more Cottingham columns Crocosmia celebrate summer with clusters
of vivid blooms that rise above gladiolus-like foliage. Like
glads, they are in the iris family and grow from corms. With
time new corms are formed above the old, creating a stacked
underground system. Crocosmia are the classic pass-along plant -
beautiful, tough, easy to grow, easy to divide and transport and
so fast growing that you soon have them to share with neighbors.
Crocosmia like to be a little crowded, but may need to be
divided and replanted every four years or so to look best in
your garden. Watch where they are planted though, because once
they are in the ground, they can spread to form a large clump.
It is pretty tough to remove every corm - volunteers seem to
keep popping up where crocosmia have been removed. But gardeners
are more likely to want to add to their collection, rather than
remove this tough summer bloomer. Gardeners have loved this
colorful bloomer for generations. European hybridizers were
working with this plant in