On 24/09/2019 12:30, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 24/09/19 11:30, Martin Brown wrote:
On 24/09/2019 10:32, Graeme wrote:

Morning all,

Just been given Montbretia by a neighbour, thinning her patch.Â* I have
the corms, complete with greenery and even a few orange flowers.Â* No
earth on the corms.

When should I plant them?Â* Now, or spring?Â* Should I cut off the growth,
or just leave it to wither and die?

Put them in the ground and leave the foliage to die away naturally. I
doubt there is much that you can do to them that will stop them growing.
They are almost indestructible.

That is a crazy suggestion - apart from it being illegal (see my reply
to Jim S). Would you say the same thing if he had been given Japanese
Knotweed?!

Japanese knotweed is actually seriously invasive. Although I recall from
my youth that there seemed to be a less invasive cultivar growing in the
Victorian garden of a big house I used to play at. A stand of it still
persists in a nearby park. The big house has long since been demolished
and all its land built on. I would never advocate planting it, but I
think the risks it poses in a garden are being a little overhyped.

Montbretia is nothing like so invasive at least where I have gardened.
It might be more of a problem down south but it barely clings on here.
Better coloured crocosmia cultivars are my choice anyway.

The OP *must* not plant them. They need to be destroyed.

That seems a little extreme. He certainly shouldn't plant them anywhere
other than in his garden but they are nowhere near as bad as some truly
invasive weeds. I note hotentot fig is also on the same list, but that
is really only a problem on the well drained cliffs of Cornwall. It rots
away completely in our grey wet winters in most other locations.

I can just about keep close relatives of that stuff alive in a dry
hanging basket along with other almost hardy succulents.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown