Plant of the Moment – No.13 Crocosmia 'Walberton Yellow'

This robust Crocosmia began flowering in mid-August and will go on lighting up borders for at least a month. It is more orange-yellow than yellow as such, but that only serves to make it an even more vibrant contributor to the late summer and early autumn scene, chiming perfectly with the orange, red and rust tones that typify the season. The large and sturdy panicles of flower-buds are arranged in a 'herring-bone' pattern, recalling the better-known cultivar 'Lucifer', but 'Walberton Yellow' only reaches a third of the height of its devilish red cousin.

In our garden this is a strong plant that makes moderately increasing clumps in moist but well-drained soil in full sun. It does not show the highly invasive proclivities of Monbretia, which is a menace (albeit a deceptively attractive one) round these parts. 'Walberton Yellow' seems to be virtually weather-proof, with the plants requiring no staking or other physical support, the flowers coming through wet and windy conditions largely unscathed, and the corms shrugging off the hard frosts we have experienced annually since 2009 (although we are admittedly in a much milder-than-average part of the country).

'Walberton Yellow' (actually a trade name, as the officially registered cultivar name is 'Walcroy') is protected by Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR), meaning that commercial propagation is prohibited except under licence. Happily these provisions don't extend to horticulture on a domestic scale and so those of us who have come to value this plant for its almost luminous colour and trouble-free nature are free to spread it around our gardens.