Purple4Polio Crocuses for 2025

Spring each year sees a beautiful purple carpet of crocus blooming in many communities across Great Britain and Ireland thanks to the Purple Crocus Corm planting to raise awareness of the Rotary fight for a polio free world.Rotary Clubs and RHS Groups can purchase crocuses for planting in their local areas. This not only enhances the environment, raises funds, promotes Rotary’ End Polio Now campaign but it is also about being a great way to be active and is good fun!

In 2016, Rotary Clubs and RHS groups across Britain and Ireland planted over 7,000,000 crocuses and this promotion was repeated in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 (despite the pandemic) and 2021.

In 2019 and 2020 Rotary Club of Beaconsfield purchased and planted 4,000 crocus corms, part of the 340,000 crocus corms planted in the Thames Valley area by Rotary Clubs and their partners working with schools and community groups.

In 2022 Rotary Club of Beaconsfield purchased a further 4,000 crocus corms which were planted on the Windsor End roundabout in Beaconsfield Old Town on 22 October 2022.  Rotary Great Britain & Ireland uses the sale proceeds of the crocus corms to eradicate polio. 

Why purple?

When a child receives their life-saving polio drops on mass polio immunisation days, their little finger is painted with a purple dye produced from crocus corms, so it is clear they have received their polio vaccine - hence the crocus connection.