Otago Peninsula
Well-behaved crocosmias are cool, says Margaret Barker.
It was reminiscent of our own coastlines here in New Zealand with gorse on the hills and clumps of the iris-like leaved, orange-flowered montbretia ( Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora) flowering in the ditches. It’s a garden escapee in Cornwall, as it is here in parts of New Zealand.
Don’t put this plant in your garden if there is any chance of it jumping the fence and becoming feral.
It’s difficult to remove from your own garden too. You can dig deeply, endeavouring to remove the chain of corms which form successively each year as the plant drags itself down.
You dig and dig, chuck all the corms out. But next spring, unperturbed, this montbretia will grow again to annoy you with its jolly orange flowers.
Why bother planting montbretia anyway when there are so many other delightful crocosmia cultivars which are neither invasive nor too vigorous.
In spring, all these crocosmias produce fresh, new, green sword-shaped leaves which, even before the plant has begun to bloom, make a contrasting foliage statement in the garden amongst fine or round-leafed plants. Then, just when summer flowers have gone over and the garden looks fusty, dry and tired, autumn-blooming crocosmias fire and sparkle to light the garden up again.
I have some favourites and I am glad of them. Crocosmia ‘Emily McKenzie’ has star-like flowers that are shaded orange, amber and gold. These are produced on 60cm spikes which open progressively up the stem, giving an extended period of bloom.
The flower colour of Crocosmia ‘Severn Sunrise’ is altogether softer. It’s the warm pink of a sun-ripened peach. I have planted it amongst other brightly coloured orange and yellow flowers where it is somewhat overwhelmed. I now think it might be better placed amongst flowers of a softer hue so that its delicacy is enhanced.
Not quite pure yellow but not orange either, the colour of Crocosmia ‘Lady Hamilton’ is somewhat in-between.
It’s a lovely, not-too-strident contrast with other seasonal yellow flowers such as goldenrod and yellow cosmos. There are pure yellow crocosmias but they are still on my wish list.
I have a bright red ‘Lucifer’, which is just a tad tall, vigorous and enthusiastic for my liking, even in the large Larnach Castle Garden. In midsummer, it flowers boldly before its more dainty sisters. We used to stake it, fiddling around with bits of string but it still fell out in the middle and looked ungainly.
Recently we acquired some grid supports. These are circular with crisscrossing metal rods welded across the metal ring. This circular support is mounted on sturdy legs so that it can be shoved well into the ground. We corralled ‘Lucifer’ into a large grid and now the beast is behaving itself and looking magnificent. It’s taller than I am.
Crocosmia are members of the iris family.
They come from South Africa where they grow naturally in areas with cool summers and mild winters.
Plant your crocosmias in fertile well drained soil. They will take a little shade but prefer the sun. If planting dry corms remember to plant them pointy side up. Lift and divide every three to five years to keep the plants vigorous and floriferous.