Crocosmia fucata is the 'odd one out' amongst the Crocosmia species from South Africa. It's natural home is in Namaqualand in the west of the country , many hundreds of miles apart from the others and growing in very different conditions. It grows in locally moist areas in a vast desert area and is adapted for pollination by sunbirds. It was the first species to be collected by plant hunters and taken to Scotland but it took years to flower, spurred into action by a mulch of manure! <br> <br> Here in the UK, it starts to leaf up late in the year with green leaves all winter, then flowers in Apr/May (yes, that's correct!) with long tubular flowers, brilliant red petals with a creamy yellow tube, the flowers are held upwards on the stem, standing proud, and the lower petals bear a narrow red stripe. Plants can reach 1.2 to 2m depending upon the conditions. It's a real beauty!<br> <br> Choose a sheltered sunny place, ideally at the base of a sunny wall. Mulch well in the autumn, and don't forget that it responds to feeding and some moisture in the soil.