PlantFiles: Crocosmia
Crocosmia 'Lucifer'

This plant is terribly invasive. It is all but impossible to get rid of and multiplies like crazy. I threw a pile in the grass and left them last year and this year they are happily growing there. BUT, they never bloom. Maybe too much shade. But that has not slowed their multiplication.

Since I live in a cold area, the 1st year I brought the bulbs in for the winter and planted them the following spring but never got any flowers. So, 2nd winter I decided to leave them out there and this year they came up and are gorgeous! I read all the comments about being invasive, I guess that is one of the benefits of the freezing winters, many plants we love die off but very few plants are invasive up here!

I have seen these the last couple of years at the Home Depot and finally this year I purchased this plant which is grown by Hampshire Farms and is tagged Montbretia "Lucifer" along with another one tagged "George Davidson" doing any research on the plants. The plant bloomed breifly after planting but has not rebloomed where the "George Davidson" is blooming like crazy and it is September 5th, the problem is I have been finding it listed as a zone 6 plant and occasionally as a zone 5 plant with winter protection. Some treat it as an annual, others treat it as Canna and lift it, and starting it from seed takes 3 years till bloom. I wish I had known that as I would have not have bothered with the plant. As it stands now I will leave it in the ground and come this winter cover it with a dome and see how it fairs next spring. I do love the flowers on the plant so I gave it a positive and at least come spring with Home Depots 1yr guarantee on plants I will always get my money back.

I've had a crocosmia Lucifer for several years and it's become one of my favorite plants. I was worried it wouldn't survive for too long with the zone 4a (close to 3b) winters here in north-central Vermont, but it's thriving. My one clump, in un-amended formerly woodland soil, gets mid-day sun, is gradually spreading but not invasive at all, has never needed staking, and always blooms reliably and spectacularly.

I've grown Crocosmia for many years and never had it become invasive. I do grow the lucifer in a pot, but I only get seedlings if I harvest the seed and germinate it myself. I guess maybe I don't keep my garden wet enough for it to become a problem. They do spread from underground rhysomes but tend to keep close to home. Worth trying, I guess you either love 'um or hate 'um.

The first year I planted 2 of these, but they didn't make it through the winter. The hummingbirds loved them so much that I bought 4 more the next year anyhow and planned on mulching them... but I didn't. They've been coming back for about 4 years now and most of the time, all have lots of blooms. I do have to stake the flower stalks to keep them up in the air so that the hummers can find them. This year I bought some "grow through" rings to see if they'll work.

Not quite as vigorous blooming as I'd like; maybe it's the climate. Blooms July - September in my garden.

One of the most invasive plants I have ever had and even worse, near impossible to fully remove.

We live on the central Oregon coast. It grows everywhere! Every 3 years I dig up the corms, give most of them away and then replant 6-8 in the bed I want them to be in. The hummingbirds love them and they bring a beautiful color to my garden in the summer. Plant in full sun. In hotter climates plant in dappled sunlight to shade. They do not require much tending but will spread rapidly in the cooler climates. Because of their height they do need support if the corms are not planted deep enough in the ground. They're perfect for ditches and other spaces you want color and want something to grow prolifically.

This plant does well in the Rochester, NY area, zone 6a. I have quite a few that are in sun to part shade. They do flop a bit in part shade but not too bad for me. I have had a couple that didn't make it over winter depending on the exposure. Hummingbirds cannot get enough of it!

Planted the bulbs in pots 3 weeks ago...no sign of life. Any suggestions?

There is a large bed of this along a busy road on my journey home each day. This is how I came to love this beautiful specimen. It is the one thing that makes those watering sessions in 110 weather bearable. Maybe that's how it got the name "Lucifer". It blooms when it's HOT! The hummingbirds love it and so do I. Also I see that some have problems with it being invasive, not so here.

I love this plant. We live in zone 5 and it thrives. However, this summer it did flop which has never happened before. How does one avoid flopping.? Perhaps there are too many in the bed. It looks absolutely terrific in the grasses on our pond.

