Same here on the Lucifer. I winter sowed some seeds last year and they sprouted but they didn't come back, but the Mama is doing just fine and starting to spread nicely in the gardens among the Sweet Williams. When the SW finishes blooming I trim it back and wait for the Crocosmia to flower. Great for the hummingbirds too!

Hummm learn something new everyday :o) That's one less thing to bring in for the winter .. thanks for asking the question Bonnie.

Laura

Mine are in year #4 and going strong (Kingston). I don't bother with mulch anymore either.

Simon

Well then - I guess I don't need to worry about them anymore :-) Thanks guys! I'll round them all up in the fall and just plant them out again (I'll probably be finding them coming up in odd spots for a couple of years!). I'll put them in my more protected winter spot, just in case we get a cold one, but I'm glad to have one less thing to have to sort out and deal with over the winter!

BP

This is good to know. I've been tempted to get them for years but held back because I thought they'd be gonners in our zone.

I got the red hot pokers instead but I see now that it doesn't provide a long bloom stage. And so it's failed that test to make it last in my garden.

Ianna

I'm impressed with how hardy they are. I used to protect them but now that they are in so many different spots in my gardens, I agree they are Zone 4 & quite possibly Zone 3 with protection & good snow cover!
sam

I have some crocosmias growing in a plastic container but I doubt if they will flower this year. Because I live in zone 3, should I dig them up and bring them in or should I dig a big hole, put the pot in the ground and then cover them up and place another container on top of it? I'd hate to lose them. I've been trying for years to grow some and finally I have some, mind you, just foliage for now. Any advice is appreciated.

Once I would have said to bring the container indoors and keep it in a cool place until next spring. But now? If you're feeling adventurous, you could dig up half of them and take them in, and bury the other half to see if they will survive for you. I would definitly mulch them well though!

To get them to flower in a container, they need a fairly big pot. They have a pretty big root system! Fertilize the heck out of them with a fertilizer with a high middle number too.

BP

I am in zone five and bring mine indoors just left in the pot and in the basement.
Had tried leaving them out other years and they didn't make it. My sister in law in Woodstock Ontario left hers out for two years they where fine but one year the cold got them.
Mine though didn't bloom much last year, because as you mentioned they where to crowded in the pot. This year, in spring I emptied the pot and planted them in a spot in my trial garden bed. About three inches apart. They are all in bloom the past month or so. Only orange blooms.
I am planning to dig them up and not sure what I will do in bringing them indoors. Do you think I can leave the bulbs just in a bag of peat moss or something or should I put them in a couple of pots in earth.
They are kind of neat for sure

I would love to send bulbs up to you! I'm digging up a part of the garden thatI have two year old bulbs.
I live in Midland, three hours south of you. The nurseries here say we are in Zone 4 but I say my gardens are in Zone 5a, LOL.
As in my posting above I am sure bulbs will survive in your garden if they are in a spot with lots of snow cover ie next to your house where snow falls from the roof!
You should bring yours in for the winter because I do remember mine not coming back years ago when they weren't in "the right spot".
Seriously, email me your address. I'll send you some more bulbs to put in the ground this fall as an experiment!!!
sam

does anyone know if the Licifer crocosmia are deer reistant?

I just purchased a potted crocosmia and planted it in a raised garden bed. will it bloom this year??? Hope it is hardy I live in michigan, Upper peninsula....we can get very cold....but have lots of snow cover....
Kathy

I have seen a huge patch of them at the entrance to a local furniture store for several years now. They are between the side walk and the building. they bloom regularly and I doubt that the business does anything to protect them. I think they are a lot hardier than credited. Anything that survives an Alberta winter on a sidewalk is both cold and salt tolerant

Crocosmia Lucifer is so hardy here in central Ontario, that the seeds are now sprouting up everywhere! I was concerned about their hardiness ten years ago but now am almost calling them a nuisance as I have too many. The corms multiply slowly. We have the same weather and snow cover, I believe, as you in the upper Michigan peninsula!

While 'Lucifer' seems to be quite winter hardy, I have tried a number of other cultivars over the last 10 years or so, and they all died after either the first winter or the following one. However, I'm still on the look-out for another one in a different colour that is hardy like 'Lucifer'.

Last spring I planted Lucifer around my mailbox post (a wet area) and after weeks of rain they failed to sprout. I replanted with Snapdragon "Rocket" and later a surviving Lucifer corm sent up three groups of leaves. These have grown all summer and have not bloomed. After reading the posts here I think I'll just leave them.

Squirelette, is that crocosmia in Edmonton??? I would love to know the location of the furniture store that has them growing!

Here in zone 3, I just plant these close to the foundation of the house to ensure their winter survival

{{gwi:535797}}

I live east of Edmonton in a zone 3 ( barely) I planted these in 2015 and treated them like an annual deciding to replant in the spring, but they came back and were beautiful this year. The only thing I do is plant everything about an inch or two deeper than recommended,

and many things seem hardier than they say. We owned a greenhouse for many years and now grow perennials, and unless a plant has passed "trials" for an area they cannot sell it as hardy for that zone.

The zone 3 Crocosmia success stories should be aware that Crocosmia regenerates its corms every year. The corm you plant provides the energy to get started in spring (then shrivels and dies) and during the summer the plant grows a brand new corm for the following year. This is important because the new corm forms on top of the old corm and every year the corms get closer to the surface. There is some value in digging them up every 2-3 years in order to replant them at the original depth.

Anyone had luck with ORANGE crocosmia overwintering in the garden (zone 4/5)?

I have had them overwinter one year or maybe two, but never more than that. Only Lucifer has survived multiple years in the ground outside.

I’m in Zone 3a Alberta. Will i have to bring mine in during winter?

Also i would love advice as to what i do with my glads to store for winter as i never knew u could do this. New with growing them. Thx so much

Yes you will need to bring the crocosmia inside. You may get away with it for 1-2 years if planted deeply but not long term because the new corm forms every year above the old corm. The corms eventually settle at a depth ideal for the crocosmia but way too shallow for a zone 3a Alberta winter. Store in a cool place (between 2-8C).

Storing Glads