Crocosmia Philippa Browne - Montbretia

The Crocosmia x Crocosmiiflora 'Philippa Browne' is an excellent variety of Montbretia, named in honour of a great British gardener. This hybrid has the advantage of being one of the last to bloom in this red-orange colour: its dark floral stems bear large flowers that evolve from red-orange in July-August to bright pink-washed orange in September. This perennial plant, through its bulb, is not very hardy but easy to grow as an annual in the sun, in moist soil. Its flowers are very beautiful in flower beds of course, but also in pots or as cut flowers.

Crocosmia x Crocosmiiflora is a herbaceous perennial plant with corms, native to South Africa, belonging to the Iridaceae family, obtained in France by Victor Lemoine around 1880. It shows many similarities with the gladiolus. The ancestors of our garden montbretias need a lot of moisture throughout their growth and flowering period, as they come from regions where summer rains are abundant. They also like compost-rich soils.

The 'Philippa Browne' variety forms in spring a tuff of basal leaves, flexible, 45-50 cm (18-20in) tall and produces in late July-August an arched stem 60 to 80 cm (24 to 32in) high, bearing a horizontally branched spike, with several almost red flower buds. They bloom into flowers about 4-5 cm (2in) in diameter, composed of 6 tepals: 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 of Crocosmia is a corm, which means an underground pseudo-bulb that looks like a bulb but is actually formed from a swollen stem surrounded by scales. The above-ground vegetation disappears in winter, while the corm goes into dormancy, preferably in dry soil.

Half-bulb, half-stump, Montbretias are symbols of summer. Easy to grow, vigorous, undemanding, they are planted in the sun, in fertile and moist soil. Their bright colours, yellow, orange or red, form very cheerful spots in gardens. They are splendid when combined with annuals or shrubs, and lend themselves well to the decoration of natural gardens, mixed with perennials (Buenos Aires Verbena, Hastate Verbena), or grasses. When they are happy in the ground, as is particularly the case in a mild climate, in sunny exposure and well-drained soil, they multiply over the years and become more beautiful each year. They are also excellent plants for your flower bouquets.