These impossibly red flowers belong to crocosmia Lucifer. They are the reddest and supposedly, the most winter-hardy of the crocosmias, and after seeing an entire yard ablaze with them on a garden tour, I had to have some.
I planted the corms two summers ago, and last summer they did nothing. Well, to be fair, they did put out a couple of green leaves but that was it. I thought I had purchased duds.
Recently I was rooting around in the lily bed and all of a sudden, there they were. Crocosmia buds ready to open! And they did. And I was glad, very glad. (Please excuse the hose thing in the shot. I wanted to give you an idea of how striking the flowers are.)
So if you try these, be prepared for a first season of nothingness, and don’t forget you planted them like I did! I must buy more of these. The hummingbirds agree.
Digging RI 
Those are really pretty, dn. I have some bulbs I’ve been waiting on to flower for a couple of years now. Maybe they’ll surprise me like yours did. Fingers crossed.
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thanks, cj. I want more now – a big red mass of them.
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Whee did you get them from and in what season?
Sent from Margo’s iPhone
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I believe I ordered them from Brent and Beck’s bulbs. They should be planted in the spring, when the soil gets soft.
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4 yrs ago a friend gave a plant to me; the first 2 seasons, only green. last year a few blooms. Wow, this year, now 4 separate plants with 8 blooms or so. Arresting.
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So it spreads too? Yay!
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A surprise like that is a beautiful thing, somehow more stunning than when you know what’s coming.
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And one of the reasons I garden!
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I love Crocosmia Lucifer. It does make the most beautiful flowers. I had one planted in my garden and enjoyed when it put on its show each year, but sadly, it didn’t return this summer. There are no signs of it anywhere. I have no idea what happened, but wonder if the extreme heat and drought last year may have been the cause. It’s a mystery.
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I guess you’d better get more, then, Martha. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a mass planting. It was in Newport, behind a chain link fence. It lit up that entire part of the street. (I Guess I’m one of those gardeners who’s into bright colors….)
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