Crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Crocosmia 'Lucifer' · Iridaceae Popular
Arching sprays of flame-red flowers above pleated, sword-shaped leaves in midsummer. Hummingbirds visit it, and the upright foliage is a good contrast to mounded plants.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to mid August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around crocosmia 'Lucifer'
The planner designed this bed around crocosmia 'Lucifer' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why crocosmia 'Lucifer' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Dianthus 'Kahori' × 3, pink
- 2 Leadwort × 15, blue
- 3 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Caucasian scabious 'Fama' × 3, blue
- 7 Crocosmia 'Lucifer' × 3, red
- 8 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- In the middle. At 3½ ft it is seen over leadwort (10 in) in front of it.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From mid July to mid August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With dianthus 'Kahori', leadwort and caucasian scabious 'Fama' in early August: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Blue runs through the planting: 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers have it. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 52% of the visual weight and the right half 48%.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where crocosmia 'Lucifer' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Pure red is rare and powerful: use it as the hot centre of a border with yellows and oranges, or as a single jolt among cool colours. The pleated, upright leaves are as useful as the flowers.
- Hot red for a late-summer border
- Sword-shaped leaves as a vertical contrast
- Hummingbird gardens
What to plant with crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Black-eyed Susan: in flower together for six weeks, from mid July; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Daylily: in flower together for five weeks, from mid July; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves.
- Dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln': in flower together for four weeks, from late July; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves.
Questions about crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Does crocosmia 'Lucifer' need sun or shade?
Crocosmia 'Lucifer' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does crocosmia 'Lucifer' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does crocosmia 'Lucifer' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to mid August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid July to mid August |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid July to mid August |
| Zone 7 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 8 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 9 | Late June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should crocosmia 'Lucifer' be planted?
8 in (20 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 12 in (30 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many crocosmia 'Lucifer' plants do I need?
At 8 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 27 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 16 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 86 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is crocosmia 'Lucifer' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Will crocosmia 'Lucifer' spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. The corms multiply into dense clumps that push outwards. Divide them every few years.
What can I plant to hide crocosmia 'Lucifer''s leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Daylily: 2½ ft tall and 24 in wide, a recorded partner, in flower late June to early August.
- Peony: 3 ft tall and 3 ft wide, in flower late May to late June.
- Blue false indigo: 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide, in flower late May to mid June.
What does crocosmia 'Lucifer' look like in winter?
Crocosmia 'Lucifer' is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
More Crocosmia
- Crocosmia 'Emily McKenzie' Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora 'Emily McKenzie'
- Montbretia Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 8 in (20 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid July to mid August; airy sprays; red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Iridaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.