PlantFiles: Pennants
Chasmanthe floribunda

A cormous perennial from South Africa.

Has bright green, lance shaped leaves. Bears slim, tubular, orange or yellow flowers that can reach up to 3 inches long. The flowers are arranged on the flower spike opposite each other.

Flowers mainly June-August.

Loves a well-drained but constantly moist soil in a sheltered area in sun or light shade. It is just about frost hardy so it will need to be brought indoors during winter or in regions where frost is infrequent, given a deep mulch.

The plant pictured was bought 2 years ago as a corm, it was duly planted and produced 2 weak, thin leaves for the first year that died after a month of appearing. December 2002, I rediscovered the pot in the greenhouse and it had produced the leaves you see here!

We have this growing behind a long area in the shade. It provides an excellent background EXCEPT it invades like crazy unless you clip the spent flowers to prevent the seeds from dropping everywhere. The hummers love it, and it is one of the earliest spring hummer foods when very little else is blooming in January. Very reliable sturdy plant.