I love this plant. I have grown it in northern NJ for about 15 years. I won't call it invasive - it spreads nicely and it is easy to divide if you want to thin it. It does not require division for blooming. It's very easy to dig up the bulbs in sprig or fall and replant them - I've even dug up live plants in June and moved them successfully.
My only complaint is that mine require staking or they flop over other plants. Is it because I've planted the bulbs too shallow? The original plant that I bought stood up sturdily in the pot with no need for staking, but maybe, as they spread, the bulbs are too shallow - I don't know.
If anyone knows why this plant flops, please email me: keith726@gmail.com.
Butterflies, hummingbirds and humans love this plant (unfortunately, the deer like the flowers, not the leaves). It's a spectacular mid-summer bloomer.

I always amend my soil but I don't tend to baby plants too much otherwise-I just won't grow it if it is too fragile. This plant is in my yard and doing great. I decided to move and divide the plant to a different location and dug the plant up. I ended up getting distracted and placed it in the shade. I didn't replant that plant for a month but watered it daily. Eventually I planted it but in this case didn't amend the soil because it was so cold (winter was coming) and shoved way too many bulbs in one space but they re-appeared the following year happily blooming their heads off. This year I will divide them again and spread them out so more . . . BTW: No staking needed here.

This is one bloom that I anxiously await every year. They have a regal splendor. I've grown them here for 5 years in a very dry hot sunny bed. The voles don't seem to bother them.

I've had this plant for 2 years. It survived 2 regular winters here with no problems. We cover our gardens with leaves, so I believe that's the reason for its survival here: we are North of Montreal, so it would be a zone 4.
I plan on dividing it next Spring, and I collected some of the seeds for sowing in pots.
Reading some comments about not watering excessively made me laugh. We've had the rainiest Summer in history. I couldn't even take care of my plants until the middle of August. This didn't prevent the crocosmia from blooming gloriously, nor the visiting hummingbird from enjoying the garden. When not in bloom, the spear-like leaves make a nice contrast.

OK, boys and girls, I live in Aspen, Colorado (8,000 feet above sea level, usda zone 4)! Love this plant! I've planted it in 4 different gardens (I'm a maintenance gardener by trade) and had it winter over in 3 of them - even had it bloom every year. My clients love it, but I have a hard time getting it on a regular basis. Has anyone tried dividing this plant? If so, is it better to so in fall or spring. Seeding sounds great, but I deal in instant gratification!

For me...this has been a gem of an addition to my yard. It's 4 years old and has performed well. It's not been pushy or invasive. It can get a little top heavy if we get too much rain,but... I do live in the PNW.

I love the stuff!

With red being my favorite color, Lucifer has proven to be one of my favorites. The color is vibrant and you see this plant as soon as you turn down my street. Everyone comments on it's beauty. I've noticed many of the post refer to having to support it but I've never had a problem with mine. Stunning plant!

I had these and they flowered beautifully but one year, they just stopped coming back. Be careful if you're in zone 7a or lower. They may be worth lifting and storing for the winter.

Have had this plant growing in four perennial beds, longest for about five years. Have upgraded clay soil (alkaline) in zone 5A. Never seen any evidence of seeding and only spreads slowly from year to year. Does well in full sun and in semishade. Usually does not need staking. Eye catching plant.

Grew this plant in a good gardening bed. It bloomed beautifully for the first two years, then became smothered with its own seedlings. It took me two years to dig it out. I've grown other Crocosmia w/ better success. May try it in a pot next time.

I've had it in the ground in Chicago now for two years and no blooms yet. I added compost this fall hopefully next summer it will finally bloom.

Wow. This is a great plant in my garden. I can understand people saying it may be invasive, it sure is a strong grower. I keep it in check by clipping off the seed pods before they disperse. The first year I did not, and doubled the amount I had.

New user here - please forgive me if I have posted this query in the wrong place. I've grown and enjoyed this plant for years in full sun with ample moisture. However, this year my clump (approximately 16" in diameter) failed to produce a single flowerstalk. Is division necessary for continued bloom or is something else missing?

I really love this plant! The leaves add a nice vertical texture to my garden. The flowers are graceful with a tropical flair. I do notice the ones planted in moist soil seem to thrive better. I had some planted in a drier area of my garden and they have not done as well. So far they are multiplying but not invasive. I do have to give them support which isn't a bad thing since it is because they fall over from the weight of all the flowers!

