Re: SUCCESS WITH CROCOSMIAS?

Crocosmia vary widely in how floriferous they are, and
how resistant to viruses and other problems.  I know
that the beautiful soft orange Solfaterre was dropped
by Suncrest Nursery here in California because they
found it to be susceptible to diseases and a shy
bloomer in later years.  The hybrid fiery deep red
'Lucifer' seems much more vigorous in my experience,
although it does seem to need good amount of sun to
bloom heavily.  The weediest forms of Crocosmia seem
to be the standard orange that has been in SF Bay Area
gardens for decades, and blooms quite well in sun or
deep shade, but is a virtual weed in its spread into
areas you don't want it.

I have also seen forms of Crocosmia here locally in
Berkeley that seem to have out of sinc bloom periods,
there used to be a quite beautiful patch at the
intersection of San Pablo Ave and Ashby that bloomed
nearly all year.  It has since been removed, and I
always wished I had gotten some of this form because
it did so well here.

My advice on Crocosmia would be to rip it out if it
never blooms well, and try another cultivar and give
it enough sun and good soil/water to bloom.  Try
several to see which do the best in your conditions,
as they do vary quite abit.


--- Bridget Lamp <bridgetlamp@gmail.com> wrote:

> I too have a clump of crocosmias that have never
> bloomed and I thought it
> was because they are in full shade.  Hopefully, I
> will remember to move them
> in the fall and report to the group what happens.
> 
> I have another crocosmia--firey red--that don't get
> much water and bake in
> my west-facing backyard.  They don't get brown and
> bloom just fine!  And the
> hummingbirds love them!
> 
> happy gardening!
> Bridget
> Seattle, WA
> 
> On 8/5/07, Diane Whitehead <voltaire@islandnet.com>
> wrote:
> 
> > You might have a bad one.
> >
> > I bought a bag of mixed crocosmias - one of those
> bags of imported
> > bulbs that get sold in garden centres.  One of
> them multiplied
> > prodigiously but never bloomed.  I managed to
> remove all of it but
> > some crept into the neighbours and is still there,
> spreading around,
> > still not blooming.  It's been not blooming for
> about 30 years.
> >
> > Buy some named ones.  All of my named ones bloom
> just fine.
> >
> > I do have to water them, so I have them all
> growing  in one area to
> > make watering easy.
> >
> > Diane Whitehead
> > Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
> > maritime zone 8, cool Mediterranean climate
> > mild rainy winters, mild dry summers
> >
> >
> >
>
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index