Crocosmia flower planting and care in the open field

This graceful plant with thin xiphoid leaves is called the Japanese gladiolus. Crocosmia: photos of amazing varieties, growing in the open field, proper planting and care, breeding methods.

Crocosmia: varieties and varieties

A delightful plant with flowers of various shades, crowning a long peduncle, grows naturally in the central regions of Africa. At the end of the 19th century, Lemoine, a breeder from France, managed to breed hybrid varieties of tritonia with magnificent flowers. Since that time, the flower has been widely grown in gardens and parks, and is now used for landscape compositions as a perennial plant. Another name for crocosmia is montbrecia.

Crocosmia is an unusual plant that is increasingly used in landscape design.

In total, about 50 species of montbrecia are known, of which two are used in landscape design, while perennial hybrids are represented by varieties that are unique in color.

Cultivation of crocosmia in the open field has certain agrotechnical rules, the observance of which guarantees the perfect flowering of plants.

Advice! Plant crocosmia of different varieties on the site away from each other to avoid cross-pollination.

In landscape design, the following varieties of tritonia are used to create flower arrangements in the open field:

1. Emily mc kenzie - symmetrical flowers of brown-yellow color in bright colors with a late flowering period. The height of the bush reaches up to 0.6 m.

   Emily mc kenzie

2. Norwich canary - drooping peduncles of this variety, crowned with a sultan of yellow canary flowers, look like a firebird's feather. The height of the bush is 0.6 m.

   Norwich canary

3. Star of the east - the flowering time of this variety lasts until the first frost. The tall peduncle bears apricot-colored bells of a star. The diameter of the flower reaches 10 cm. In winter, perennial rhizomes are easily damaged by frost, so the variety requires a reliable shelter.

   Star of the east

4. Lucifer grows up to 1.5 m. A rich palette of color colors - from pastel to bright fiery thick tones - allows you to use this variety to create any compositions in landscape design.

   Lucifer

5. Early flowering varieties of montbrecia include Crocosmia paniculata... Tall plants bloom in June with modest orange flowers.

   Crocosmia paniculata

Crocosmia planting

Cultivation of tritonia is possible on fertile soils with a high humus content. Groundwater should not be located close to the surface of the beds. If it is impossible to transfer the plants to a dry place, you will need to first perform work on the device of reliable drainage and drainage of groundwater from the planting site.

The landing site is selected based on the crocosmia's need for good lighting.The planting site should not be shaded by tall trees, perennial flowers or shrubs. Ideal for planting a flower crop in a brightly lit place, sheltered from the wind. Crocosmia: growing is easy, even for beginners in floriculture.

Plant your crop so that it is protected from the wind as much as possible.

Before planting, corms of montbrecia must be processed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. A positive effect is obtained by soaking the planting material in growth stimulants (root, epin).

Advice! The small baby is separated from the corms and planted in a separate bed for growing, deepening at least 1.5 cm.

Adult crocosmia corms are planted in ridges, embedded to a depth of 0.1 m, the distance between the two plants is maintained at about 0.1 - 0.12 m.

Advice! The montbrecia will start blooming earlier if the plant is planted in a greenhouse in February and transplanted to a permanent place in the spring.

Plant care

Perennial crocosmia corms do not tolerate cold winters, especially with little snow. In the southern regions of Russia, the plant is left to winter in the beds, but in the northern regions, it is required to dig out the corms for storage in a place protected from the cold.

If the winters in your region are very cold, it is better to dig out crocosmia rhizomes for the cold period

Plant care comes down to timely, regular watering. Overflows of landings are not allowed. In rainy weather, it is necessary to eliminate stagnant rainwater in crocosmic beds.

The rather long peduncles of the plant bear heavy spike-shaped inflorescences that require care: tying the peduncles to the pegs. Faded flower stalks need to be cut, this operation will provide the rhizomes with an influx of additional nutrients.

Fertilizing and feeding crocosmia

In the phase of the appearance of leaves, the first feeding of the montbrecia bushes is carried out. Complete mineral fertilizer is applied to plant beds. You can water the plantings with infusion of cow dung or bird droppings. It is necessary to repeat the fertilization of the bushes at least 3 times a month.

