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Products > Dianella prunina Rainbow Twist ['DPV308'] PP21,281
 
Dianella prunina Rainbow Twist ['DPV308'] PP21,281 - Rainbow Twist Flax Lily

Note: This plant is no longer in stock. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Dianella prunina Rainbow Twist ['DPV308'] PP21,281
 
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Grass-like
Family: Phormiaceae (~Xanthorrhoeaceae)
Origin: Australia (Australasia)
Flower Color: Blue Violet
Bloomtime: Spring
Height: 1-2 feet
Width: 1-2 feet
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 10-15° F
Dianella prunina Rainbow Twist ['DPV308'] PP21,281 - (Rainbow Twist Flax Lily) - A medium-sized rhizomatous flax lily that grows to 18 inches tall with very attractive blue-green leaves with a contrasting reddish-purple edge that bleeds into a narrow cream margin which surrounds the center of the leaf. The leaf also twists to expose both sides of the leaf from any angle. Though we have not seen this plant flower, it likely will be similar to its parent with tall stems of blue-violet, yellow-anthered flowers rising to nearly 2 feet above the foliage.

Plant in full sun to light shade. Tolerates regular garden irrigation to dry conditions and can go extended periods without irrigation but does not do well in overly wet heavy soils. The parent reported hardy in England to 11 F. Plants should be slightly elevated to prevent crown becoming buried.

Dianella prunina has a native range throughout the sandstone areas of the Sydney Basin. The genus is named after Diana, the Roman goddess, of hunting and Queen of the woods and the specific epithet is from Latin meaning "plum" or "plum_colored", presumably a reference to the purplish tinge of the foliage or the perhaps the color of the berries. Its typical form is very large, but this selection is more compact and bushier.

Rainbow Twist was a spontaneous variegated mutation of the non-variegated Dianella prunina Utopia ['DP303'] that was selected by Greg Lowe in Tumbi Umbi, NSW in 2006. It compares otherwise in all respects nearly identically to the parent plant with the exception that the leaves are variegated and on average slightly narrower (15.4 mm compared to 17.5 mm for Utopia). It's application for Plant Breeders Rights in Australia was accepted on August 6, 2008 and it received US Plant Patent PP21,281 the plant was marketed in the US by Ozbreed. We sold this plant for one year in 2010. Image courtesy of Ozbreed. 

The information displayed on this page about Dianella prunina Rainbow Twist ['DPV308'] PP21,281 is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
We closed for regular business at the end of 2025 in order for the property to be developed for affordable housing.
Our gates remain closed but we will open them by appointment to interested parties through August 21st to liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment.
The plants remaining in the field are listed on our
Live Inventory Page.
 
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