Growing Ixia

Recently, I was asked by Tony Palmer from New Zealand, to start off the "Topic of the Week" again, for the International Bulb Society Bulb Forum Page.

Tony asked me to kick off the "Topic of the Week" with the Ixia species as it is flowering beautifully now here and also in New Zealand.

As a matter of fact, when Tony posts one of his lovely images (of anything) on the images list, I immediately run out into the garden and have a look for signs of buds on my plants, as his climate in NZ seems to be a little ahead of Australia.

If you are really keen on Ixia, there are some excellent works written on Ixia, the latest being the "Flora of South Africa" Volume 7 IRIDACEAE by Miriam de Vos and Peter Goldblatt in 1999.

In it, Miriam de Vos states (quote),"An endemic genus of 50 species mainly from the western, south-western, and southern winter-rainfall areas of the northern, western and eastern Cape Provinces, etc." (unquote).

It is exciting that there have been two new species discovered in the 1990's namely I. acaulis (1993) and I. aurea (1999).

Also, reading Rachel Saunders article in the latest edition of "Bulbs" just published in South Africa, she quotes" from the Worcestor area comes the new Ixia species, I. atrandra. This species has pink flowers with a dark centre stain and three 1 cm. wide leaves" This is a very exciting find.

Ixia (IRIDACEAE) From the Greek ixos, mistletoe (viscum) birdlime; referring to the viscous sap. Plants with a corm covered with fibrous tunics. Leaves are in two erect ranks, deciduous. Inflorescence is simple or branched in a dense or loose spike. Stems are thin and wiry. The flowers have a long or short perianth tube and more or less equal spreading segments. Fruit is a capsule of small, brown, angled seeds.

The name Ixia is derived from an old Greek name for a plant noted for the variability of its coloring. Several species are commonly known as klossies or kalossies, and a few as koring-blommetjies

The flowering period for Ixia is mainly August to November but I have had both I viridflora and I. polystachis flowering December and into early January here.

The majority of mine are grown in pots for ease of handling but the hybrids sold here seem to multiply well in garden beds. Ixia are winter-growing and summer dormant, which is why I grow in pots as I can then let the pots stay dry during this dormant period.

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