Dierama pulcherrimum help

[Michael]

Hi 

Recently i got corms of this amazing plant. I have been searching information, and they say it hates being transplanted , and the corms like to grow ones on top of the others. They seem to need to be very big untill they flower. But my question is are they easy to grow and bloom?

[rob krejzl]

In a word, yes. I was recently at the house of one of Tassie's more renowned gardeners - pulcherrimum has self-seeded across the very stony (soil no more than a few centimetres deep over sandstone) driveway. A very hot, dry spot in summer, which it copes with very well.

[Paddy Tobin]

Mike,

The situation which Rob describes, a gravel area, seems to provide the ideal conditions for dierama and in this situation they can self-seed to the point of being nuisance weeds.

They are very sturdy and easy plants, growing well in general garden conditions. Although often grown beside ponds or streams they do not particularly like to have wet conditions. They are grown in these positions so as to allow them room to be seen. They are better grown as specimen plants rather than among other competing plants.

There will no shortage of seed later in the year if you want to try grow some on yourself. Also, there are always -ALWAYS- loads of small plants around the older ones which are available if you would like to try them.

Good plants!

Yes, they do resent being transplanted and can take a year or even two to settle down again to flowering. The corms grow one on top of the other - the new corm grows on top of the old one and so on.

Paddy

[Tony Willis]

When I saw this species at Logan Botanic Garden it was certainly in damp conditions. Mine are grown in a wet heavy loam and whilst it is true to say they hate moving once they settle down they grow away well.Mine were 7 feet tall this year.

[ChrisB]

Yes, easy to grow.  I got species seed for a number of them from Silverhills a few years back and all thrive in my garden, on dry, miserable soil.  I have them near the pond not for moisture, but to show them off nicely.  I was told by a S. African woman that the roots are sort of like tap roots and have amazing elasticity, pulling the plant down in the dry winter and then allowing it to spring up again when the moisture comes in the summer season, and this, if true probably accounts for why people say they don't like being transplanted.  Would be interested if anyone can tell me more about how the root systems work though...

[Michael]

Hello! Thanks for your comments!

Paddy Tobin, yes i would be interested to try some seeds, i dont know the colour of mine, but how many different colours there are?

ChrisB, about that "contractil root" i remember from my botanical classes that some monocot families (Amarylidaceae, Iridaceae, Liliaceae...) have them (they look like they have a sort of "caterpilar rings" around them) and correspond to the thickest roots produced by the plant that, the roots at mid-age, start to contract and pushing the bulb or rhizome onto the ground.

[ChrisB]

Thanks Mike, I have no formal botanical training, just learn from others and reading really.  Nice to have this more or less confirmed though.

[Ezeiza]

Hi:

     The second half of the story is amazing to say the least.

      The truth is unlike in so many other African irids, Dierama roots are perennial and this is why transplanting or dividing them is so harmful to these plants.

Regards

[Paul T]

In my garden they take from full sun to dappled shade without any problem, in soilds ranging from sandy to laomy stuff.  I find they take a couple of years to settle in (sometimes longer) and flower properly, but once they do they then usually flower every year (except one plant of mine which is rather sporadic to say the least).  I grow a dwarf pink, plus full sized white, pink, bright cerise and a purple variety (as you were asking about colours).  There are a lot more, and assorted different species that I want to try one of these years when I find them.  All in all a fantastic plant, although a large clump can start to take up a fair bit of space.... unfortunately I found out the hard way that trimming the leaves back to neaten them up tends to stop them flowering the next year.  I deliberately tried it one year though, just to find out.

Does that add any useful info?

[ChrisB]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for that.  I have often wondered whether cutting them down to the ground would stop them flowering.  Now I know.  they do get rather tatty over winter and I have been tempted to cut them down from time to time, but resisted it.  Instead I laboriously cut off the dead foliage each year instead.  I find if they sprawl I tie them up with twine half way up and they stay better behaved, and you don't notice the sting for the foliage anyway. 

[Ezeiza]

Hi:

     I did another stupid thing years ago, as the only way to know is to experiment. What would be the effect of fire on Dieramas? Would it be enough to clean them off their dead leaves?

     Well, once the dead foliage set fire the green leaves were badly charred and it took over five years for the plant to recover.

      So, now you know of two stupid things not to do to your Dieramas!


Regards

[Maggi Young]

So, now you know of two stupid things not to do to your Dieramas!

It is just as useful to know what NOT to do as it is to learn what you SHOULD do!

[Ezeiza]

Dear Maggi:

                 That's right! One reads all the time about the fire that activates blooming and seed germination in the African wilderness and that was the reason for the experiment. To see if a recreation of the circumstance would be of benefit.

                  Only that the material that feeds the fire in South Africa is scarce, some miserable chaff, the soil is gritty and the flames move fast leaving no embers. The recreation in my Dieramas almost brought the Fire Brigade in.


Conclusive conclusions

[Maggi Young]

The recreation in my Dieramas almost brought the Fire Brigade in.

If the fire brigade had had to be called in, I would have been most amused to see how you explained to them how the conflagration began......."well, you see, it was an experiment...."

[Paddy Tobin]

Mike,

Dierama pulcherrimum is probably the most frequently grown here in Ireland and it comes in many shades of lilac/pink through to darker purple. There is also a nice white cultivar.

D. igneum is a smaller plant and a light red, a watery red I would say.
D. dracomontanum is another small one, light red again to the best of my memory.

Please remind me of the seed in summer. They are a nice plant even when the flowering is finished as the dangling seedheads moving about in the breeze is very attractive. However, my wife has taken of recent years to cutting off the seedheads as they are self-seeding all over the place.


Paul,

I reckon I reached the same state as you in that I just got fed up with the tedious task of pulling out those brown leaves in early winter. With some of my clumps nearly two feet across this was proving a difficult task. Two years ago I took the hedge trimmer and cut them all to the ground. They grew away again the following year and flowered just as well as previously.

An excellent source of seed of dierama is Silverhills Seeds in South Africa. They collect seed from the wild and do mail order all over the world. Of sourse, you could just remind me to pick some seed and send it on to you.

Paddy