Dietes grandiflora - Fortnight Lily

Dietes grandiflora is a rhizomatous perennial from the iris family. The Fortnight Lily is native to South Africa. Dietes grandiflora grows 2-3 feet tall and wide. Dietes grandiflora grows from a rhizome and forms a gradually spreading clump. Dietes grandiflora has white flowers with markings at the base of the petals and has a violet center to the flower. The Fortnight Lily blooms almost any time of the year but the heaviest flowering is in the Spring and Summer. The Yellow Wild Iris blooms repeatedly for the warmer months of the year, in our area that means from March through November and will have scattered blooms for the remainder of the year. Dietes grandiflora grows well in a shady garden, but performs pretty well in full sun into the inland valleys. Dietes grandiflora would prefer a well watered garden but plants have survived serious drought in pretty fine fashion. Dietes grandiflora is winter hardy down to 20-25°F. Older clumps have quite a few dead leaves that need to be removed to keep plants looking fresh. Removing the seedpods encourages more blooms and reduces the number of seedlings. Seedlings can be a problem, there are often a lot if Dietes grandiflora plants are neglected. The yellow flowered Dietes bicolor grows more upright and requires less maintenance.

More Bulbs for a California Garden