Crocosmia needs quite frequent mineral dressings

Closer to autumn, the plant must be fed with potash fertilizers. This top dressing will strengthen the corms and better transfer the wintering of plants.

Plant propagation

Crocosmia reproduces by seed and vegetative methods. Seeds are sown in greenhouses in February. The grown seedlings are planted in beds in open ground for the whole summer. During the summer, young plants grow corms. Grown from crocosmia seeds, they bloom in the second or third year after sowing. Growing from seeds requires special attention to young plants: overflow is detrimental to seedlings.

Crocosmia seeds

The easiest way to reproduce is to separate and raise daughters. The baby is planted in separate beds. The flowering of young plants begins from the 2nd year of life.

Diseases and pests

The main pests of flower crops are bears and thrips. Bears gnaw the tubers of plants, they begin to hurt, the leaves wither, and corm rot may develop. Protection from the bear with special drugs that are used on infected beds - Medvetox, Grizzly, Thunder, has proven itself very well, but it is difficult to cope with the bear alone with chemical agents. The insect flies from one site to another and continues to damage the corms of the montbrecia. Now there are special bear scarers that help to reliably isolate the site from the pest.

Medvedka

The fight against thrips is reduced to spraying plants with special preparations against pests in the dosage indicated by the manufacturer.

Shrub crocosmia: combination with other plants

Crocosmia goes well with tall, perennial flowering crops: rudbeckia, popovnik, rogersia, catnip, veronica.A mixborder of perennials in landscape design, in which crocosmia is often planted, pleases the eye with the splendor of flowering throughout the summer, because, with an abundance of modern varieties, there is always the opportunity to pick up flowers with bright colors and different flowering periods.

Crocosmia in landscape design

Crocosmia makes an excellent combination with perennial grasses and daylilies.

Shrub crocosmia in landscape design

For landscape design and decoration of territories, tritonium is an irreplaceable plant. Blooming bushes of montbrecia create colorful cascades on lawns, near ponds, pools and fountains. Tall varieties of montbrecia are able to decorate dilapidated walls of buildings or gazebos. Flowers are beautiful both in monoculture and when planted in mixed flower beds. Decorative beds planted with tritonia are a bright decoration for landscape design.

Crocosmic care: video

Crocosmia: photos

varieties ❀ planting ❀ care

 

Crocosmia (Latin Crocosmia), or montbrecia, or tritonia, is a bulbous plant that belongs to the Iris family. Today's cultivated crocosmia is a herbaceous bulbous perennial hybrid called crocosmia vulgaris. Crocosmia is a close relative of widely cultivated garden flowers such as crocus (saffron), iris (iris), ferraria, gladiolus and freesia. It looks great in open beds in combination with flowers such as daylily, canna, rudbeckia, salvia and echinacea. This plant is also suitable for cutting - crocosmia inflorescences stand in water for up to two weeks.

     

Crocosmia corms, small in size, are covered with reticular membranes. The height of the crocosmia is from 40 to 100 cm. It has a branching stem with linear or xiphoid leaves and a powerful peduncle, which makes the montbrecia look like a gladiolus. It is sometimes called that - Japanese gladiolus, and the agricultural technology of montbrecia is not much different from the agricultural technology of this flower culture. Orange, white and yellow star-shaped crocosmia flowers up to 5 cm in diameter are collected in 3-5 pieces in dense paniculate inflorescences. The fruit is a polyspermous rounded capsule.

 

 

Crocosmia growing from seeds

 

In late February or early March, crocosmia seeds are soaked in water for a day, changing it every 6 hours, after which crocosmia seeds are sown into a substrate consisting of turf, peat, humus and sand. The crops are covered with foil and placed as close to the light as possible.

Caring for crocosmia in the seedling period involves performing the usual procedures for a florist. As soon as the seedlings appear, the cover is removed from them and they are looked after like any other seedlings: they water it as needed, carefully loosen the soil around the seedlings. Try to keep the substrate in a slightly moist state at all times, but do not overmoisten it, otherwise the seedlings can get sick with fungal diseases.

