The saffron crocus grows best in climates like that of the Mediterranean maquis or the North American chaparral, where hot, dry summer winds blow across the land. However, saffron can live through temperatures as cold as , and short periods of snow. Saffron needs no extra water if it grows in a wet place like Kashmir, where there is usually 1000–1500 mm of rain each year. It is also important for the rain to fall at the right time of year: there should be a lot of rain in the spring and little in the summer. Rainfall just before flowering also makes the plant give more saffron. Rainy or cold weather during flowering can cause disease, so the plant gives less saffron. Other things that can make the plant give less saffron are: the weather being damp or hot for a long time; rabbits, rats, and birds, digging in the ground near the plant; parasites such as the roundworm; fungus and corm rot. Saffron plants grow best in strong and direct sunlight. Planting is best done in fields that slope towards the sunlight (i.e. south-sloping in the Northern Hemisphere), giving the crocuses' more sunlight. In the Northern Hemisphere, planting is mostly done in June, with corms planted some 7–15 cm deep.