I have bitten the bullet and dived into the overgrown corners of my garden
and started turfing out the spanish bluebells, where I also found clumps of
Crocosmia which were very congested and hardly flowering at all. After
digging up the clumps I find that the oldest ones have 17 corms stacked one
on top of the other. Presuming these are laid down annually that's 17
summers without clumps being touched! No wonder they didn't flower well.

The books recommend no more than three years betwen dividing clumps.
I've knocked off the excess corms and replanted but I imagine that I'll not
get a display this year, it being rather late to do this kind of thing.

Andy.

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...
: I have bitten the bullet and dived into the overgrown corners of my garden
: and started turfing out the spanish bluebells, where I also found clumps
of
: Crocosmia which were very congested and hardly flowering at all. After
: digging up the clumps I find that the oldest ones have 17 corms stacked
one
: on top of the other. Presuming these are laid down annually that's 17
: summers without clumps being touched! No wonder they didn't flower well.
:
: The books recommend no more than three years betwen dividing clumps.
: I've knocked off the excess corms and replanted but I imagine that I'll
not
: get a display this year, it being rather late to do this kind of thing.
:
: Andy.

Replanted them !!!! Some of us spend time trying to get rid of them and you
replant them lol. Only joking, well partly anyway, they get everywhere and
won't stay put

"Robert" wrote in message
...

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...
: I have bitten the bullet and dived into the overgrown corners of my
garden
: and started turfing out the spanish bluebells, where I also found clumps
of
: Crocosmia which were very congested and hardly flowering at all. After
: digging up the clumps I find that the oldest ones have 17 corms stacked
one
: on top of the other. Presuming these are laid down annually that's 17
: summers without clumps being touched! No wonder they didn't flower well.
:
: The books recommend no more than three years betwen dividing clumps.
: I've knocked off the excess corms and replanted but I imagine that I'll
not
: get a display this year, it being rather late to do this kind of thing.
:
: Andy.

Replanted them !!!! Some of us spend time trying to get rid of them and
you
replant them lol. Only joking, well partly anyway, they get everywhere and
won't stay put

Too true. In our tiny front garden, every year as they finish flowering, I
grab the foliage and pull it ALL out, mostly comes out with bulbs, but
enough stay in to flower the next year, and this way they don't get too
rampant. And if I did kill them off, I'm sure some of the neighbours would
be glad to let me have some of theirs :-))

Steve

On Sat, 15 May 2004 18:54:45 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:



Replanted them !!!! Some of us spend time trying to get rid of them and
you
replant them lol. Only joking, well partly anyway, they get everywhere and
won't stay put

Too true. In our tiny front garden, every year as they finish flowering, I
grab the foliage and pull it ALL out, mostly comes out with bulbs, but
enough stay in to flower the next year, and this way they don't get too
rampant. And if I did kill them off, I'm sure some of the neighbours would
be glad to let me have some of theirs :-))

Steve

If you mean the common montbretia, glyphosate knocks them back a
treat, although there always seem to be a few youngsters that survive
to the following year, but I just pull them up as they appear. After
three years I've just about eliminated them from my garden. Plenty
still outside in the lane, and very nice they look too, but that's
where they belong IMHO and that's where they'll stay. There are plenty
of much better crocosmias available these days.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

The message
from "Robert" contains these words:


"andrewpreece" wrote in message
... I also found clumps
of Crocosmia which were very congested and hardly flowering at all. After
: digging up the clumps I find that the oldest ones have 17 corms stacked
one on top of the other.
: The books recommend no more than three years betwen dividing clumps.
: I've knocked off the excess corms and replanted but I imagine that I'll
not
: get a display this year, it being rather late to do this kind of thing.


Replanted them !!!! Some of us spend time trying to get rid of them and you
replant them lol. Only joking, well partly anyway, they get everywhere and
won't stay put

There are many different kinds of crocosmia, and many beauties among
them. Hats off to Andrew for waiting to see what sort his are before
trying to get rid of them.

Janet.

"Robert" wrote in message
...

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...
: I have bitten the bullet and dived into the overgrown corners of my
garden
: and started turfing out the spanish bluebells, where I also found clumps
of
: Crocosmia which were very congested and hardly flowering at all. After
: digging up the clumps I find that the oldest ones have 17 corms stacked
one
: on top of the other. Presuming these are laid down annually that's 17
: summers without clumps being touched! No wonder they didn't flower well.
:
: The books recommend no more than three years betwen dividing clumps.
: I've knocked off the excess corms and replanted but I imagine that I'll
not
: get a display this year, it being rather late to do this kind of thing.
:
: Andy.

Replanted them !!!! Some of us spend time trying to get rid of them and
you
replant them lol. Only joking, well partly anyway, they get everywhere and
won't stay put



I'm not too sure what they can do when they're given a bit of room to
breathe,
so I'm giving them some space, and binning the excess. If I'm right, then
the
variety in my garden is at least 17 years old, so is unlikely to be a modern
variety.
I try to recycle plants as far as possible, even though this may not
give
the best displays. For instance, plants that I have inherited and recycle
a-

Yellow Archangel: with a silvery striped leaf - elegant groundcover, and IMO
much better looking than the other type of Lamium, the Red Deadnettle, which
I rip out in handfuls. Shade.

