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AFRICAN CORN LILY
Family IRIDACEAE
Ixia species
Perennial
An attractive and colourful race of South African
bulbous plants rather like miniature Gladioli
in form.
The foliage is stiffly erect, sword-shaped, one
inch across, opening flat in sun but closing in
shade and borne on slender stems up to a foot
or more.
Ixia maculata has orange-yellow flowers with a
dark blotch in the throat; Ixia flexuosa varies
from pink to lilac;
Ixia speciosa has purple and crimson flowers;
Ixia viridiflora is curiously delicate and attractive,
with its soft sea-green flowers centred with a
shining black blotch.
Ixias should be planted in a well-drained border
of light, rich soil against a south wall in autumn
and given protection in the form of a bracken
covering.
Apart from their use in sheltered borders and
rock gardens, Ixias are excellent pot plants for
indoor decorations, although for the flowers to
open well they must be placed before a sunny window.
Propagation is by means of offsets detached at
the time of planting, and these will bloom in
the second year.
The flowering season is during spring.
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