Crocosmia: a real burst of energy!
From orange-yellow to fiery red. Having crocosmias in your garden guarantees warm late-summer color. Starting in August ??? and sometimes earlier ??? you???ll be taking pleasure from the thickly clustered flowers covering their racemes. They???re also stunning in combination with other late-summer flowers and ornamental grasses.
The colors of Crocosmia
Having Crocosmia in the garden adds a real splash of color. Originally, Crocosmia varieties were limited to orange but you can now choose from a whole range of colors from orange-yellow to scarlet. Their fiery palette of colors makes a flamboyant statement in the garden. This is even intensified by their tall, elegant inflorescences made up of many individual flowers crowded onto each raceme.
The Crocosmia loves sunlight
The Crocosmia (also known as Montbretia) is classified as a summer-flowering bulb. Its bulbs (technically corms) are planted in the spring. Be sure to choose a sunny spot for this since the Crocosmia is a real sun-worshipper. And that???s all there is to it. The first flower buds will appear in the summer. As soon as they open, you can delight in fireworks of color.
The Crocosmia effect
Would you like to celebrate the summer with a real spectacle of color in your garden? Then accompany your Crocosmia with other summer bulbs that will bloom from mid to late summer such as dahlias and gladioli. The Crocosmia can also be used as a color accent. Consider, for example, planting fire engine red Crocosmia in a predominantly bluish purple border. The resulting effect is spectacular: a real burst of energy!
Crocosmia combinations
Variation enlivens your garden and keeps drawing your attention to it. You can achieve this not only by varying flower colors but also their shapes. The long racemes of Crocosmia make a nice contrast against flat-headed summer flowers such as Yarrow (Achillea) and Helen???s flower (Helenium). More inspiration and practical tips about the Crocosmia and other summer bulbs are available at www.bulb.com.
Interesting facts about the Crocosmia
- Plant some extra crocosmias in a sunny spot in your garden to use as cut flowers. Their flowers have a long vase life.
- After flowering, the racemes produce attractive berries announcing the coming of fall. Enjoy them, too!
Most Crocosmia varieties will easily survive the winter as long as the garden provides good drainage. You can then look forward to another burst of color next year.