One of the hardest of tasks for many gardeners is to remove perfectly healthy plants. By their nature they are nurturing souls, sensitive to a fault and to destroy is not in their nature. It doesn’t matter that the plant in question is in the wrong place, a horrendous colour, swamping everything else, just darned ugly, it is sacred. Don’t tell me you fell for that nonsense? We love nothing better than to pull trees up with our bare hands or perhaps rip them out with our teeth on a particularly wearing day. All just for fun. The truth is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Sometimes tough decisions have to be made, especially where space is limited. Take the point in question. We have a tiny garden. These crocosmeia are very pretty. However they are not pretty enough, there are other more attractive prospects waiting in the wings. They hold no emotional ties as they were here when we arrived. And they are too invasive by far. They are doomed. When I gather the strength and the inclination, they will be dug out. As anyone who has tried to remove these South African corms before, that will not be as easy as it sounds. Next year I will probably be writing a parallel post.
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Off The Edge Gardening 
At least you have a Green Bin (or I assume you do) that you can put the corms into. Otherwise they are a nightmare to dispose of.
This autumn, all being well, we will start work on re-laying our garden. We too have masses of what the family always referred to as montbretia, like yours. (Why does it grow so much faster than the yellow ones or Lucifer) But we also have swathes of metre high daisies, and a lot of a small number of other things. Every few years we have divided the clumps of hemerocallis and astilbe but not liked to throw the excess away. Our garden is not really cut out for Prairie Planting, so now we have sufficient to stock a nursery – but they are all the same unknown variety. If any of you know a politically correct way of disposing of such things (I have never approved of capital punishment) I would welcome ideas.
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One of my favourite jobs, NOT
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Once done, never forgotten!
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I’ve been in that particular pickle a number of times, and wondered how a plant can possibly produce so much guilt, LOL. I usually try relocating the plant, probably subconsciously hoping it might not survive the trip, but that’s never really worked because if it annoys me in Location A, it inevitably continues to do so in Location B!
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I am sure they do it to spite us!
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There are some plants which refuse to die quietly. While I would have no guilt in tossing them I sometimes find pots of uninvited quests hidden in corners by my husband who feels everything needs a second chance.
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That is very helpful 😉
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Gill, I have been digging this stuff out continually for three years and still it comes back. Previous owners covered a steep bank with chicken wire and the corms have got under there… my fingers are in shreds.
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That sounds like an absolute nightmare! Sounds like a job you need willing volunteers for 🙂
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I hate to throw a plant away, however, some of them just have to be removed like you note. I am lucky that we border a wetlands. I walk back and plant them right off the border of our yard. When someone asks if I have such and such to share, we shop on the borders. 🙂
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No problem with Crocosmia being invasive here and they are good for hummingbirds, but I understand your problem. I also don’t like throwing away good plants, but what can you do…
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You didn’t tell me that you have hummingbirds! I am on my way …….
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I, too, have a lot of inherited Crocosmia. The funny thing is that when it reappears in places where I thought I’d eradicated it and it’s just one or two here and there, I find it very attractive.
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They start with one or two and then you turn your back for a moment and ………
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