cehwiedel: Opinion, Analysis, Humor,
Satire, Mystery,
Fantasy & Facts
Fantasy & Facts
Fortnight Lily
According to Pat Welsh’s Southern California
Gardening, this common garden flower comes in two varieties:
white with orange splotches (Dietes
vegeta or D. iridioides) and yellow
(D.
bicolor). On
the other hand, the Sunset Western Garden Book lists a second
common name (African iris) and mentions hybrids ‘Lemon
Drops’ and ‘Orange Drops’ and includes a
sketch that most closely resembles the large photo below,
rather than the small photo at the upper left. On the third
hand, Desert Tropicals has a very nice photo of a Fortnight
Lily (Dietes vegeta) resembling
the small photo. In any case, the leaves are the same, and the
flowers, whatever their shape and color, are jewels that
brighten any garden and especially so on a dewy morning.
Pat Welsh is a bit cranky concerning the
overuse of fortnight lilies in gardens in southern California:
“It’s good near swimming pools and is drought
resistant, easy to grow, and one of our commonest plants
—
some people think it’s much too
common.” She suggests light feeding and watering
well during the heat of August. In October, dig up the
shallow-rooted clumps and trim the foliage to a length of four
or five inches before replanting.
The folks at Sunset
warn that fortnight lilies will
happily seed themselves, so the pods should be removed to
prevent propagation and promote further flowering.
The North Caroline State University
extension service provides information on
the fortnight lily, including
a photograph. Their page also adds
another common name to the list:
butterfly iris. Monrovia Growers, headquartered not far from my house and
supplying wholesale plants to retail garden centers, credits a
photo to Peter A. Hogg whose subject resembles the small photo
on the upper left. Extensive information is available by
following links to design ideas, companion plants, and care instruction.
The Texas A&M extension service recommends the
fortnight lily, giving initial
care instructions and suggestions for grouping with other
plants, adding to the suggestions found at Monrovia.
The Banana Tree has a startlingly
three-dimensional photo similar
to the variety in the upper left here.
