I inherited mine so it must be years old. It comes up every year without fail but this was the best it got this year. It soon died off so the other day I cut it right down as it was an eyesore. Did buy Lucifer a few years ago but it never materialised.
My Lucifer managed to flower, but they didn't last long. The seeds are nice so I usually have them until early winter, but this year the whole lot were cut to the ground by mid August as they looked like dpatel's. 🙄 Even though we have heavy clay, it just couldn't keep the moisture in 40° heat, and I too hope for more normal temps next year.
My Lucifer flowered well but went over quickly. I’m careful about not letting it self seed so they were dead headed quickly. Today I yanked all of the stems out they only had vestiges of green left.
@Fran IOM, lovely picture of your crocosmias. They make a nice display. I can't help thinking how large ours are in comparison, they reach the height of a six foot fence.m Think the orange ones are more compact. Our NDNs are similar to yours and as they line our driveway, I often admire them when walking past them.
So sad to see. I have grown Lucifer and Hellfire which is about the same height slightly later and darker red. As@Lyn has said both have lovely leaves but have a habit if falling over. C Short Red is wonderful if you can find it and one of my favourites. In a big border in a deep soil C Zeal's Giant is stunning. Some flower at different times so worth considering.
An article in the Sunday Mail said it might an idea to dig them up, detach the top corm and plant again but much deeper. Further down is cooler. Mine went brown and didn't flower.
They form a string of corms, very interesting to see. Not sure if a new corm develops each year but it is easy to tell which are the old ones. I replant the newer corms when dividing.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
The common orange crocosmia is a nightmare down here in Cornwall. It grows everywhere in the wild. Along roadsides, on banks etc., and is a devil to get rid of. I inherited some which I rip up every time I see it growing but have not succeeded in getting rid of it completely. I have Lucifer which I planted on top of a low wall so that the afternoon sun shines through the flowers at eye level, gorgeous. It has done reasonably well this summer, just finished flowering. I transplanted a few corms to another area which has also coped with the weather. We have been hot but not as high temperatures as the rest of the country. My soil is thin and gritty which seems to keep Lucifer under control as I gave my sister, on the Isle of Wight with fat soil, some of my corms and Lucifer has been very unruly, a bit of a pain it has increased so rapidly. She has been busy digging him out to get rid of him. The weather has definitely been the cause of many plants failing and not doing well. Flowers going over very quickly and crops not producing as normal.
@Songbird-2 Thank you for your comments. I suppose I am lucky mine don't seem to multiply but come up the same every year. I have never seen any as high as 6ft! Hard to imagine. I think I would have to consider doing something if mine got that tall. Might think about getting a different variety for next year and see how they progress. Mine are obviously the wild ones and they just appeared when the garden was being landscaped and in a very good place as well. Have had them for 7 years and goodness knows how long they had been in the ground before then. Definitely not a plant that's going to die on you but maybe a few gardeners wish that would happen!
Above isn't Emily McKenzie. I find that one is slower to increase than some of the other varieties. I pull the orange one out in handfulls in autumn, it's pretty when in flower but quite a thug
Posts
I inherited mine so it must be years old. It comes up every year without fail but this was the best it got this year. It soon died off so the other day I cut it right down as it was an eyesore. Did buy Lucifer a few years ago but it never materialised.
Even though we have heavy clay, it just couldn't keep the moisture in 40° heat, and I too hope for more normal temps next year.
Mine went brown and didn't flower.
I have Lucifer which I planted on top of a low wall so that the afternoon sun shines through the flowers at eye level, gorgeous. It has done reasonably well this summer, just finished flowering. I transplanted a few corms to another area which has also coped with the weather. We have been hot but not as high temperatures as the rest of the country. My soil is thin and gritty which seems to keep Lucifer under control as I gave my sister, on the Isle of Wight with fat soil, some of my corms and Lucifer has been very unruly, a bit of a pain it has increased so rapidly. She has been busy digging him out to get rid of him.
The weather has definitely been the cause of many plants failing and not doing well. Flowers going over very quickly and crops not producing as normal.