- Plant Montbretia correctly
- care tips
- Which location is suitable?
- What soil does the plant need?
- What is the best planting time?
- When is flowering time?
- Properly cut Montbretia
- Fertilize Montbretie properly
- hibernate
- increase montbretia
- How do I plant correctly?
- Beautiful varieties
Its dense, lanceolate leaves adorn the summer garden long before flowering and create structure in the perennial border. When the bright orange flower spikes rise above the foliage, the Montbretia attracts everyone's attention. Explore here the best way to care for an exotic ornamental shrub and other practical answers to frequently asked questions.
Montbretia bring color to the garden bed
Table of Contents
Show all- Plant Montbretia correctly
- care tips
- Which location is suitable?
- What soil does the plant need?
- What is the best planting time?
- When is flowering time?
- Properly cut Montbretia
- Fertilize Montbretie properly
- hibernate
- increase montbretia
- How do I plant correctly?
- Beautiful varieties
- Water plentifully and regularly without waterlogging
- Fertilize twice per season, in May and July
- Rinse faded flowers immediately
- Cut back the faded stems in autumn to just above the foliage
- Only cut off the leaves close to the ground when they are completely retracted
- To decorate a vase: cut crocosmia when the lower flowers have just opened
- For a long flowering period: Regularly clean withered flower panicles
- Preventing seed formation: Cut off faded stems to just above the foliage
- Central pruning: either in autumn or late winter, cut the foliage to just above the ground
- Lucifer: Montbretie garden in flaming red, whose beauty has won several awards; Growth height 80-120 cm
- Rheingold: The large-flowered Crocosmia impresses with golden-yellow flowers and vigorous growth; Growth height 50-60 cm
- George Davidson: This ornamental perennial stands out with bright orange flowers: growth height 50-60 cm
- Emily McKenzie: Fancy variety with orange flowers and a bronze ring in the middle; Growth height up to 75 cm
- Lady Hamilton: A feathery yellow floral beauty with an apricot tube at its heart; Growth height 50-60 cm
- Giant Montbretie: Mighty Crocosmia that easily grows to a height of 120-150 cm; Support recommended
Plant Montbretia correctly
If the specific planting date is set in April or May, place the tuber of a Crocosmia in lukewarm water the night before. On the day itself, dig small pits 35 cm apart, 10 to 20 cm deep, to lay a 2 cm layer of sand on the bottom. A handful of compost with horn shavings (32.93€) optimizes the excavated soil. Plant the tuber of a garden Montbretia at least 10 cm, maximum 20 cm deep and water it.
A Montbretia garden that you have bought ready-made or grown in a pot yourself also tolerates planting in August/September. In this case, do not place the young plant lower than it was cared for in the container. It is important to note that there is extensive winter protection from leaves and needle brushwood, because the ornamental perennial has only limited frost hardiness.
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care tips
The garden Montbretie fulfills all expectations as a majestic ornamental perennial if it is given the following care program:
If the Crocosmia stays in the bed throughout the winter, it will not get through the cold season without a thick layer of leaves, straw and brushwood. In rough locations, pull the tubers out of the ground in autumn after pruning, so that they overwinter in soil and sand in a cool, dark basement.
Which location is suitable?
The Garden Montbretie prefers a sunny location. Specifically, this claim implies a bright location that cannot get under the blazing midday sun. In addition, no canopy casts a shadow on the ornamental perennial. The Crocosmia wants the soil to be rich in nutrients, loose and humus rich and fresh and moist with good drainage.
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What soil does the plant need?
The sunnier the location, the wetter the soil should be. The garden Montbretie does not like to be bothered with waterlogging, whereas nutritious, deeply humic soil is welcomed. If you cultivate a Crocosmia in a tub, choose a substrate that is as low in peat as possible, so that permanent water storage is ensured.
What is the best planting time?
The wise choice of planting time contributes significantly to the winter hardiness of a garden Montbretie. Since all Crocosmia are not completely hardy in our latitudes, we recommend spring planting from April to May for tubers. If you prefer the classic planting time in late summer to autumn for the ornamental perennial, it should be an early, potted garden Montbretie.
When is flowering time?
The up to 20 individual flowers along the stiffly upright stems unfold their splendor throughout most of the summer. You can look forward to a flowering period from June/July to August, which in good years extends into September. The more consistently you clean off wilted flowers during this time, the more lush the Crocosmia will give you with its floral beauty in bright orange, rich red, intense yellow or elegant apricot.
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Properly cut Montbretia
The secateurs are used on various occasions when it comes to caring for the garden Montbretie professionally. The following overview lists all occasions with tips for execution:
It is essential that you wait with the main cut until all the leaves have yellowed. Until then, the tuber will absorb the remaining nutrients in order to create a depot for the next season.
Fertilize Montbretie properly
The garden Montbretie gratefully accepts a start fertilization in May in the form of compost, horn shavings or guano granules. During the summer flowering period, refresh the nutrient reserves with another fertilization in June/July. If the Crocosmia thrives in the planter, fertilize at the same rhythm with a practical liquid preparation.
hibernate
If a garden Montbretie thrives in a mild winter location, there is a chance of a healthy overwintering. The most important requirement is comprehensive winter protection, because the Crocosmia does not survive temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius. Leave the foliage on the plant until late winter as it acts as a natural coat. In addition, pile up a 20 to 30 cm thick layer of leaves on the root disc, which is covered with needle brushwood. In the pot, place the perennial in a frost-free, bright winter quarters, where it is watered from time to time so that the root ball does not dry out.
If the garden is in a winter-harsh region, treat the crocosmia like the related gladioli. In autumn, cut off the leaves when they are completely gone. Then dig up the tuber and wrap it in newspaper. Alternatively, the Garden Montbretie stays in a wooden box filled with earth and sand in the dark, frost-proof basement.
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increase montbretia
From the second or third year of growth, the garden Montbretia develops brood tubers at the base of its subterranean outlasting organ. Cut these off the mother tuber in spring or autumn with a sharp, disinfected knife. In small pots with a mix of potting soil and sand, keep these daughter bulbs on the warm windowsill until they have turned into vital young plants. The rooting progresses extra quickly if you put a transparent hood over each pot until the first sprouting.
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How do I plant correctly?
So that crocosmia do not suffer from soil fatigue, they should be transplanted every 3 years. Choose a date in the spring when the ground has completely thawed. The measure itself is uncomplicated. The root ball is loosened with the digging fork in order to lift it out of the ground with the spade. Now is a good time to cut off daughter bulbs for propagation. At the new location, plant the garden Montbretie again 10 to 20 cm deep in the nutrient-rich, loose soil.