Crocosmia crocosmiiflora Disco Dancer® - Montbretia

The Crocosmia 'Disco Dancer'® is a modern montbretia with large orange and gold flowers, held well above bright green, narrow, upright foliage. Its slightly arching spikes, very floriferous in summer, illuminate sunny borders of contemporary or more natural style. Vigorous, reliable, this variety is also an excellent cut flower: its sturdy stems hold up well in a vase and bring the warm colours of the garden into the living room.

Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora is an old hybrid between C. aurea and C. pottsii belonging to the Iridaceae family. This plant originates from the prairies of southern Africa. The cultivar 'Disco Dancer'® was selected in the United Kingdom by Ken Rigney. It is a deciduous perennial, hardy down to –10 °C in well-drained soil. Its "bulbs" or corms awaken in spring to form a dense clump of linear, leathery, sword-shaped leaves, reaching 60 cm in height. The flower stems, straight and firm, rise up to 1 m tall. They bear branched spikes in a slight zigzag, typical of crocosmias. The flowers, larger than average, are widely open, facing outwards. They feature broad, overlapping tepals in a warm orange nuanced with golden yellow. Flowering lasts from July to September and attracts many pollinators. As with all montbretias, the aerial growth is deciduous: the foliage dies back in autumn, then the corms rest underground before regrowing the following year.

In a border, Crocosmia 'Disco Dancer'® is best planted in small, repeated clumps. Its orange and gold tones pair well with the large cream and coppery spikes of Kniphofia ‘Tawny King’, the red autumn plumes of Panicum virgatum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’, or the orange-pink anemone-flowered dahlia 'Totally Tangerine', for a revisited cottage garden effect. In a cut flower arrangement, mix its stems with light ornamental grasses and landscape dahlias in bright, easy-going summer displays.

The name Crocosmia comes from the Greek krokos (saffron) and osme (scent), because the dried flowers release a saffron-like fragrance when placed in hot water. They were once used to flavour infusions.