In the phase of development of the second or third true leaf, the seedlings dive into more spacious containers, where they will grow up in anticipation of transplantation into open ground. Two weeks before transplanting, start taking the seedlings outside for a short time, increasing the duration of the hardening procedure daily.

 

 

Crocosmia planting in open ground

 

Crocosmia is planted in the ground in late April or early May, when the soil warms up to 6-10 ºC. Crocosmia should only be planted in an open, sunny area, otherwise you may never wait for its flowers. The soil should be moisture-permeable, and the groundwater in the area where the montbrecia will grow should not lie too high - the plant does not like stagnant water in the roots.

Prepare a flower bed for crocosmia in the fall: for each m², add two buckets of humus, 100 g of slaked lime, 40 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium chloride. Crocosmia planting in spring is preceded by application to the soil followed by incorporation of nitrogen fertilizers at the rate of 30 g per m².

Seedlings are planted in holes at a distance of 10-12 cm between plants, the gap between rows is 25-30 cm. After planting crocosmia on a flower bed, it is watered and covered from the scorching sunlight for 2-3 days. A plant grown from seeds will bloom in the third year, although under optimal conditions for crocosmia, you can see its beautiful inflorescences in the second year.

 

 

Crocosmia outdoor care

 

Water the plant abundantly once a week. After watering, it is advisable to loosen the soil in the flower bed so that a crust does not form.

Regular feeding of the plant is required. You can grow crocosmia without top dressing if you planted it in fertile soil, but if the soil on the site is poor, starting with the appearance of the second leaf, fertilize the soil with mullein infusion every 10 days (one part of the fertilizer is infused with 10 parts of water) and complete mineral fertilizer, by dissolving 2 g of the drug in 1 liter of water.

During the formation of crocosmia buds, potash fertilizers are more needed. As you can see, caring for a crocosmia flower is not at all difficult, and if the planting of montbrecia and care in the open field is carried out in accordance with the agricultural technology of the crop, you should not have problems with flowering and plant health.

 

 

Crocosmia reproduction

 

Crocosmia is propagated by corms and seeds. For seed propagation, it is more expedient to use the seedling method, since in the open ground the seeds may not germinate.

Vegetative propagation is carried out by dividing the corms. Annually, around one adult corm, about five children are formed, blooming the next year. At the same time, the mother plant continues to form children.

Growing and caring for crocosmia involves the regular division and planting of plant corms. From time to time, when the crocosmia planting becomes too dense, the corms are dug up in the spring, the babies are separated from the mother's bulbs and planted. Crocosmia should be planted at the same time as its seedlings are planted on a flower bed - in late April or early May. Before planting in open ground, you can plant crocosmia in pots to grow the bulbs a little, and in May or June, transplant them to a flower bed along with an earthen clod.

 

 

Crocosmia post-flowering care

 

How and when to harvest crocosmia seeds

If you are already growing crocosmia, then you are unlikely to need its seeds, because sooner or later you will have to divide the corms of the plant, so that you will have planting material. If you are just going to grow montbrecia, then it is better to buy seeds in the store.

Preparing crocosmia for winter For those who live in an area with cold winters, it is better to dig up crocosmia corms in the fall. This should be done no earlier than mid-October, since by this time babies are growing around the bulbs. Corms are dried with good ventilation and a temperature of about 10 ºC, and then stored as gladiolus bulbs.

In areas where winter frosts are not so frequent, you can leave the corms in the ground, but cover the area with compost, on top of which you can put spruce branches, shavings or dry leaves.

In the southern regions, it will be enough to sprinkle a flowerbed with crocosmia in the fall with a layer of dry foliage 20 cm thick and cover it with a film on top. As soon as the frosts end, the shelter is removed, and the old crocosmia leaves are cut off at the level of the surface of the site.

 

 

Crocosmia diseases and pests

 

Crocosmia is a plant resistant to both diseases and pests, however, as a result of insufficient care or prolonged waterlogging of the soil, it can be affected by such diseases:

Fusarium, from which, first of all, the leaves of the plant turn yellow, dry and die off, the peduncles are bent, the flowers are deformed, and their color changes. To combat fusarium, montbrecia treatment with fungicides is used.

