Crocosmia Buttercup - Montbretia

Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora 'Buttercup' is a compact and vigorous variety of montbretia, quickly forming generous clumps of foliage from which beautiful spikes adorned with golden yellow flowers emerge in the middle of summer. They are truly radiant under the sun. They open widely on a throat of the same yellow. They are quite hardy, and are easy to grow in moist soil in the sun. This montbretia will be welcome near a patio, where one will never tire of admiring its bright bouquets up close.

Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora is an herbaceous perennial plant with corms, of South African origin. It belongs to the Iridaceae family. It was obtained in France around 1880. It shows many similarities with gladiolus. 'Buttercup' is a variety introduced in 1995. In spring, it forms a flexible stem 60cm (24in) tall and bears a fairly dense branched spike, with nearly 40 orange buds that are evenly distributed on the stem. The buds open into golden yellow tubular flowers, about 3.5 to 4cm (1 to 2in) in diameter. They are composed of 3 inner petals and 3 outer petals. The bright green sword-shaped leaves are narrow and plicate, spread out in a dense fan or cluster from the base of the plant. The storage organ is a corm, which is an underground pseudo-bulb with the appearance of a bulb but formed from a swollen stem surrounded by scales.

Half-bulb, half-stump, montbretias are the symbols of summer. They are easy to grow, vigorous, and low-maintenance. Plant them in the sun, in groups of 10 corms, in fertile soil. Their bright colours of yellow, orange, or red form cheerful spots in gardens. They look splendid with annuals or bushes, and are perfect for natural gardens, mixed with perennials or grasses. They thrive in the ground in sunny exposures and well-drained soil, and will multiply over the years to become more beautiful each time. It is only natural that 'Buttercup' found its place in our yellow garden, alongside the superb Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine'.