I've grown saffron several times over the years and it does well for a year or two, then disappears. I suspected thieves. Small, gray, furry ones....

I volunteer in the horticulture department at the local zoo, and one of the tasks the past summer was to 'move' an herb bed. We were digging up an old bed of saffron which was not going to be saved or replanted, so I, ummm...offered to set 'em free.... Liberated several hundred corms, some the size of tulip bulbs. Score!

Gave a bunch away, and planted the rest in a well-prepared and -armored raised bed. 1/2" hardware cloth was stapled to slats and turned down over the edge of the bed. Sure enough, one of the little miscreants tried to pilfer the planting, but couldn't get the corm through the wire. I had 100% sprouting last fall with vigorous growth, but only a handful of blooms as expected.

Question is about fertilizing: when is the best time? I've found precious little info on the web, other than the plants preferring a "mediterranean" environment which I have tried to replicate WRT watering, drainage and such. How about soil pH?

Cheers