Crocosmia Firestarter - Montbretia

Crocosmia 'Firestarter' is a montbretia that is compact, intensely bicolour, and very floriferous, ideal for warming up borders in the heart of summer. Its arching stems are covered with star-shaped flowers held upright towards the sky, bright yellow, encircled by orange flames. An easy, very reliable bulbous perennial, it forms beautiful dense clumps over the years. It is an excellent border perennial, but also a reliable choice for cut flower arrangements.

Belonging to the genus Crocosmia, in the Iridaceae family, this cultivar descends from various species of South African origin. A "bulbous" hardy perennial (between –10 and –15 °C depending on the soil and climate), it appreciates fertile, cool, but well-drained soils. The deciduous foliage consists of narrow, sword-shaped, plicate, medium green leaves, which form an upright clump. The arching, sturdy flowering stems bear clusters of tubular flowers opening into stars, with golden yellow petals, broadly marginate and striate with red-orange, with a darker eye at the centre; flowering occurs mainly from July to September. The perennial reaches between 70 to 80 cm in height with a 20 to 40 cm spread, widening year by year. 'Firestarter' belongs to the Firestars™ horticultural series, selected for its distinctly bicolour flowers as well as its sturdier and well-ramified stems. It is the work of the British breeder Paul Lewis and was introduced at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in 2018 in collaboration with the Walter Blom nursery. The aerial growth is deciduous: the foliage dies back completely in autumn, leaving the corms dormant underground. While this cultivar has not, to date, received any major official distinction, another cultivar from the series, 'Scorchio', has been awarded an RHS AGM.

In the garden, this montbretia finds its place at the front of a border or in a flowering meadow setting, but also in a large container on the terrace. Its colourful stems are superb with perennials bearing purple or blue flowers and ornamental grasses. It can be paired, for example, with the deep blue Agapanthus 'Navy Blue', or with the Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Red Head' with its feathery spikes. For graphic and refined cut flower arrangements, combine a few stems of 'Firestarter' with the white stars finely edged in red of the Dahlia 'Honka Fragile'.

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