Montbretia
Hardy bulb (or corm).
Eighteen inches to three feet.
Flowers in shades of orange, scarlet and yellow,
in September.
A plant much like a miniature Gladiolus; the
leaves are narrow and sword-shaped.
The flowers are borne in spike, not only at the
end of the shoot, as in Gladiolus, but on wiry
laterals or side-branches below it.
In situations which agree with it, it is very
free-flowering and increases rapidly, forming
large dense clumps which must be broken up and
replanted in fresh positions every third year.
The soil should be good and rather light, but
must not suffer from drought; the vigour and abundance
of bloom shown by the plants in a wet season are
evidence of its preference for a moist (but not
stagnant) root run.
Bulbs bought from the dealer should be planted
about three inches deep in patches; when once
they are established, the clumps may be divided
and clusters of the bulbs – a dozen or more
in a bunch – put out in fresh places.
The Montbretia flowers and finishes its growth
late in the season; and it should be allowed to
carry its foliage beyond the general clearing-up
of the borders.
In cold and backward neighbourhoods a little protection
in the way of leaves and light compost may be
heaped over the crowns in winter.
The following are some of the best sorts:
Pottsii grandiflora, yellow and scarlet;
Gerbe d’Or (Golden Sheaf) soft yellow;
Germania, scarlet;
Crocosmiæflora, orange-red;
Meteor, deep scarlet, yellow throat.
See also : Crocosmia
|