Gray rotcovering the crocosmia bulbs with a fluffy gray bloom.It is easier to prevent gray rot than to get rid of it, and jaundice cannot be cured even with a strong desire - no medicine has yet been invented for viral diseases.

Jaundice, or grassiness, from which the tips of the leaves first turn yellow, and then the foliage acquires a straw tint, and the plant dies. This viral disease is carried by leafhoppers.

To prevent all kinds of diseases, planting and caring for montbrecia should be carried out in strict accordance with its agricultural technology, in addition, it is necessary to process the seeds before sowing and corms before planting with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate, and from time to time change the plot for crocosmia.

   

Of the pests, bears, thrips and especially spider mites are dangerous to montbrecia.

Medvedki they feed on corms of plants and lay offspring in the soil at a depth of 10 cm, and they can only be removed by arranging traps for insects: in early autumn, fresh horse manure is laid in a hole about 50 cm deep, after which they throw earth into the hole and mark the place with a pole. After a while, a hole is dug up and the bear, which has settled in the manure for the winter, is destroyed.

Thrips feed on plant sap, from which discolored spots, stripes or streaks appear on the leaves. Leaves die off, stems bend, flowers lose their beauty. To combat thrips, drugs Agravertin, Fitoverm, Actellik, Karbofos or Confidor are used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Spider mites may appear on crocosmia during dry periods. These are sucking insects that pierce the ground parts of the plant and feed on its sap. In addition, ticks are carriers of incurable viral diseases. In the fight against spider mites, the same insectoacaricides are used as for the destruction of thrips.

 

 

Crocosmia species and varieties

 

In nature, there are about 55 species of crocosmia, but in culture, the following of them are most often grown:

 

Crocosmia golden (Crocosmia aurea)

It is a plant with linear or xiphoid leaves and bright yellow-orange flowers. Crocosmia of this species blooms in early autumn; it has been cultivated in culture since 1846. The species has forms with orange, red and yellow flowers.

 

Crocosmia masoniorum

It is a compact bush that grows up to 60-80 cm in height. Plants of this species have xiphoid ribbed leaves up to 5 cm wide and small bright orange flowers, collected in a horizontally deviating brush. Flowers open in the middle of summer. This species is more winter hardy than other members of the genus.

 

Crocosmia paniculata

A tall plant with corrugated leaves, reaching a height of 150 cm. This is one of the earliest flowering species of crocosmia, whose panicles of small but bright orange flowers bloom in mid-June.

 

Crocosmia pottsii

In nature, it grows in Africa, in a swampy area, so it will be comfortable in the partial shade of the garden, where the soil does not dry out so quickly. The leaves of plants of this species are narrow and smooth, and the flowers are small.

 

Crocosmia common (Crocosmia crocosmiiflora)

Or garden montbrecia, is one of the first crocosmia garden hybrids. This plant is up to 1 m high with a straight, thin and branched stem, narrow xiphoid or broadly linear erect leaves of a light green hue and small funnel-shaped flowers of yellow or orange-red color, collected in a panicle. This hybrid blooms in July or August.

 

Since breeding work on the development of new varieties and hybrids of montbrecia is ongoing, today there are more than 400 cultivars of this plant. The most famous of them are the following varieties of crocosmia:
❀ Emily Mackenzie - leafy and compact shrub up to 60 cm high. The upright arrows of this plant are strewn with orange-brown flowers with a bright spot in the center.
❀ Crocosmia Lucifer - a plant up to one and a half meters high with straight peduncles and very bright red flowers. This variety is particularly frost-resistant, therefore, in areas with not very cold winters, corms can be left in the soil for the winter. ❀ George Davidson - a variety up to 70 cm high with amber-yellow flowers that look even brighter against the background of dark green foliage. This variety is excellent in cutting. Blooms in July-August.
❀ Crocosmia Red King - this variety has bright red flowers with an orange center.
❀ Spitfire - a bush up to 60 cm high, blooming from August to the end of September with fiery orange flowers.
❀ Tangerine queen - the height of this variety is about 120 cm, the flowers are bright orange.

