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Crocosmias are a great way to add bright flowers to your border gardens, full of citrus shades. There are literally hundreds of varieties from which to choose from such as the popular crocosmia lucifer with bright red flowers as shown in the main picture or Crocosmia spitfire which its fire-orange flowers which is a dwarf variety so you can find something no matter the size, shape, or style of your garden.
Some grow in upright shapes, with bright green leaves while others produce sprays of flowers you will no doubt want to display on your tables as they also make the excellent cut flowers, plus they flower prolifically and can be divided every 3 years to get even better displays.
Where to grow crocosmia plants
If you plant Crocosmias you need fertile, well-draining but moist soil. They’re not fussy about soil type but they seem to do better in slightly acidic soil.
They also prefer full sun but if you only have an area with light shading and some sunlight for part of the day, they will usually survive there too.
As mentioned, they need well-draining soil because they must be watered regularly (without, of course, becoming waterlogged). Consider digging plenty of organic compost to improve the water retention to help keep the soil moist. If the area is a little prone to water-logging then we recommend improving the soil first, digging in plenty of grit and organic matter.
How to plant crocosmia
Crocosmias are corms which means you can plant them the same as bulbs. For this, dig holes in your garden 8 inches deep and fill it with well-rotted compost. Place a few corms in the hole, about 6 to 8 inches apart around 3 to 5 inches deep. This will help you create a reasonably sized clump of flowers in the near future. Then, cover with soil and water well and keep the soil moist but not waterlogged as this can rot the combs.
General care
Once planted, you will need to protect them during winter and of course, keep them from drying out in summer which just means keeping the soil moist and now allowing them to dry out. They multiply very quickly so within a few years, the clumps will be congested and need dividing in order to keep up the health and long term flowers produced.
Propagating crocosmias
If you want to propagate, you can remove the clumps in spring and divide them, then replant the divisions. However, you should do this every 3-4 years regularly.
You can learn more about how and when to divide crocosmia in this guide
Problems – keep an eye out for spider mites
The good news is, unlike most plants, Crocosmia don’t have many problems and remain disease and pest free most of the time. However, they can have issues with spider mites.
The problem with the red spider mite is that they are so small you often don’t notice they are a problem until they multiplied to the point of making webs across the plant. So, as soon as you notice the issue, treat it with a pesticide spray.
Recommended Varieties
See availability of crocosmia at Yougarden.com for sale
- For compact gardens, you can grow Crocosmia ‘Emily McKenzie’ which has bright orange flowers with a mahogany throat.
- Crocosmia ‘Citronella’ is an upright with small, yellow flowers.
- For height, you should try ‘Lucifer’ which grows up to 1.5 m with fiery red blooms.
- For a hybrid with stunning, orange-red flowers, try the new Crocosmia ‘Harvest Sun’.
- If you want a medium height plant, try the Crocosmia ‘George Davison’ – at 60cm, with upright stems of golden yellow flowers.
- Arching sprays of warm Apricot yellow, tubular shaped flowers
- Pleated mid green foliage. Excellent as a cut flower
- Pot Size (Supplied): 9cm
- Supplied Height (Incl. Pot): 20-30cm
- Characteristics: Perennial, green sword-shaped leaves. Deep orange flowers with reddish throats emerge from purple buds in the Summer.
- Height and Spread: 1 / 1m
- Good quality product
- Made in UK
- Characteristics: Deciduous perennial with bronze-green foliage that is joined by spike-like, crimson-red flowers.
- Growth and Spread: Grows to around 0.5m tall, spreading to roughly 0.5m wide.
- Period of Interest: Begins to flower in July, with these blooms lasting until early Autumn into September.
- Water and Maintenance: Requires protection from frost. Dead foliage should be removed in Autumn and should be watered once a week, keeping the soil moist.
- Pot Size (Supplied): 9cm
- Supplied Height (Incl. Pot): 20-30cm
- Characteristics: Perennial, mid-green sword-shaped leavesand bright red funnel-shaped flowers that appear in clusters.
- Height and Spread: 1.5 / 0.5m
- Pot Size (Supplied): 9cm
- Supplied Height (Incl. Pot): 20-30cm
- Characteristics: Perennial, green sword-shaped leaves with branched stems that carry several orange flowers in the Summer months.
- Height and Spread: 1 / 0.5m
- 10 X RED CROCOSMIA LUCIFER LOOSE CORMS BULBS PERRENIAL
- READY TO POT OR PLANT OUT
- YOU WILL RECEIVE 10 BULBS
- CATEGORY : - CROCOSMIA “MONTBRETIA” : - (WE ARE UK STOCKISTS PLEASE CHECK OTHER SELLERS AS MANY BULBS COME FROM CHINA AND TAKE MONTHS TO ARRIVE)
- VARIETY : - MIXED VARIETIES
- DESCRIPTION : - ARCHING FLOWERS SHOWY MIXED TUBULAR BLOOMS
- HEIGHT : - 60-70 CM : - BLOOMS : - SUMMER AUTUMN
- QUANTITY PER UNIT : - 10 : - PLEASE BE AWARE THESE ARE THE BULBS AND NOT THE PLANT : - PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS
Last update on 2021-09-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
