Japanese name: アフリカンアイリス Scientific name:Dietes iridioides
[Overview]
An evergreen perennial 30–60 cm tall.
The rhizome creeps horizontally.
The leaves are alternate in two ranks like a fan, sword-shaped and 60 cm long, with an inconspicuous midrib.
Flowers bloom on the same flower stalk every year.
Cymes at the tips of the flower stalks bear white flowers 5–6 cm across.
There are 6 tepals; the outer tepals have yellow markings, and the inner tepals have brown spots at the base.
The upper part of the style divides into 3 branches, each shallowly 2-lobed at the tip, forming bluish purple petal-like structures.
Each flower withers in a single day.
The fruit is a capsule.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by division.
It prefers a sunny, well-ventilated, well-drained place.
It is somewhat weak in cold tolerance, and can overwinter outdoors in areas south of the Kanto region where frost does not fall.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
Give liquid fertilizer during the growing season.
Flowers bloom on the same flower stalk the next year, so do not cut the flower stalk even after the flowers are finished.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