Such varieties as Babylon, Golden Fleece, Star of the East, Norwich Canary, Mistral, Vesuvius, Bouquet Parfait, Lady Oxford, Rheingold, Heath Magesti, Lady Wilson, Aurora, Frans Hals, Jace Coy, Lady Hamilton and Lady Hamilton look great on a crocosmia flowerbed other.

 

Where to buy crocosmia bulbs

 

The Scientific and Production Association "Sady Rossii" has been introducing the latest achievements in the selection of vegetable, fruit, berry and ornamental crops into the wide practice of amateur gardening for 30 years. In the work of the association, the most modern technologies are used, a unique laboratory for microclonal reproduction of plants has been created. The main tasks of NPO Sady Rossii is to provide gardeners with high-quality planting material for popular varieties of various garden plants and novelties of world selection. Delivery of planting material (seeds, onions, seedlings) is carried out by Russian post. We are waiting for you for shopping: NPO Sady Rossii

Crocosmia, or montbrecia, is considered one of the most exquisite exotic garden decorations. Already from early spring, it attracts attention with lush and long linear leaves, and in the summer it is impossible to look away from the beauty. Crocosmia blooms in July with bright flowers of sunny shades, which are fragrant with the scent of saffron. The plant remains in its festive outfit until cold weather, which is why they love to use crocosmia in landscape design.

Where is the best place to plant a montbrecia?

Crocosmia is also called the Japanese hyacinth, although it does not come from the Land of the Rising Sun at all, but from South Africa. It belongs to the iris family and is directly related to saffron, it even smells like it. This bulbous plant, which grows up to 1.5 m in height, blooms in yellow, red and orange. Japanese hyacinth is not an overly capricious flower, but it is still worth knowing some of the nuances of caring for it. Therefore, flower growers need to carefully consider the choice of a place where crocosmia would feel good.

Planting and leaving involves the choice of a sunny site, because the plant comes from the south. The sunlight of crocosmia is needed to form buds; in the shade, it may never bloom. Montbrecia thrives on any soil. The plant tolerates drought, but still likes to be watered regularly, while avoiding stagnant water. The site for planting a flower should be prepared in advance in the fall, and the bulbs are planted in April or May, when it gets warmer.

How to care for crocosmia?

Montbrecia is an unpretentious plant, but nevertheless, if you want the flower to live luxuriously, and not exist, it is necessary to apply complex mineral fertilizers. Thanks to top dressing, it will acquire a healthier appearance and increase the budding of crocosmia. Planting and care involves regular watering, weeding. In regions with a harsh climate, the bulbs of the plant must be dug up, but in the southern regions they can be left in the ground for the winter. In this case, crocosmia must be insulated, covered with fallen leaves. Having survived the first winter, the plant hardens and it is no longer afraid of frosts.

How to plant a plant correctly?

Crocosmia is planted with both seeds and bulbs.In the first case, you need to wait a long time until the plant forms and blooms. When planted with bulbs, montbrecia blooms in the second year. If you surround the flower with attention and care, then it will delight you with a healthy type of crocosmia. Planting and leaving involves the timely removal of wilted flowers. Also, do not forget about observing the required distance between montbrecs. When the plants grow into bulbs, they need to be transplanted. Thus, excellent flowering can be achieved over several seasons.

Crocosmia wintering

South Africa is considered the birthplace of montbrecia, therefore it belongs to the thermophilic plants. Despite this, flower growers leave most of the small-flowered varieties in the open field, because crocosmia can withstand even severe frosts. Growing a plant involves covering the bulbs with a thick layer of shavings or fallen leaves, the thickness of such an organic blanket should exceed 20 cm.In addition, you can put a film so that the crocosmia does not get wet during thaws. It should be noted that if the bulbs are not dug up, then the plant develops much better and annually pleases with abundant flowering.

But, of course, not all crocosmia can withstand severe frosts. Planting and caring for large-flowered varieties are somewhat different from caring for small-flowered species. Such plants are more thermophilic, in the southern regions they can still be somehow preserved in winter, but in the northern latitudes you only need to dig them up. Bulbs can be harvested at the end of October in dry weather. They should be thoroughly shaken off the ground, the leaves should be cut off at a height of about 5 cm. The crocosmia flower forms whole nests, you should not separate them. The bulbs must be dried and packed in paper bags or boxes, sprinkled with dry peat. They are stored at a temperature of 5-10 ° C; a cellar or refrigerator is suitable for this.

