Plant of the week
Common Name: Blue Flax lillies
Scientific Name: Dianella revoluta; D. caerulea
Family: Asphodelaceae
Leaves: tufted clump forming perennial growing from a rhizome; with dull or bright bluish to green linear leaves 40cm to 1.5m in length.
Flowers: -spring to summer with with deep blue to purple racemes. The flowers stalks are held tall above the foliage and often have branching.
Fruits: blue to bright purple berries that stay on the plants for many months.
Height: many cultivars are now available from dwarf to 1.7m including the flower spike.
Distribution: All over Australia
Distribution: All over Australia
Interesting fact: Indigenous people ate the berries during the summer months. The strappy leaves were also woven into bags and nets. The leaf when folded was also used as a snake whistle..
Hardiness: drought and frost resistant.
Growing from seed: Fresh seed will germinate in a couple of weeks. Can also be propagated by division.
Uses: rockeries; bird attracting garden, native garden; bushland garden;
Which Dianella for your garden?
- Dianella 'Little Jess."dwarf 40cm high x 40cm wide.
- Dianella 'Breeze" 40% larger than little Jess. 60 – 70cm high x 60 – 70cm wide
- Cassa Blue: blue leaves; 50cm high x 40cm wide.
- Dianella 'Tas Red' -will often get a red base in cold climates, or even change from green to green with reddish tinges at times. It has a dense tidy appearance with beautiful wide leaves and large purple berries in spring and summer,45cm high x 40-50cm wide
I'm talking with Adrian O'Malley, native plant expert and horticulturist.
