Now that’s a Croc! Crocosmia that is...

“Now that’s a Croc!” 

JW Brown inspecting our crocosmia crop.

When this was shouted at me across a flower field the other day, I was a bit startled as I turned to look, and then I smiled. Out in the sweeping field of red was one of our National Sales Reps, JW Brown, holding up a remarkable crocosmia bloom. The flower showed a fiery red contrast to the surrounding coastal environment, matched only by JW’s 49ers shirt.  We grow the variety “Lucifer”, which is a rather appropriate name for this saturated red bloom.

A single crocosmia stem

Crocosmia leaves are sword shaped, and the flowers are branched spikes, they sort of look like a freaky freesia. We sell them both in bloom, and then as “pods” which have a great visual appeal for designers. 

 

'Crocosmia' is derived from the Greek words 'krokos' meaning saffron and 'osme' meaning smell. It is said that when the flower heads are put into water that they smell of saffron. They are also used to make yellow dye. Crocosmia is originally from Africa and it is a member of the gladiolus and iris family. Crocosmia masoniorum was crossed with Antholyza paniculata (now C. paniculata) by Alan Bloom and produced a sturdy tall plant which was named 'Lucifer' in 1966.

Just picked crocosomia

Right now, we are harvesting a big swath of Lucifer, so it’s a good time to check out this unique crop. In the coming weeks, crocosmia pods will also be available. These are created by bringing bee hives out to the fields to pollinate the flowers, and this leads to outstanding rows of pods on the stems. 

10 Stem bunches of pods

The only other crop which we use bees to pollinate is our Ilex crop, the majority of our flowers are cut and shipped before they open so the bees never get a chance to sneak in there and do their thing.

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz

Another difference between crocosmia and our other crops is that we reuse the same bulbs for multiple years.  Each fall the bulbs are dug up, sorted, and then the best quality ones are replanted, or saved to be replanted at a later date to maintain steady production form mid-summer through fall.

Crocosmia is a dramatic, impressive flower, which adds a rich splash of color to any vase and it is a great summer flower.

Crocosmia with a light breeze off the Pacific

If you aren't familiar with Sun Valley's Resource Pages, check out these two, one for Crocosmia, one for Crocosmia Pods.  ...we have similar sheets for all our major crops. Have a look.