Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora, montbretia, is a garden hybrid of C. aurea and C. pottsii,[a] first bred in 1880 in France by Victor Lemoine. The basionym of the hybrid is Montbretia crocosmiiflora Lemoine. In 1932 it was reclassified as C. × crocosmiiflora (Lemoine) N.E.Br., but the common name "montbretia" is still often found in horticultural literature, and is commonly used in the British Isles for orange-flowered cultivars that have naturalised, while "crocosmia" is reserved for less aggressive red-flowered cultivars.
Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora grows to 90 cm high, with long sword-shaped leaves, shorter than the flowering stem and arising from the plant base, ribbed and up to 20mm wide.[1] The base is a corm, a swollen underground stem lasting one year. The flowers are up to 5 cm long and coloured deep orange.
In the United States, Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora is considered suitable for planting in hardiness zones 5–9, but in more northerly locations it can be planted in the spring and the corms dug out in the fall. The corms should be planted in a well-drained garden soil in full sun to partial shade. The hybrid will set viable seed that can be grown as soon as ripe, but as a hybrid it will not breed true to colour. In Belfast, Northern Ireland, it is recorded as well-established in a wide range of locations.
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