I have Lucifer's tongue as a backdrop next to a fence with a lavender bush in front. The Lucifer's tongue is overtaking a flower bed. Is there a way to thin the corms out? Can the leaves be trained not to flop over so much.

Crocosima is the horticulture name. My apology for the 'autofill.'

Thanks.

Hi Gail, I don't know what plant Lucifer's Tongue or Crocodilians is so I can't be of help but I just wanted to say Welcome to All Things Plants! If you can supply more information as to what type of plant you are referring to I'm sure someone will be able to offer advice.

Sorry for the autofill....horticulture name is Crocosmia. It has long green leaves similar to gladiolas. It blooms with red flowers. Hummingbirds love it. It's just taking over.

Hi Gail,
You can surely dig the crocosmia up & thin the bulbs out. You might want to wait until the weather cools & they go dormant though. Just replant the ones you want to keep. I can't answer about the leaves flopping over but I doubt there's anything you can do about that.
I'm sure someone with more experience will be on soon & address that issue.

Aaah, Crocosmia! There is a popular cultivar called Crocosmia 'Lucifer' but I've never heard of Lucifer's Tongue. I found a cultivar in the database called 'Lucifer's Children' but nothing for 'Lucifer's Tongue'.

Here is the general database entry for Crocosmia: The Crocosmias Database

I have Crocosmia (Crocosmia masoniorum) but haven't tried thinning it out.

I purchased some leaf ring thingies at Home Depot to hold Crocosmia leaves up. They look like this and come in different lengths:
http://xiyuan0wire0mesh.en.ec2... I may change to this type which will hold more leaves: http://www.homedepot.com/s/pla...

I thought I might have thinned mine out too much last year. Ha, ha. It's huge and I'll have to dig out more in the late fall as the leaves yellow, signalling it's okay to dig and divide. The leaves in a large clump cannot be contained and prevented from flopping unless you use twine or something similar. A peony ring might be used for a lesser amount of crocosmia.

Pirl, Wow ... beautiful!

Thanks to all of you. Pirl...that's what mine look like! I have the stakes Plantladyin suggested...can't contain them. The friend who gave them to me said 'invasive', but I had no idea they would be this invasive. I tried thinning last year, but just can't seem to get all the corms. Will try again in the fall. Thanks again.

Oops, cross posted.

Thanks, Lin, Gail and Ann. Now I wonder what a monster I'd have had if I kept the hundred or so corms I threw out!

If I discover any tricks to getting more of them out this fall I will let you know, Gail.

Now you guys have me worried. I got some bulbs this summer but I think it was too hot already & they didn't make it. So I'm getting some more this fall. I'm starting to get a little worried they'll take over.

I want them to naturalize in my fields, they will be in the hot Fl. sun & it blazes all day long. No water except what Ma Nature provides. What do you guys think?

Flaflwrgrl, if you have a field to naturalize, they'll do it! I don 't know about hot Florida sun, but they thrive here in East TN and I don't water them. Maybe Pirl can give more input on how much hers spread.

Thanks Gail. We have 6 ac. & i would like some pretty red blooms out there for the pollinators & I know my hummies will go nuts over them.

Gail - how about potting them up until you have more definite word on how invasive they may become in your area?

Ann - here they bloom before the hummingbirds arrive so I hope the timing is right for you.

Mine spread from one Home Depot package into the photo above and that doesn't take into account all I saved and then threw out.

Arlene, our hummers are here in April.

Maybe you could try using tomato cages to hold up the leaves? After you thin the corms, replant them in clumps separated by a little space, and put a tomato cage over each clump as soon as they turn up in spring.

They sure are beautiful. They used to grow well in the Pac. NW where I grew up, too.

I have had success with limiting Lucifer by pulling the young stalks and corms in early spring when they first emerge. They come out fairly easily, and I first define the area I will allow it to occupy and pull everything outside that boundary along with thinning the corms within the boundary. As it flowers, anything that starts leaning gets a chop back to about 2'. This sometimes seems drastic, but after cleaning up all the leaners, I still end up with a nice upright display. I think the natural form of this plant would be a fairly large diameter fountain if you have room to allow it. I also plant supporting plants directly in front of Lucifer to aid in keeping the stalks upright. Melissa and Rudbeckia have worked fairly well, and both blend nicely with the orange-red of Lucifer. This photo has some masterwort and veronica in front of Lucifer.

Gorgeous, Deb. You're the one whose advice Gail should follow!

That really is a gorgeous display, Deb. Very nice job.

The ones I remember were cascading down a steep bank, and the foliage really did look like water cascading, while the flowers stood out at an angle. It's a lovely plant in its natural form, and you're right, a large fountain would be the way a clump would naturally grow.