Purple Toadflax: tall, cottage-gardeny, low maintenance. Sun.

Aquilegia Vulgaris ( Columbine ): this comes in only shades of purple, but
the
foliage is decorative even when the flowers go. Shade or sun.

Corydalis Lutea ( Yellow Corydalis ): Yellow tubular flowers from
March-October,
good for shady spots, ferny foliage.

Tutsan: similar to St John's Wort/Hypericum. Elegant foliage of a greeny-red
mixture, with yellow flowers and berries that change from yellow-red-black.
Semi-evergreen. Can take shade.

Primroses: well, I'm in Devon so they're a must! Some sun.

Feverfew: looks like small double chrysanth's. Aromatic foliage, actually do
well
in shade so can go under my Leylandii hedge and still produce plenty of
foliage and flowers. Needs deadheading later in the season as the white
flowers
turn brown, even so they last a long time.

Native Foxgloves, Digitalis: white or purple only, need to identify and
rescue the
seedlings from wherever they turn up, and putbthem in a little nursery area
for a
year. Sun or shade.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax: small snap dragon-like flowers, they go on for ages.
Good for
filling cracks in between rocks. Sun.

Pink Sorrell: Good in woodland areas, flowers for quite a while, a bit
informal.

Great Willowherb ( Codlins and Cream ): I'm sure this is classed as a weed,
but it just arrives and I let it grow. Doesn't last all that long, but very
cottagey.
Sun.

Rosebay Willowherb: OK defo a weed but charming 'til it takes over. Sun.

Creeping Campanula: colonises all those damp shady crevices that I would
be scratching my head to find an alternative for.

Forget-me-Nots ( Myosotis ). Dig 'em up in winter and place where required.
Best used as underplanting as the wild type is a bit rangy. Sun or shade.

Tell you what I do find invasive though ( Crocosmia isn't that bad ):-

Spanish Bluebells ( and their bloody great strappy leaves flop over and
smother
all and sundry ).

Wild Strawberries: runners everywhere.

Creeping Buttercup: runners everywhere in the damp places.

Nerines: much worse than crocosmia IMO, you plant a few, and a few years
later there's an impenetrable mass.

Lily-of-the-Valley ( Convalaria ): pops up every, rhizomes won't take no for
an
answer.

Bishop's Hat ( Epimedium ): it marches onward and is a sod to dig up.

Dear me, that turned into a ramble,

cheers!

Andy.

On Sat, 15 May 2004 02:32:42 +0100, "andrewpreece"
wrote:

I have bitten the bullet and dived into the overgrown corners of my garden
and started turfing out the spanish bluebells, where I also found clumps of
Crocosmia which were very congested and hardly flowering at all. After
digging up the clumps I find that the oldest ones have 17 corms stacked one
on top of the other. Presuming these are laid down annually that's 17
summers without clumps being touched! No wonder they didn't flower well.

The books recommend no more than three years betwen dividing clumps.
I've knocked off the excess corms and replanted but I imagine that I'll not
get a display this year, it being rather late to do this kind of thing.

I had no idea! A neighbor gave me one plant several years ago and I
was entranced -- such a vivid color and delicate flowers. I was
thrilled to have a few more emerge the next year, and sad when I
accidently pulled one up weeding (the young foliage looks too much
like big grass). This year -- good grief! Could *all* those tall
blades growing through the Vinca infestation be Crocosmia?! It seems
so. I'm really looking forward to the display.

Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:205306

On Sun, 16 May 2004 at 09:40:42 Frogleg wrote:

On Sat, 15 May 2004 02:32:42 +0100, "andrewpreece"
wrote:

I have bitten the bullet and dived into the overgrown corners of my garden
and started turfing out the spanish bluebells, where I also found clumps of
Crocosmia which were very congested and hardly flowering at all. After
digging up the clumps I find that the oldest ones have 17 corms stacked one
on top of the other. Presuming these are laid down annually that's 17
summers without clumps being touched! No wonder they didn't flower well.

The books recommend no more than three years betwen dividing clumps.
I've knocked off the excess corms and replanted but I imagine that I'll not
get a display this year, it being rather late to do this kind of thing.

I had no idea! A neighbor gave me one plant several years ago and I
was entranced -- such a vivid color and delicate flowers. I was
thrilled to have a few more emerge the next year, and sad when I
accidently pulled one up weeding (the young foliage looks too much
like big grass). This year -- good grief! Could *all* those tall
blades growing through the Vinca infestation be Crocosmia?! It seems
so. I'm really looking forward to the display.

Indeed! Crocosmia give a marvellous display when in flower; but they
are otherwise boring or even downright unattractive soon after
flowering. They are certainly invasive and not very suitable for a
low-maintenance garden! I try not to exterminate mine; just leave one
or two small clumps, but it's not always easy to keep under control
unless you have lots of time on your hand.
--

On Mon, 17 May 2004 02:23:29 +0100, Joe
wrote:


Indeed! Crocosmia give a marvellous display when in flower; but they
are otherwise boring or even downright unattractive soon after
flowering.

