Crocosmia Paul’s Best Yellow - Montbretia

Crocosmia 'Paul's Best Yellow' is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, variety of Montbretia with yellow flowers. Plentiful, vigorous, and hardy, it forms a luxuriant clump of upright leaves that quickly spreads. Its summer flowering lasts for two months on slightly arched flower stalks adorned with large, delicate flowers, displaying a very warm colour, intermediate between yellow and orange, without any vulgarity, easy to combine in the garden. In this variety, the flowers are open and widely displayed. So many reasons to adopt without hesitation this wonderful Crocosmia in the ground or a large pot on the terrace!

Crocosmia is a herbaceous perennial plant from South Africa belonging to the Iridaceae family. It shows many similarities with the gladiolus and is cultivated the same way outside mild regions. In nature, Crocosmia plants grow in the sun, in fertile soils, moist in summer, and drier in winter. They tolerate our cold and humid winters in the garden more or less, depending on the species and varieties.

The variety 'Paul's Best Yellow' was recently selected in the United States. This Montbretia forms a clump of basal leaves in spring, flexible, 80 cm (32in) tall, which quickly spreads. After 3 to 4 years of cultivation under good conditions, this clump of leaves can cover almost 80 cm (32in) of ground. Flowering occurs in July and August in slightly arched stems reaching 1.10 to 1.20 m (4ft) in height. They bear a nearly horizontal branched spike at the top, with many orange buds that open into large, open flowers, directed horizontally or upwards, resembling fine yellow-orange daylilies about 5 cm (2in) in diameter. They are composed of 3 inner petals and 3 outer petals. The dark green leaves are sword-shaped. Their surface is plicate and strongly veined, and they spread out in a dense fan or cluster from the base of the plant. The storage organ is a corm, a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Mixing bulb and stump, Montbretias are symbols of summer and bring all the exoticism of their place of origin to our gardens. Easy to grow, vigorous, and not demanding, they are planted in the sun, in groups of 10 corms, in fertile and moist soil. Their bright colours, yellow, orange, or red, create cheerful garden spots. 'Paul's Best Yellow' forms a very beautiful combination with purple or blue asters. It also pairs very well with heleniums in front of golden or very dark foliage screens provided by Physocarpus or Cotinus. In a more contemporary or naturalistic style, Crocosmias blend with grasses and Phormiums. When they thrive in the ground, in sunny exposure and rich, well-drained soil, they multiply over the years and become more beautiful each year. They are also excellent flowers for bouquets.