|
Dierama pendulum 'Album' (White Fairy Wand) - An evergreen perennial that grows to 4 to 5 feet tall from large (1-2 inch wide) corms that have fibrous tunics. Old clumps can be several feet wide with upright 2- to 3-foot-long narrow green lanceolate leaves. In late winter through spring into summer are produced 4- to 5-foot-tall inflorescences that arch over at their tips under the weight of 1- to 2-inch-long pendulous bell-shaped white flowers.
Plant in full sun in a moderately well-draining soil and irrigate regularly to occasionally spring and early summer. It is cold hardy to 15 to 20° F. Discontinue watering during dormancy and try to prevent the dormant corms from sitting in overly wet soil through the winter. This is a charming and attractive plant that can be dramatic as a single specimen or planted in a well-spaced grouping so that its distinctive fan-like clumps of foliage can be appreciated.
Dierama pendulum's native range is from the southern and eastern cape from Knysa in the Western Cape province to Suurberg (Zuurberg) and Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province, where it is found in grassy, marshy or rock-strewn areas. It closely resembles the more common Dierama pulcherrimum, but Dierama pendulum has bell shaped flowers with a rounded base while Dierama pulcherrimum has flowers with less spreading petals. The name for the genus name comes from the Greek word 'dierama' that means "funnel" and alludes to shape of the flower. The specific epithet is descriptive of its pendulous flowers. Dierama are also commonly called hairbells because of the fine hairlike stem that the flowers hang from. Another common name is Angel's Fishing Rods and in the England they are typically called wand flowers or fairy wands.
We first received corms and seed of this plant from John Bleck, past curator of the greenhouses at the University of California, Santa Barbara who had it growing in the garden next to the Biology Department greenhouses. Bleck had originally received the seed for this plant from Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden in South Africa. We first offered it for sale in 1994.
Information displayed on this page about Dierama pendulum 'Album' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will 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.
|
