Flaming gorgeous

With their fiery hues, crocosmia add a bold blast to the dying days of summer

TOWARDS the end of the 19th Century, a French nurseryman called Victor Lemoine set out to create a new type of crocosmia. The most celebrated plant-breeder of his day wanted to develop a hybrid that was tougher, showier and more reliable in gardens than the wild forms indigenous to Africa.

The result of his efforts was Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora, a perennial with 2ft-tall stems clothed with funnel-shaped, fiery orange-red flowers in summer. Commonly known as montbretia, it was an immediate hit with British gardeners thanks to its looks and ability to withstand temperatures down to -15C.

Alas, Lemoine had created a monster. Montbretia turned out to be highly invasive and the first garden escapee was recorded in 1911. Today, it can be seen in hedgerows, roadside verges, waste ground and on clifftops. As a result of its thuggish behaviour, it’s illegal to deliberately introduce it into the wild.

Fortunately, not all crocosmias are so unruly. There are scores of amazing varieties that won’t spread like wildfire through beds and borders, providing a display from July until October, depending on variety. Flowers come in shades of red, yellow, orange and peachy pink, with some that are two-tone.

Apart from looking good at the tail end of summer, now is a good time to set ready-grown plants in the ground for a show next year. Don’t worry if you forget. Bulb-like corms are available in spring, although these are unlikely to flower during their first summer

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as they will concentrate on establishing a strong root system.

Crocosmias are native to vast swathes of southern and eastern Africa, from South Africa to Sudan, where they thrive in moist grassland. In our gardens they prefer a warm, sunny spot and do well in just about any soil, as long as it’s fertile, moist and fairly well drained.

Their botanical name derives from the Greek words krokos and osme, which roughly translates as crocus-scented. Bizarrely, this is nothing to do with them emitting a delightful scent in the garden but because their dried flowers smell a bit like the spice saffron, which comes from the flowers of Crocus sativus. We’ve been growing these latebloomers in Britain since the 19th Century, when tender wild species were raised by the wealthy in glasshouses. Over the years, plant-breeding has led to the introduction of 300 or so different varieties that are much better suited to our climate.

Another attribute of cultivated varieties is that flowers are much larger than their wild cousins – up to 3in in length. They are borne from slender buds that are arranged in a distinctive herringbone pattern on stems which can be anywhere from 12in to 5ft in height. Of all the varieties, perhaps the most famous is Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, a plant bred by Alan Bloom at his Blooms of Bressingham nursery. Making its debut at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1966 and first offered for sale in 1970, it bears fiery red flowers on 4ft-tall stalks, rising above a mass of heavily ribbed, dark green leaves. My personal favourite is ‘George Davison’, whose arching 2½ft stems carry amber-yellow flowers during July and August. Making its first appearance in 1910, it’s named after a Norfolk-based gardener who introduced a number of varieties in the early 20th Century. In my garden, a swathe of ‘George Davison’ rubs shoulders with golden day lilies and a clump of dwarf alstroemerias with mauve-pink flowers. They also make great partners for red hot pokers, agapanthus and dahlias. For a contrast in texture, team up with ornamental grasses, such as carex and Stipa gigantea.

Feed crocosmias in March with slow-release fertiliser and water freely during the growing season. In late autumn, spread a thick mulch of garden compost over the ground to insulate corms from frost. Leave faded foliage in place over winter and cut back to the ground before new leaves appear in early spring.