The dazzling Turquoise Ixia (I. viridiflora) has one of the rarest and most desirable colors in the plant world.  Each spring, this Freesia relative sends up striking 1½-2 foot flower spikes that demand attention!  Each stem has 12 to 24 blooms of shimmering aquamarine or sea-green.  The satiny purple centers and yellow anthers contrast beautifully with the petals.  Sadly, this lovely bulb is endangered in its homeland of South Africa, and is extremely rare in the United States.

The Turquoise Ixia is a winter-growing bulb from the Cape region of South Africa.  It goes dormant for the summer, and needs relatively dry soil then.  It grows terrific in a pot, indoors or out.  Give it well-draining soil and mostly-sunny conditions.  Each bulb produces several bulblets each year, which can be separated and will flower the following year!  The petal color can appear bluer or greener depending on the lighting.

The Turquoise Ixia is relatively easy to grow, provided that it's in well-draining soil and is kept dry when dormant.  I plant the bulbs with a thin layer of perlite around them, which prevents them from rotting.  Protect the plants from frost.  It prefers temperatures above 50 degrees and below 80.  It does well along the Pacific coast, where it can naturalize and form large colonies.  But even if you grow only one of these beauties in a pot, the color is so extraordinary that it livens up an entire garden!

Click here to check availability.

For detailed growing tips about this plant, click here.