Schizostylis coccinea Major
Autumn is when this plant matters. 'Major' sends up slim stems carrying up to ten open crimson-scarlet flowers, each 5 to 6 cm across, from a fan of narrow sword-shaped evergreen leaves. It is the largest-flowered of the crimson flag lilies and the colour is clear and strong at a point in the year when most borders have gone over. Flowering runs from late summer into early winter, heaviest March to May.
Plant it at the front of a border where the low fan of leaves stays tidy year round, along a pond or stream edge, in a damp corner, or in a container that can be kept watered. It looks right among grasses and late perennials, and the stems cut well for a small autumn arrangement.
Grow in full sun in moist, free-draining soil that never dries out completely, and mulch each spring to hold moisture. This is a rhizomatous plant that spreads steadily into a wide clump where conditions suit it, and it has naturalised in some New Zealand waterways, so keep it out of stream margins on rural properties. Divide congested clumps in spring.
Reaches around 0.6 m tall with a clump 0.45 m across, widening over time.
Trimming: Cut spent flower stems at the base as they finish. Tidy the foliage fan in late winter, pulling out browned leaves by hand rather than shearing across the top, which leaves blunt cut ends on show all season.
Deadheading: Removing each stem as its last flower drops keeps the clump looking sharp and encourages later stems in a warm autumn.
Fertilising: Feed with a general fertiliser as growth restarts in spring, and mulch with compost. Regular feeding and division are what keep an older clump flowering heavily rather than running to leaf.
Watering: Water consistently from spring through to flowering. Drying out in summer is the usual reason a plant produces leaves and no flower stems in autumn.
Pest Control: Slugs and snails graze new spring growth and can damage developing stems. Otherwise it is rarely troubled.
Disease Management: Generally healthy. Rhizome rot follows badly drained ground that stays cold and wet through winter, so choose a spot that is moist in summer but not stagnant in July.
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