Dietes bicolor
Dietes bicolor, commonly called African iris, is originally from South Africa. It's an evergreen perennial with rhizomes that look like beardless irises. At the base, it forms clumps of fan-shaped, narrow, sword-shaped, evergreen leaves. The flowers appear on branched stalks, and the plants bloom from spring to fall and sometimes during winter in areas without frost.
The flowers last for one day but are quickly replaced. Each flower is about 2 inches wide and has three light yellow tepals with dark brown blotches at the bases and three perfect petal-like staminodes. Each flower stalk carries many buds. Flowering occurs in bursts at two-week intervals, giving it the common name of fortnight lily (though it's not a lily). The plants typically grow to about 2 feet tall. The fruit is an obovoid capsule.
In the iris family, Iris is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and Dietes is native to certain frost-free areas of the Southern Hemisphere (five species from Africa and one from Lord Howe Island east of Australia). At one point, Dietes was part of the genus Moraea but was separated because Dietes grows from a rhizome and Moraea from a corm.
Winter-hardy in USDA Zones 9-11, these plants can be grown in moist, moderately fertile, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Best flowering occurs in full sun, but the plants may appreciate light afternoon shade. They can tolerate some soil dryness but are best grown with regular moisture. Removing seed pods as they begin to form will encourage additional bloom. Cut each flower stem to the ground when it has finished blooming.
Height: 1.5’-2'
Spread: .5’-1'
Bloom: May-September
Light: Full Sun, Part Shade, Dappled Shade
Water: Low
Zone: 8, 9, 10, 11
Origin: South Africa
