Crocosmia Emberglow - Montbretia

Crocosmia 'Emberglow', also known as Montbretia 'Emberglow', is a richly coloured variety that is covered in a profusion of burnt orange to red flowers from mid to late summer, with redder buds. It is fairly hardy and easy to grow in cool, sunny soil, a welcome addition near the terrace, where one can admire its vibrant clusters up close, from the warmer days of spring to autumn. It is also a very beautiful flower for cutting.

Crocosmia is a herbaceous perennial plant with corms, originating from South Africa and belonging to the Iridaceae family. It bears many similarities to the gladiolus.

The 'Emberglow' variety forms a flexible stem in spring, reaching a height of 60 cm (24in), and carries a horizontally branched spike with nearly 50 incandescent red buds, opening into tubular flowers in shades of red-orange with small leaf markings, measuring approximately 30 mm (1in) in diameter. They are composed of 3 inner petals and 3 outer petals. The sword-shaped leaves are pleated and spread out in a dense fan or cluster from the base of the plant. Their storage organ is a corm, which is an underground pseudo-bulb that resembles a bulb but is actually a swollen stem surrounded by scales.  This variety is one of the few hybrids that produce seeds.

Montbretias are symbols of summer. They are easy to grow, vigorous, and undemanding and should be planted in groups of 10 corms in fertile, moist soil in sunny locations. Their vibrant colours, yellow, orange, or red, create cheerful splashes of colour in gardens. They look great planted with annuals or shrubs and are well-suited for natural gardens mixed with perennials or grasses. When they thrive in open ground in sunny, well-drained areas, they multiply and become more beautiful each year. They are also excellent flowers for cutting.