Crocosmia - garden decoration

Designers love to work with montbrecia. The plant looks great on mixed flower beds (mixborders), it is planted in the second or first row in large groups. Crocosmia is also very common in "dry", "tropical" and gravel gardens. A photo of a blooming Japanese hyacinth in combination with cannes, daylilies, dahlias, salvia, rudbeckia and other flowers enchants with its colors. Montbrecia is naturalized in natural gardens. The flower grows quickly, so its greenery can cover a large area in just a few years. Crocosmia is capable of growing in the shade, although it is unlikely to bloom, but it will definitely decorate with its green long leaves. Montbrecia is also grown for cutting.

The best varieties

The most common hybrid is Krokosmiflora. Also very popular is Emily McKenzie, a late-flowering highly decorative variety that grows up to 60 cm tall. Its flowers are straight-planted, brownish with orange spots. Star of the East is a very beautiful orange-apricot crocosmia. A photo of this variety will not leave anyone indifferent. The flower is large, late blooming, resembles a star, grows up to 1 m tall. Such varieties as Norwich Canary, Solfatare, Walberton Red, Golden Fleece grow up to 60 cm. They bloom with red, apricot, lemon flowers.

Crocosmia Lucifer looks the most representative. It blooms with bright, erect flowers of a tomato-red hue. It grows up to 1.5 m tall and boasts high frost resistance. Crocosmia Masoniorum has similar characteristics, only it blooms with bright orange peduncles. The paniculate early-flowering montbrecia is very popular, blooming with orange flowers in June.

Crocosmia is a natural decoration of any garden and flower garden. More and more flower growers are paying attention to this beautiful plant, burning with bright colors. The number of crocosmia fans grows relentlessly every year.

Crocosmia or montbrecia is the same plant that has two completely different names. There is also a third - tritonia, as well as the popular name of the Japanese gladiolus. In Latin, the word "crocosmia" means "saffron smell". If you smell dried flowers, you can really smell it. The plant got its name "montbretia" when botanists decided to honor the memory of the famous French plant grower de Montbret.

The flower was born thanks to the efforts of the French breeder Lemoine. In 1880 he carried out the operation of crossing the golden crocosmia and Potts. Thus, a hybrid was obtained for horticultural cultivation, containing the characteristics of two plants from Africa. It had pleasant flowers of a star-funnel-shaped type, collected in red-orange inflorescences, the shape of which is a spikelet. Over time, the flower gains fame in European circles.

Crocosmia (montbrecia) is an excellent choice for many flower beds, because this plant blooms for a very long time. On average, if weather and climatic conditions permit, flowering can begin in mid-summer and end with the onset of frost. Crocosmia is also grown for cutting, as it can stand in water for at least two weeks. It is not for nothing that many bouquets are decorated with it - she deserves it.

Crocosmia leaves are narrowly visible, light green in color. Branched peduncles on thin legs emerge from under them, the height of which is sometimes up to a meter. The main underground organ is the bulb, which is small in size and has several brown shells. Although this plant is exotic, under proper conditions it can be grown here too.

Planting crocosmia montbrecia When to plant

How to plant crocosmia photo Montrbetia planting in the ground

Crocosmia is planted in open ground at the end of Aprilwhen the earth warms up well and even at night the temperature will not be lower than +10 ° C. Different varieties of crocosmia must be placed in different flower beds, otherwise they will be over-pollinated.

• Ripe bulbs are planted in well-lit places where water does not stand for a long time, in early May. A sunny place is chosen because crocosmia is photophilous, and if it grows in the shade, you can not wait for flowering.
• Before planting, the bulb is kept warm for several days, having separated the children first.
• It is recommended to soak the bulb in potassium permanganate immediately before planting in order to disinfect, after which it can be placed in the ground 4-5 cm deep.
• For crocosmia, the soil is chosen loose, with humus, and moist. The preparation of the flower beds is taken care of in advance, from the fall. If the soil is clogged, it is diluted with sand and fertilized.
• When planting, a distance of about 12 cm is made between the bulbs.
• The ideal solution is to plant the bulbs first in small pots around March and germinate on a windowsill, and then plant them in the ground. This will ensure early flowering.