Funny coincidence. I had a discussion on this vrey topic with my next
door neighbor yesterday. She said she was irritated by her Peonies,
which bloom briefly (and spectacularly) all at once, and then just sit
there. :-) I pointed out that *many* plants' flowering season is
brief. The festival display of Azaleas here has just come to a close;
tulips and daffs are one-trick ponies ('though she pointed out that
with early and late varieties, the 'season' can be extended); my
gardenia bush has 100 flowers, scenting the neighborhood for 3 weeks,
etc. One can hardly blame a plant for being just leaves most of the
time. Daffodil foliage *does* get awfully tatty, but we put up with it
for the lovely early color and scent. Lily of the Valley also has ugly
foliage in the fall. And is invasive.

I think Crocosmia needs an advocate, and I'm willing to step into that
role. "Put a little fire into your garden!" :-)

The message
from Joe contains these words:

Indeed! Crocosmia give a marvellous display when in flower; but they
are otherwise boring or even downright unattractive soon after
flowering.

I like the rushy foliage; and the elegant seedstems.


They are certainly invasive and not very suitable for a
low-maintenance garden!


The old orange one (aka montbretia) certainly is invasive, and has
colonised many roadside verges here ... a beautiful sight in its
flowering season. Not all of the modern hybrids are invasive though;
Emily Mackenzie and some of the lemon-yellow ones are quite restrained.

Janet.

On Mon, 17 May 2004 12:03:37 +0100, Janet Baraclough..
wrote:

Emily Mackenzie and some of the lemon-yellow ones are quite restrained.

To the point that 'Emily Mackenzie' is struggling to survive in this
garden, while the ordinary orange type thrive!

Regards, VivienB

On Mon, 17 May 2004 09:20:38 GMT, Frogleg wrote:

. Daffodil foliage *does* get awfully tatty, but we put up with it
for the lovely early color and scent.

I quite like the Daff foliage after the flowers have gone.
Interspersed with other plants, such as fritarillarillarillary and
meconopsis, the daff foliage looks like giant blades of grass and all
jungly.

Perhaps this is a sign that the daffs need lifting. Hmmm.

Glenys

--
When our schools started teaching the leftist concept of 'provable causal relationships',
Communism gained the upper hand in Vietnam. I think there is a lesson to be learned from that.

"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 May 2004 02:23:29 +0100, Joe
wrote:


Indeed! Crocosmia give a marvellous display when in flower; but
they
are otherwise boring or even downright unattractive soon after
flowering.

Funny coincidence. I had a discussion on this vrey topic with my
next
door neighbor yesterday. She said she was irritated by her Peonies,
which bloom briefly (and spectacularly) all at once, and then just
sit
there. :-) I pointed out that *many* plants' flowering season is
brief. The festival display of Azaleas here has just come to a
close;
tulips and daffs are one-trick ponies ('though she pointed out that
with early and late varieties, the 'season' can be extended); my
gardenia bush has 100 flowers, scenting the neighborhood for 3
weeks,
etc. One can hardly blame a plant for being just leaves most of the
time. Daffodil foliage *does* get awfully tatty, but we put up with
it
for the lovely early color and scent. Lily of the Valley also has
ugly
foliage in the fall. And is invasive.

I think Crocosmia needs an advocate, and I'm willing to step into
that
role. "Put a little fire into your garden!" :-)

Agreed. I am particularly enamoured of the newer (or am I behind the
times?) pale yellow variety (ies)

Franz

"Juggs" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 May 2004 09:20:38 GMT, Frogleg
wrote:

. Daffodil foliage *does* get awfully tatty, but we put up with it
for the lovely early color and scent.

I quite like the Daff foliage after the flowers have gone.
Interspersed with other plants, such as fritarillarillarillary and
meconopsis, the daff foliage looks like giant blades of grass and
all
jungly.

Until they start geting brewers droop.

Franz

"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 May 2004 02:23:29 +0100, Joe
wrote:


Indeed! Crocosmia give a marvellous display when in flower; but they
are otherwise boring or even downright unattractive soon after
flowering.

Funny coincidence. I had a discussion on this vrey topic with my next
door neighbor yesterday. She said she was irritated by her Peonies,
which bloom briefly (and spectacularly) all at once, and then just sit
there. :-) I pointed out that *many* plants' flowering season is
brief. The festival display of Azaleas here has just come to a close;
tulips and daffs are one-trick ponies ('though she pointed out that
with early and late varieties, the 'season' can be extended); my
gardenia bush has 100 flowers, scenting the neighborhood for 3 weeks,
etc. One can hardly blame a plant for being just leaves most of the
time. Daffodil foliage *does* get awfully tatty, but we put up with it
for the lovely early color and scent. Lily of the Valley also has ugly
foliage in the fall. And is invasive.

I think Crocosmia needs an advocate, and I'm willing to step into that
role. "Put a little fire into your garden!" :-)

I love mine and intend to keep it