This time we are featuring Crocosmia, or I used to say it "cross-cro-seemia" [I don't know where I got that]. The variety that I like best is the "Lucifer" which is very bright red when it blooms. They generally bloom when the other lillies and gladiolas bloom. The first time I ever saw these was at work - and I was taken aback at how bright they are! You can see them from a far distance, partly because the "lucifer' cultivar is so big (I have some almost 5 feet tall, although basic documentation says they get around 3 ft tall) and because the yellow-to-red just makes them glow. The hummingbirds LOVE them!
I saw a clump at my mom's community garden and told her I would love it if she could talk the guy out of a few plants for me. Well, she did, and he dug up a whole shovel full! And, being almost 5 feet tall, mom had a heckuva time getting them into her car and home, especially since they were at the end of their bloom, and little seeds went everywhere!
Crocosmia grow from a corm similar to gladiolas. However, instead of putting out babies on the sides of a corm, it develops more corms below the 'mother' corm, so that if you dig them up, they look like they're all strung together like a candy necklace. I was so enthusiastic about these plants that I ordered 200 corms and planted 8 clumps of them in my garden.
The first year, they didn't bloom. But THIS year - oh...my....there are masses of red blooms everywhere! It is incredible! Planted next to them I have shasta daisies and the red and white set each other off. Throw in a few black eyed susans and we'll really have a fire on our hands!
Probably one of the most satisfying things is that my sister now loves them. "You just can't have enough of these!" I agree.
Crocosmia 'Lucifer' is the deserving recipient of an RHS Award of Garden Merit
Common Name: Crocosmia
Genus: Crocosmia
Cultivar: 'Lucifer'
Skill Level: Beginner
Exposure: Full sun, Partial shade
Hardiness: Hardy
Soil type: Well-drained/light, Clay/heavy, Acidic, Chalky/alkaline
Height: 100cm
Spread: 60cm
Time to divide plants: March to May
Flowering period: August to September
Hardiness Zone 5-9
Hey there, love this flower. The color draws your
ReplyDeleteeyes right to it. Still trying to figure out how
you say it. Is this the only color that it comes in??? Keep them coming, Love, Condy
They come in other shades of orange, but those are much smaller plants, although they bloom pretty. Do a google search on them and you can see!
ReplyDelete