Ixia in Bloom

Ixia is a surprise flower this spring.

That is, I planted it last spring, expecting it to bloom sometime during the summer.  Not only did it not bloom, it did not even sprout until last winter.  By that time I had given up on it altogether; and in fact, I ignored it when the leaves came along, looking rather like miniature gladiolus swords.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, it bloomed.

Well worth keeping around the garden, if possible!

Now Ixia is a mild-climate cormous plant from South Africa.  Though I've not grown it before, I think of it as a "summer bulb" type.  However, apparently a late spring/early summer bloomtime is normal where it is fully adapted, though in this case it was more like mid-spring -- or so I hope, fending off full summer as long as possible!

I think the schedule of my particular corms was entirely upset when they first arrived.  The supplier (McClure and Zimmerman) is in Wisconsin, and it is a bit difficult to sync good shipping times between the two climates, especially for spring planting.  Autumn planting would clearly be a better choice where winter temperatures permit.  It is said to be hardy to about -10 F (-23 C).

All the plants that bloomed had flowers of creamy-white with a dark blotch at centre.  So much for "mixed" colours, but they are quite attractive anyway.

Now hopefully they will go dormant through the worst of summer and come back on schedule next winter and spring!

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 78 F (26 C)/Low: 51 F (11 C)