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Never say Dierama
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Posted by garden_nerd UK Central (My Page) on Wed, Jul 12, 06 at 19:29
| As soon as I saw a photo of the aptly named dieramas I knew I wanted one. I have bought plants, grown them from seed, (they germinated easily enough) but after 5 or so years of trying I have never produced a flower, only a few straggly leaves. I had given them up as lost so I dug a hole in the last known dierama location ready to plant something else there. I was rather horrified to realise that I was digging up what seemed to be plentiful longish white tubers with a narrow brown end. Is this what dierama roots look like? If so, will they now sulk for ever (brittle roots, tut, tut)? Also, what season should I expect them to do their stuff in? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Never say Dierama
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| The ones I have are much more like Watsonias or Crocosmia - long strings of corms. Full sun. Good drainage. Don't mind a few degrees of frost (1-5). Don't really like to dry out, though. Should flower in late spring-early summer. They start from the bottom of the stem and move up, leaving silky coated seedheads behind. IMO they never look 'tatty'. They don't need staking but the stems can be a bit prone to drooping so a support hoop could be useful. My original clump was in grass on top of a very shingly bank and they dangled and flirted beautifully - until we had a droughty patch. What I have noticed is that they really dislike being moved and can sit stubborn for two years after being shifted, or even transplanted. And they will produce leaves, but not flowers, in a pot unless the corm just couldn't help itself! Leave the leaves in peace (no cutting back) but you can 'de-thatch' the debris to keep things tidy. I'm not sure how they would behave in cooler areas, but they stay evergreen in this zone. |
RE: Never say Dierama
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| Dierama pulcherrimum: full sun and good drainage seem important. Down here in the south of England mine are in full flower right now and look wondeful. Proper angels fishing rods! They self-sow and I've transplanted the corms to another part of the garden where they are sulking but patience may be needed. I wasent sure whether to cut down the leaves in the spring or leave them. So I cut them down and they've grown back ok but I think you should leave them, just teasing out the old dead leaves. Have fun! |
RE: Never say Dierama
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| They didn't look like crocosmia corms - they're brown, roundish and papery. Also, crocosmias are growing in my garden with no probs. These were longish and very white and didn't seem to have a papery coating. I'll have to dig one up again now to check! There've been no problems with grooming as they haven't bothered themselves to produce any leaves. Whatever these tubers were, they were plentiful and looked healthy. Suppose I've set myself back another two years now if they ARE dieramas. |
RE: Never say Dierama
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| GardenNerd, I'd never heard of them, therefore did a Google image search. Had the same effect on me that it had on you - have to have some! - How good does the drainage have to be? I have clay soil, but usually dig in lots of compost to loosen it up. Would that do? |
RE: Never say Dierama
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| I dont think they are that fussy about soil except water logged |
RE: Never say Dierama
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| If you have the option to plant at the top of a dip or the bottom on a heavy soil - take the top, or a gentle slope. The older corms on mine are pinkish and somewhat like a chestnut nut for texture. The younger ones are white with a brown skin that's partly split. The base area is covered with a fibrous netted tunic - like a Watsonia. There are two sorts of roots at this time of the year (mid winter): some are white, long and look like a very healthy coochgrass runner. The others are thin and wiry and act as stabilisers. The worms were clearing up the remains of the dogwood leaves and the gravel mulch was letting the air through. The soil was cluggy but workable, although we had heavy rain last night. |
RE: Never say Dierama
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| Thanks, Vetivert, for this very accurate description. I'm suspecting now that mine aren't dieramas, though I can't think what else was planted in that area. |
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