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African Corn-Lily Ixia

Other Common Name(s):

Phonetic Spelling
IKS-ee-ah
Description

This showy "Corn Lily" is actually in the Iris family and native to South Africa's Cape Province.  The yellow and orange-yellow flowers are star-shaped of  6 petals up to 2.5 inches.  Leaves are long and sword-like while10-20 inch wiry stems hold the clusters of flowers.  This plant enjoys full to afternoon sun and prefers well-drained, highly organic soil with a pH of neutral to alkaline.  Keep moist during the growing season, but reduce after blooms fade as the plant becomes dormant in mid-summer.  Corms may also be removed from the soil and overwintered in a cool, dry planting medium.  In spring, plant the corms to a depth of 5 in. (15 cm), space 2-3 in. (7 cm) apart, or in containers of 6 inches for up to 6 corms.   These are great for use in beds, borders for fresh cut flowers, and naturalized in meadows.

See this plant in the following landscape:
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'Marquette'
  • 'Panorama'
  • 'Rose Emperor'
  • 'Spotlight'
  • 'Venus'
'Marquette', 'Panorama', 'Rose Emperor', 'Spotlight', 'Venus'
Tags:
#bulb#showy flowers#full sun tolerant#flower arrangements#well-drained soil#border planting#bedding plants#flowers late spring#spring flowering bulbs#container plant#perennial
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
  • 'Marquette'
  • 'Panorama'
  • 'Rose Emperor'
  • 'Spotlight'
  • 'Venus'
'Marquette', 'Panorama', 'Rose Emperor', 'Spotlight', 'Venus'
Tags:
#bulb#showy flowers#full sun tolerant#flower arrangements#well-drained soil#border planting#bedding plants#flowers late spring#spring flowering bulbs#container plant#perennial
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Ixia
    Family:
    Iridaceae
    Life Cycle:
    Bulb
    Perennial
    Country Or Region Of Origin:
    Africa
    Play Value:
    Colorful
    Bulb Storage:
    Store corms dry at 68-77 degrees F (20-25C)
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Bulb
    Herbaceous Perennial
    Perennial
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
    Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
    Soil Texture:
    High Organic Matter
    Soil pH:
    Alkaline (>8.0)
    Neutral (6.0-8.0)
    Soil Drainage:
    Moist
    Available Space To Plant:
    Less than 12 inches
  • Flowers:
    Flower Color:
    Cream/Tan
    Gold/Yellow
    Pink
    Purple/Lavender
    Red/Burgundy
    White
    Flower Value To Gardener:
    Good Cut
    Showy
    Flower Bloom Time:
    Spring
    Summer
    Flower Shape:
    Star
    Flower Petals:
    6 petals/rays
    Flower Description:
    Star-shaped flowers in many colors; bloom during late Spring in South, early Summer in the North
  • Leaves:
    Leaf Color:
    Green
    Leaf Type:
    Simple
    Leaf Arrangement:
    Rosulate
    Leaf Shape:
    Lanceolate
    Linear
    Leaf Margin:
    Entire
    Hairs Present:
    No
    Leaf Description:
    Sword-like
  • Stem:
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
  • Landscape:
    Landscape Location:
    Meadow
    Landscape Theme:
    Cutting Garden
    Design Feature:
    Border
    Mass Planting