''Crocosmia'' × ''crocosmiiflora'', montbretia, is a garden hybrid of '' C. aurea'' and '' C. pottsii'', first bred in 1880 in France by

Victor Lemoine Pierre Louis Victor Lemoine (October 21, 1823 in Delme, Moselle - December 11, 1911) was a celebrated and prolific French flower breeder who, among other accomplishments, created many of today's lilac varieties. As a result of his accomplishm ...

.Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012. ''Webb's An Irish Flora.'' Cork University Press. The name "montbretia" is often found in horticultural literature.Everett, T.H., ed. ''Montbreitia'', In: ''New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening'', Greystone Press, New York, 1960. pp. 1181-1182.

Description

''Crocosmia'' × ''crocosmiiflora'' grows to 90 cm high with long sword-shaped leaves, shorter than the flowering stem and arising from the plant base, ribbed and up to 20mm wide. The base is a

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

, a swollen underground stem lasting one year. The flowers are up to 5 cm long and coloured deep orange.

Cultivation

In the United States, ''Crocosmia'' × ''crocosmiiflora'' is considered suitable for planting in hardiness zones 5–9, but in more northerly locations it can be planted in the spring and the corms dug out in the fall. The

corms A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ( perennation). The word ...

should be planted in a well-drained garden soil in a full sun to partial shade. The hybrid will set viable seed that can be grown from seed as soon as ripe, but as a hybrid will not breed true. In

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

it is recorded as well-established in a wide range of locations. There are over 150 named cultivars within ''C.'' × ''crocosmiiflora'' including: *'Babylon' − orange-red with yellow throats * 'George Davidson' − yellow * 'His Majesty' − flowers large, orange * 'Jackanapes' − flowers orange-red, inner lobes golden yellow * 'Meteor' − orange yellow * 'Solfatare' − yellow flowers with bronze foliage * 'Star of the East' − light orange with pale centres Those marked have received the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

Invasive species

''Crocosmia'' × ''crocosmiiflora'' is deemed an

invasive plant An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, common on roadsides in the northern parts of the West Coast of the South Island. The New Zealand

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

classes it as an environmental weed. The California Invasive Plants Council (Cal-IPC) lists ''Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora'' as an invasive plant in California, with limited concern / distribution. It is widely naturalised in England and Scotland especially along the western seaboard from Cornwall north all the way to Sutherland.

References

External links

*
Kew Plant List

IPNI Listing
Iridaceae Plant nothospecies Garden plants Plants described in 1880 {{Iridaceae-stub