Wandflower or Harlequin Flower
Sparaxis species (IRIDACEAE)
Planting and Growing Wandflower
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow wandflower or harlequin flower in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of wandflower or harlequin flower
- Season of bloom and planting time for wandflower or harlequin flower
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for wandflower or harlequin flower
- When, how deep, and where to plant wandflower or harlequin flower
- How to plant wandflower or harlequin flower
- Watering, fertilizing, care and pests or diseases of wandflower or harlequin flower
- Landscape and indoor uses of wandflower or harlequin flower
- Comments about wandflower or harlequin flower and its features
Growing Wandflower
Summer corm. Deciduous. About 6 species. Stands to 2 ft. (60 cm) tall. Narrow, swordlike, arching, light green leaves.
Commonly cultivated species include plain harlequin flower, Sparaxis grandiflora; tricolor harlequin flower, Sparaxis pillansii; and wandflower; Sparaxis tricolor.
See also Corn lily, Ixia species and hybrids, closely related plants.
Wandflower Planting and Care Guide
Flowers
Spring–early summer. Orange, pink, purple, red, white, yellow, bicolored. Multiple cup- or star-shaped flowers, to 2 in. (50 mm) wide, with flared petals and contrasting centers.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 4–10; ground hardy, zones 7–10.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained, sandy loam. Fertility: Average. 6.0–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Autumn in full sun, zones 8–10; spring, zones 4–7. Space 3–4 in. (75–100 mm) apart, 2–4 in. (50–100 mm) deep. Best planted annually as new stock, zones 5–7.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist autumn–spring. Fertilize monthly during growth. Mulch, zones 4–7. Propagate by cormels, offsets, seed.
Lifting and Storing
Dark, 50–60°F (10–16°C), in net bag or open basket of dry peat moss.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, beds, borders, containers, foregrounds, mixed plantings in cottage gardens and landscapes. Good for cutting. Naturalizes. Deer, rodent susceptible.