Crocosmia montbrecia care

• Watering the plant loves abundant and infrequent.
• After it, you need to weed the area from the weeds and loosen it up.
• If necessary, pegs are installed to tie the peduncles.
• For a faster growth of shoots, they cultivate the land under the plant with nitrogen fertilizer.
• In the summer, organic fertilizers in tenfold dilution, as well as mineral potassium supplements, will be useful.
• At the end of flowering, all flower stalks are pruned to accelerate the maturation of the bulbs and improve the chances of their further survival.

Wintering crocosmia montbrecia

Storage of crocosmia bulbs in winter

If crocosmia is grown in cold regions, the bulbs are dug up in winter. They do this in early November so as not to damage the maturation process of children. The bulbs are removed from the ground and dried in a barn. Then they organize their storage in a place where the temperature will constantly be in the region of 8-10 degrees Celsius.

If the plant is grown in warmer regions without severe frosts, it is not required to remove it from the ground for the winter.Recently, flower growers are inclined to believe that the bulbs should not be dug out, since they are definitely better stored in the ground. For even greater preservation, you can sprinkle them on top with leaves or cover with foil.

Excellent wintering of crocosmia is achieved due to dry soil. When winter ends, the insulation is removed and the remnants of old leaves are removed. Adult bulbs are dug out every three years for the purpose of breeding, because there is no other way to separate the children. In the absence of thinning, flowering deteriorates sharply.

How to prepare montbrecia for wintering, the video will tell:

Reproduction of crocosmia montbrecia

Crocosmia babies photo Reproduction of montbrecia babies

Crocosmia is bred with seeds and babies. The resulting large brownish-red seeds are placed in bowls and placed on light windows in February-March. Then the seedlings sprout, and they are transplanted into pots when they grow larger.

In the open field, crocosmia babies are seated at the end of April, when they are separated from the mother's corms. Plants that were grown with seeds will bloom in 2-3 years, and young children - next year. If you grow gladioli, it will not be difficult for you to determine the time of planting crocosmia, since it will be at the same time - in early May.

Pests and diseases of perennial crocosmia

Crocosmia is most often affected by thrips and bears. The fight against parasites is common: you need to treat the land and the plants themselves with special insecticides sold in specialized stores. There are practically no diseases in montbrecia.

Popular varieties of crocosmia montbrecia with descriptions and photos

Crocosmia orange Crocosmia Emily Mc Kenzie photo in the garden Growing montbrecia

1. Emily Mc Kenzie is one of the most beautiful decorative varieties. Symmetrical brownish-orange flowers have large orange heels in the center. Flowering later, plant height 60 cm.

When to plant crocosmia bulbs in the photo Crocosmia Norwich Canary

2. Norwich Canary - the color of the petals is canary yellow, the height of the plant is 60 cm.

Montbrecia landing and leaving in the open

3. Star of the East - it has beautiful large flowers, thanks to which it gained popularity. It blooms late, tall (up to 1 m), has star-shaped apricot-orange flowers up to 10 cm in size. It does not tolerate winter well, therefore it requires shelter.

Crocosmia Lucifer Crocosmia Lucifer photo in the garden Planting and care in the open field

4. Lucifer is the most striking variant of this plant and one of the tallest (1.5 m in height). Peduncles are erect, they have bright tomato-red flowers. Frost resistance is good, but shelter is recommended.

Crocosmia paniculata

Crocosmia paniculata Crocosmia paniculata photo in the garden

Tall species (up to 1.5 m), which is distinguished by early flowering. Orange flowers appear in June.

Crocosmia is a chic decoration for your flower garden. It can be successfully combined with daylilies, cannes, dahlias, cniphophies, rudbeckia, salvia, yarrow, echinacea, sedum, chrysanthemums, helenium, as well as grown independently.

Crocosmia in landscape design

Crocosmia in landscape design photo