Ixia Raspberry Peach
Star-shaped flowers open along one side of thin wiry stems on Ixia 'Raspberry Peach', in warm raspberry and peach tones. The African corn lily grows from a small corm, sending up narrow upright leaves through autumn and winter before flowering the following spring. Ixia flowers open wide in sun and close on dull days, so the display shifts through the course of a day. Flowering runs from October into December.
Corn lilies are best planted in a group rather than singly, because one stem is slight and the effect comes entirely from numbers. They suit a sunny border edge, a gravel garden, or a strip along a driveway. Ixia also grows well in a wide pot, which keeps the roots dry over summer with no effort.
Full sun and free-draining soil. Ixia comes from the winter-rainfall part of South Africa, so the pattern is growth through the cool months, then a dry dormancy over summer. Wet summer soil rots the corms. Plant at the depth it sits in its pot, about 15 cm apart. It suits most NZ gardens with good drainage and does well in warmer northern districts.
Stems reach 0.4 to 0.5 m over grassy leaves about 0.3 m high, and a planting thickens over a few seasons.
Trimming: Leave the foliage to yellow and die down naturally after flowering, because the corm is building next year's flowers during that period. Cut the dead leaves away at ground level once they pull free easily, usually by late January. Lift and divide congested clumps in autumn every three or four years.
Deadheading: Remove flower stems at the base once the last star has dropped. Ixia sets seed readily and the seedlings take several years to reach flowering size, so cutting stems off puts the energy back into the corm instead.
Fertilising: Apply a low-nitrogen bulb fertiliser as shoots appear in autumn, and again as flower stems emerge in spring. High-nitrogen feeds produce lax foliage and few flowers. Stop feeding once flowering finishes and the leaves start to yellow.
Watering: Water through autumn, winter and spring while the plant is in growth. Once the foliage yellows, stop watering completely and let the corms bake dry through summer, which is the single most important thing in keeping them going year to year.
Pest Control: Slugs and snails graze the emerging shoots in autumn and can spoil flower stems in spring. Thrips occasionally mark the flowers in hot dry weather. Otherwise Ixia is largely untroubled in New Zealand gardens.
Disease Management: Corm rot from wet summer soil is the main cause of failure. Plant on a slope or in a raised bed, or lift the corms and store them dry. Fusarium and botrytis occasionally appear in damp crowded plantings and are managed by spacing and good drainage.
Enjoy complimentary delivery anywhere in mainland New Zealand when you purchase plants worth $250 or more*.
For orders below $250, the following flat-rate delivery charges are applicable:
- Urban delivery within mainland New Zealand: $19.95
- Rural delivery within mainland New Zealand: $39.95
- Waiheke, Chatham and Great Barrier Islands: Please contact us for shipping options.
We aim to have all orders shipped within 14 days from the order date, unless a different shipping date is specified alongside a product.
