Crocosmia 'Lucifer' vies with Delphinium exaltatum for center stage
Delicate Crocosmia 'Lucifer' flower buds FLANKING THE WIGGLE WAGGLE water feature at Bedrock Gardens is the Garish Garden, a 100-foot-long bed of bold, showy sculptures, plants, shrubs and trees. This is the garden in which plants, whether through foliage or flower, vie and clash, and ultimately rise up in front of you to demand attention. Here, throughout the seasons, you’ll find giant, elephant-ear-like ligularia with its spiky yellow flowers (Ligularia dentata 'Othello'), tall purple delphiniums (Delphinium exaltatum), coneflowers both white and purple (E. purpurea 'Alba' and E. purpurea), a golden smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria 'Golden Spirit'), masses of yarrow that change color from yellow to burnt orange (Achillea 'Terracotta'), and a variegated maple (Acer Platanoides Drummondii) that fractures the sunlight and sends it shooting off in a thousand directions.
Not to be outdone by these is Crocosmia 'Lucifer', with its spiky, sword-shaped leaves and vaguely tropical scarlet flowers. The crocosmia both grounds and exalts the Garish Garden. The leaves form a steady march of upright soldiers that offer structure and steadfastness throughout the seasons. Early summer brings delicate, red-tinged, feather-like buds waving on tall, stiffly arching stems. Fireworks arrive in mid-July, with the buds exploding into flaming red, trumpet-shaped flowers that float above the foliage and tease onlookers (including hoverflies, butterflies and hummingbirds) to come closer. Finally, if your growing season is long enough (it's not, here) long sprays of yellowish, chestnut-shaped seed heads appear in fall, along the flowering spine, which eventually open to reveal complex, wine-colored seeds.
A member of the Iridaceae family that is native to eastern South Africa, crocosmia (common name, montbretia) can’t help but be flashy, as its siblings include gladioli, lilies, irises and crocuses. C. ‘Lucifer’ is a hybrid developed by the late, great English plantsman, Alan Bloom, at his Bressingham Nurseries in the late 1960s. It is a clump-forming plant that propagates by corms and seeds. New England’s climate limits its spread each year, but in places like California's Pacific Coast and England, it has outworn its welcome by spreading like a weed.
Not to be outdone by these is Crocosmia 'Lucifer', with its spiky, sword-shaped leaves and vaguely tropical scarlet flowers. The crocosmia both grounds and exalts the Garish Garden. The leaves form a steady march of upright soldiers that offer structure and steadfastness throughout the seasons. Early summer brings delicate, red-tinged, feather-like buds waving on tall, stiffly arching stems. Fireworks arrive in mid-July, with the buds exploding into flaming red, trumpet-shaped flowers that float above the foliage and tease onlookers (including hoverflies, butterflies and hummingbirds) to come closer. Finally, if your growing season is long enough (it's not, here) long sprays of yellowish, chestnut-shaped seed heads appear in fall, along the flowering spine, which eventually open to reveal complex, wine-colored seeds.
A member of the Iridaceae family that is native to eastern South Africa, crocosmia (common name, montbretia) can’t help but be flashy, as its siblings include gladioli, lilies, irises and crocuses. C. ‘Lucifer’ is a hybrid developed by the late, great English plantsman, Alan Bloom, at his Bressingham Nurseries in the late 1960s. It is a clump-forming plant that propagates by corms and seeds. New England’s climate limits its spread each year, but in places like California's Pacific Coast and England, it has outworn its welcome by spreading like a weed.
Alternatively, in NE, it can be slow to establish, sometimes taking two to three years. Nurseries recommend digging up the corms like gladioli, or heavily mulching around the plants for winter. Jill does neither: "I used to dig them up but left them one year, and they did fine," she says. She hasn't dug them up since.
To allow C. ‘Lucifer’ its greatest glory (and height, up to four feet tall), plant it in moist but well-drained soil in a sunny location. Let it show off in broad swathes, or ribbons that allow it to wend its way among (and lord its way over) its neighbors. If you have less space, plant it in a clump of at least a dozen corms for greatest visual impact. Folks in warmer climes will want to cut off the seed heads each fall (they’re terrific in dried flower arrangements) to check its spread. Other maintenance includes springtime division every three to four years to discard the old corms and replant the new, though again, this may depend on where you live. After seven years of growing them without crowding, Jill divided hers for the first time last year, in order to donate some to the Mastway School Garden in Lee.
To allow C. ‘Lucifer’ its greatest glory (and height, up to four feet tall), plant it in moist but well-drained soil in a sunny location. Let it show off in broad swathes, or ribbons that allow it to wend its way among (and lord its way over) its neighbors. If you have less space, plant it in a clump of at least a dozen corms for greatest visual impact. Folks in warmer climes will want to cut off the seed heads each fall (they’re terrific in dried flower arrangements) to check its spread. Other maintenance includes springtime division every three to four years to discard the old corms and replant the new, though again, this may depend on where you live. After seven years of growing them without crowding, Jill divided hers for the first time last year, in order to donate some to the Mastway School Garden in Lee.
There are many crocosmia hybrids on the market now, some with earlier bloom times (you can have a whole summer of crocosmia blooms!), and others better suited to smaller gardens. C. ‘Fire King’, for example, blooms from early to midsummer, and grows to just two feet. C. ‘Carmine Brilliant’ also reaches two feet tall with reddish-orange blossoms with yellow centers. Both adapt well to planters. If red is just too garish for your garden, try C. 'Citronella' with its bright green leaves and soft yellow luminous flowers.
Dabble and play with your garden’s palette. Let a section of your garden give way to bold colors, textures and shapes. You may be inspired to tap into that “little bit of devil” inside you, and let C ‘Lucifer” out. ~ Lisa Peters O’Brien
Dabble and play with your garden’s palette. Let a section of your garden give way to bold colors, textures and shapes. You may be inspired to tap into that “little bit of devil” inside you, and let C ‘Lucifer” out. ~ Lisa Peters O’Brien
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