Late-Summer Blooming Perennial Bulb

With their dramatic beauty, nothing beats crocosmia for long-lasting color, either in the garden or a vase.

Native to South Africa, crocosmia, or “monbretia” as it is sometimes called, is a cousin to gladiolus, iris and freesia.  It has bladelike leaves that grow 2 to 4 feet tall depending on the variety and growing conditions. They tend to get taller and spread more vigorously if you don’t have to dig the corms up every year for storage.     By midsummer, an arc hing flower spike reveals tubular, star-shaped flowers that burst open in shades of red, yellow and orange. Each spike blooms for three to four weeks.

In spring, plant corms 2 to 3 inches deep and 6 to 8 inches apart in moist, well-drained soil. You may want to add organic matter, such as compost, to help improve your soil’s drainage.  Putting a shovelful of sand in the bottom of the planting hole is another way to improve your drainage.

Crocosmia prefers full sun, but can tolerate part shade. Most cultivars are cold-hardy in USDA zones 6 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 4, with the exception of ‘Lucifer’, which is cold-hardy to zone 5.    A protected site, heavy mulch and sharp drainage all increase crocosmia’s chances of surviving the winter.

If you’d rather not take a chance with your corms, you’ll want to dig the less-hardy cultivars in the fall. Wait until the leaves have started to die back and gently remove the corms from the soil. Cut the foliage back to 6 inches and brush off the soil. Place the corms in a warm, dry area, then dust with sulfur to help deter rot during storage.

After they have dried for a few days, find a box with holes for air circulation. Place a layer of newspaper in the bottom. Then put down an inch of peat moss and put the corms in the box, making sure they do not touch. Cover them with another inch of peat moss.    You can make as many as three layers in a box. Mist at least the top layer of peat moss once a month to keep the corms from drying out.

Crocosmia will also grow well in containers, which is especially helpful to gardeners living in cooler areas. This way the plants can be started indoors and then moved out to the deck or placed in the garden as the weather warms.

For more ideas, visit our website at delightinyourgarden.net.

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