Tribe Ixieae Higher classification Coppertips | Subfamily Ixioideae Rank Hybrid | |
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Scientific name Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora Similar Coppertips, Blackberry Lily, Iridaceae, Iris sanguinea, Crocosmia aurea | ||
Crocosmia × crocosmiflora is a garden hybrid of C. aurea and C. pottsii, first bred 1880 in France by Victor Lemoine. This hybrid is known to gardeners plants known as "Montbretia." Cultivars within C. × crocosmiflora include:
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Cultivation
In the United States, Crocosmia × crocosmiflora 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 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, Northern Ireland it is recorded as well-established in a wide range of locactions.
Invasive species
Crocosmia × crocosmiflora is deemed an invasive plant in New Zealand, common on roadsides in the northern parts of the West Coast of the South Island. The New Zealand Department of Conservation classes it as an environmental weed.
Description
Crocosmia × crocosmiflora 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 swollen underground stem lasting one year. The flowers are up to 5 cm long and coloured deep orange.
