Crocosmia is also called ‘Coppertips’ plant. This plant is grown in gardens for its beautiful flowers. The blossoms are brightly colored and the foliage is sword-shaped.
These blossoms form a bunch and stay on the plant from mid-summer through mid-fall. This plant is easy to grow, in some cases gardeners face issues.
Here’s why your Crocosmia is Dying
The main reason why Crocosmia dies is because of overwatering, which causes the yellowing of the foliage. Gladiolus rust is a disease that causes browning of the leaves. Yellowing of the leaves may also occur due to nutrient imbalance.
Why do Crocosmia leaves turn brown?
There are several reasons why Crocosmia’s leaves turn brown. It can be due to poor care or pests. Pests rarely infest this plant.
Spider mites
Spider mites are relatives of spiders and they infest a great number of plants. Two-spotted spider mites affect Crocosmia. These are tiny pests that you can’t even see with the naked eye.
Spider mites if present in large numbers cause the foliage to brown and dry up. If you don’t fix the issue early on, the plant fails to flower.
To fix:
- Try to dislodge the mites with the help of a garden hose.
- You may want to follow the above with the application of Neem oil.
- If the infestation is severe, you can spray the infested plant with Insecticidal soap. Spray the plant once more if spraying once doesn’t fix the issue.
- Cut off and remove dead leaves to prevent further infestation.
Gladiolus rust/Crocosmia rust
Gladiolus rust is caused by a fungus. Crocosmia doesn’t usually gets affected by this fungus but it can happen in some cases.
You’ll see brownish black or brownish yellow spores on the leaves. Such signs are sometimes seen on the flowers too.
Gladiolus rust is caused by low light and low humidity. There’s no treating this disease once it attacks a plant.
You may want to treat plants prior to infection. Spray fungicides like Copper spray or Sulfur powder in early spring and continue to spray throughout the growing season. This will prevent the infection for sure.
Why does my Crocosmia fall over?
Crocosmia is reputed to spread vigorously. It spreads so fast that it becomes invasive often. It spreads via rhizomes.
When it spreads vigorously, the plant falls over. This happens when the plant becomes dense and there is no place to spread.
The best way to fix this is by dividing the plant and giving the plant room to breathe. Thin-out the plant however possible.
Tip: You can put some kind of support in the flower bed near the plant. Bend some old wirehangers to make your own wire hoops to support the plant.
Why Crocosmia leaves yellowing
Do you see yellow leaves on your Crocosmia? There can be many possible reasons. You can identify the culprit based on the tell-tale signs.
Overwatering
Overwatering is probably the most common reason why the foliage turns yellow. Crocosmia are drought-tolerant plants.
This is the reason why they hate waterlogged conditions. Always water these plants consciously. Water only when the plant needs some.
Check the soil with your fingers and water only when the top 2 inches of the soil goes dry. Make sure the soil has good drainage.
Nutrient Deficiency
When the plant couldn’t absorb the essential elements it shows the above signs. This happens either when the soil lacks nutrients or when the plant couldn’t absorb even when they are present.
Send the soil for a test in your local laboratory. If the soil lacks Potassium, Nitrogen, or Phosphorous, it’s time to act quickly.
You don’t need to add fertilizer or any kind of supplement. Crocosmia doesn’t need all that. You just need to fix the soil. This usually happens due to pH imbalance.
pH
pH imbalance may cause this issue with nutrient absorption. Crocosmia thrives in slightly acidic soil. If the soil is alkaline the plant fails to absorb essential nutrients.
- You can add Aluminium sulfate to the soil to decrease the pH.
- If your flower bed is small you can add sphagnum peat to it. It efficiently reduces soil pH.
Why won’t my Crocosmia bloom?
Crocosmia won’t blossom for a number of reasons. Ideally, it should give out tons of brightly colored flowers. Let’s know the factors why your Crocosmia fails to flower.
- Too much fertilizer.
- Too much shade.
It’s just normal sometimes. It may flower abundantly one year and show no blossoms the next year. If you want to know why Crocosmia doesn’t flower, read our article.