While this is one of few survivors of my "Darwin Garden" (aka the perennial bed my mother set up decades ago and has been neglected due to health problems for about 5 years or more) it doesn't show up in any beds other than where it was originally planted, and the new plants are very near the old one. Seems to me it's only invasive in very warm climates and perhaps the seeds aren't viable in northern zones. I'm on the cusp of 5-6 (and probably patches of 4) and the plant will perform through neglect, but hasn't left its original territory in presumably 10 years, perhaps more.

I have grown this plant for years and never had to stake it or replant it. It has not become invasive. My hummingbirds love it. It is a gorgeous vibrant shade of red that attracts more than the hummingbirds. I have to say that it is the plant in the garden that almost everyone who sees it in bloom asks me what it is and where I got it from.

Great plant. They do multiply rapidly but I have never found them to be invasive. We have heavy clay and have been in a drought for awhile, so maybe this keeps them in check. Their blooms last a long time and overall this is a carefree easy plant.

I have been growing these for years both in the ground and in containers. In containers, they will quickly outgrow their space so you have to divide them and pot on about every other year and they'll require frequent waterings. And in containers they tend to have a shorter bloom period then the in ground plants do. But the plus to growing them in containers is they don't flop over the way they will in the ground.
I've had some self seeding but not to the point of being a nuisance.
They are very showy and attract hummingbirds so I wouldn't want to be without them.

I planted these in '2006 and didn't see a bloom..was shocked and had forgotten where I planted them..they bloomed 07/19/2007...what a shock..I love them

A little more detail on propagation by seed. Baggy, 70*F, 40%Germination in 11-20 days

Further south, where this plant is known to self-sow over the winter, seed of this plant would probably be a good candidate for wintersowing (See Winter Sowing Forum on DG).

Masoniorum x Paniculata
1969, Bloom. Rich Red, robust hybrid, flowers at more than 1.2m. It comes true from seed and can self-seed. Bressingham Hybrid by Alan Bloom, first bred in 1966. RHS Certificate of Preliminary Commendation, 1977. Award of Garden Merit, 1993.
Also there is Late Lucifer......... this plant flowers much later than Lucifer!!

This plant has both good and bad points. The good is it is strikely beautiful, the bees and hummingbirds love it, the flowers last for weeks planted in bed. It reproduces without any trouble. You do not need to divide it to keep it producing. It reseeds itself. The bulbs are easy to pull out the ground to transplant if you enjoy giving them away. We went through a drought this year and the flowers did not suffer. They were one of the few plants that survived. The bad is it falls over easily and needs support.

We have grown this plant for 3 years now. On the positive side it flowers profusely. On the negative side the plant will not stand on it's own and needs to held up. I will post a picture in PF and you will see what I mean. It looses it's gracefulness.

We live in No. California within 2 miles of the ocean. This plant has been introduced here and spreads very rapidly by both corm repro and by flying seed. It is extremely invasive and almost impossible to control.

I am always looking for plants that attract hummingbirds, and this plant was so labeled. This was not false advertising! I got a lot of hummingbirds and also beautiful flowers for people to enjoy, too. Because each stems has so many blossoms on it and because of the way they are arranged, the hummingbirds are wonderfully easy to watch. I couldn't decide whether to leave them in the ground over the winter or dig them up (I live in eastern Massachusetts, but not on the coast). Too late for this year, I read the comment from the gardener in West Kill, New York, who has left them in the ground successfully in a colder clime than mine.

I wasn't sure these would overwinter in my garden on the cusp between zones 4 and 5. I have soggy clay soil. I started with half a dozen bulbs about five years ago, and they have thrived and multiplied everywhere. My husband says they look like fireworks. They bloom for weeks in my late-summer garden. The only drawback is that they are floppy and need to be roped in to look their best.

I don't know what the problem is, but I can't get these to live from year to year.

This "dashing" plant has reseeded since last season and will add a dozen or more new bright spots to a shady area of my garden.

I love this plant. The leaves are pretty and iris-like. The whole plant's flower spike hangs over gracefully, bouncing over other flowers. The flowers of 'Lucifer' are a brilliant red.

Seems tolerant of a range of conditions and easy to grow; not prone to any diseases or pests that I can see. I grow mine in sun/part sun in good, acidic soil (and it does well.) A very tropical-looking plant for hardy areas, and one of my favorite plants!

We grow them as a cutflower, only they will last for three or four days. Its better to wait for the berries, they will last for 10 days.