering them. The covering also goes by “corm tunic” because it protects the stem like a tunic would for a person.

Saffron costs between $5,000 and $7,000 a pound. Not only is it expensive in stores, but it’s also difficult to verify whether it’s true saffron. Grow it yourself to save hundreds of dollars!

How To Plant Saffron

A close-up of a man's hand planting saffron corms into black, loose soil in a raised garden bed. — Plant corms in the fall for beautiful blooms next spring.

Plant corms from late summer through early fall, while the weather is chilly but not frosty. September and October are the optimal planting months. Corms need some time to establish themselves before winter frost arrives. They’ll produce ample roots under the soil, anchoring themselves where it’s warm and cozy.

Kevin advises planting corms three to four inches deep in warm climates and six inches in cold ones. The plants need more protection amidst harsh frosts, and a lower depth insulates them from the cold. They’ll grow well throughout USDA hardiness zones 5 through 8.

After planting corms, cover them with soil and water them well. You want them moist, not soggy, from fall until spring. Have patience as you wait for flowers to appear!

How To Care for Saffron

Lavender-colored blossoms with delicate petals and vibrant orange stamens rise above green, grassy leaves in a garden setting. — Corms thrive when left in the ground in mild climates.

Sprouts and flowers appear from late summer through fall. They’ll linger in warm climates throughout the winter, though they’ll disappear in cool ones when fall frost arrives. Bad bulbs may not flower their first year; sprouts will appear without blooms. Leave them be and they’ll sprout flowers the next autumn.

Whether to leave your corms in the ground depends on your garden’s climate. Gardeners in zone 8 and cool regions of zone 9 can leave the corms in the ground. They’ll produce cormlets, which are mini-replicas of the mature corm. They’ll grow into full-size plants the next year and give you more saffron to collect.

Cold zone gardeners may want to dig their plants up when they’re through flowering and photosynthesizing. Place them in a cool, dark location until late summer, then plant them again in September or October.

Growing the Most Expensive Spice: Kevin’s Garden Experiment

So, how did Kevin’s flowers perform? He collected enough of the spice to make rice! I’d say that’s a rewarding harvest for growing the world’s most expensive spice. Let’s see how each step of the process went so you can replicate his success in your garden.

Sprouts Appeared

Slender green shoots with narrow, grass-like leaves emerge from the soil. — Watch as sprouts quickly grow into lush, green strands.

Kevin started growing his supply of the most expensive spice in the world in October when the weather was chilly and mild at his Epic Homestead in San Diego. Sprouts appeared a few weeks after planting, poking their green tips above the soil line. The tips are the leaf ends—they elongate into thin, green strands with white strips. At the leafy base is a sheathe that protects the budding foliage.

The sprouts continuously appeared over the few weeks after planting. Kevin added ample water throughout the growing season, keeping the roots as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Part of the fun is watching the plants grow! They’ll surprise you with how fast they mature.

Flowers Popped Up

A man's hand touches a pale purple flower with frilled petals and bright orange stamens, emerging from a slender green stem surrounded by long, narrow leaves. — Large corms yield vibrant purple flowers before other bulbs.

A few weeks after sprouts appeared, flowers popped up. They’re bright, purple-petalled blossoms that emerge from the center of the plant. Large corms have the highest chances of producing blooms; Kevin planted many healthy ones, as he grew many fresh flowers!

Though he planted in rows in raised beds, he also utilized a clumping technique in his barrels. This Crocus species prefers tight conditions, and it thrives whether you plant it in straight lines or together in clumps. Tuck it among your perennial bulbs and the blooms will pop up before daffodils, tulips, and snowdrops.

Harvest Time!

On a white cloth napkin lies a small pile of plucked orange pistils. — Gather fresh pistils and store them for cooking later.

Once most flowers appear, it’s time to harvest! Kevin harvested a few dozen pistils, giving him enough spice to make rice! Harvest the orange pistils by first cutting the flowers off. With the flowers off, you can handle them delicately while you pluck the orange pistils off with your fingers. If you have shaky hands, try using fine tweezers for plucking.

After plucking, place the thin pistils into a glass jar or plastic container. You may pulverize them to form a powder, though they hold their flavor better if you leave them whole. Seal the container, and place it in a cool, dark location like a pantry or spice cabinet.

Saffron rice is a delicious dish Kevin made with his homegrown harvest. To make it yourself, take eight to ten pistil threads and drop them in a glass of warm water. Let them “bloom,” a process where the spice lets its flavor seep into the water. Then, place the flavorful water in the pot and cook your rice how you normally would.

Blooming Stopped

Long, narrow green leaves emerge from the soil, with slender stems standing upright and no flowers in sight. — Don’t fret if blooms stop—plants are gathering energy.

All of a sudden, the blooms stopped appearing in the Epic Garden! Though this perennial performs well in most zones, it’ll sometimes suffer under intense heat. It didn’t prevent Kevin from harvesting, though it gave him less of a harvest than he intended.

Growers in warm climates should consider growing this spice directly in the ground. The soil insulates and protects it from harsh heat and drought. In-ground soil stays cooler in spring and warmer in fall than raised bed soil, as it’s not subject to severe temperature swings.

If blooms stopped like they did on Kevin’s, do not worry! The plants use their green leaves for the remainder of the season to photosynthesize and gather energy for next year’s blooming season.

Storage

A hand holds a saffron corm with a slender green stem emerging from it, surrounded by long, narrow leaves. — Harvested plants need storage in cool, dark conditions.

Kevin leaves his bulbs in the ground, though he lives in a warm climate without significant winter frost. Growers in zones 5 and below may want to dig their Crocus plants up after their foliage turns yellow and withers from late fall through early winter.

After digging up the plants, free them of soil by dusting their outer coverings. Place straw in wooden crates and add the plants on top. Then, add straw to the plants after you finish stacking them. Put the crate in a chilly, dark area like a cellar, pantry, or unheated garage.

As late summer approaches the next year, you’ll take the plants out of storage and prepare them for planting. This hard work proves beneficial, as it creates larger and larger harvests of the world’s most expensive spice with each successive year of growing.