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| Category: Perennial |
| Family: Iridaceae (Irises) |
| Origin: South Africa (Africa) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: White |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Fall |
| Synonyms: [Dietes vegeta 'John's Runner'] |
| Height: 1-2 feet |
| Width: 2-3 feet |
| Exposure: Light Shade/Part Sun |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F |
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Dietes iridioides 'John's Runner' - This evergreen rhizomatous perennial produces low clumps of arching narrow leaves that reach 10 to 16 inches tall. The 2 inch wide flowers rise slightly above the foliage - the outer white petals with a golden area near the base. The inner petals have purplish blue stippling. Flowers year round in coastal southern California gardens with individual flower lasting only one day, but are quickly followed by new flowers. Flushes of flowers appear on roughly a two week (fortnight) cycle. This clone is viviparous and produces new plantlets on the spent flower stalks which eventually lie over allowing the plantlets to root and the plant to spread. Plant in light shade with little irrigation or in full sun with occasional to regular irrigation - seems to bloom best with bright light and at least an occasional watering and has proven hardy to the high teens F. This plant was given to us unnamed by John Bleck, a Santa Barbara plantsman extraordinaire and so we have named it 'John's Runner' in his honor and we have since identified it as a selection of Dietes iridioides, which is the only species in the genus that comes from the meditteranean climate area of the Cape Region of South Africa. It has proven to be very good in our dry summer climate when grown in shade but it can also be grown in full sun with regular to occasional irrigation. It is a good container plant, can be used in mass plantings or as a solitary accent clump. Dietes iridioides is distinguished from the more common Dietes grandiflora by its lack of markings on the tepals other than the yellow spots on the outer tepal and has pale violet style arms. Dietes grandiflora, incorrectly called Dietes vegeta in the California nursery trade, has brown markings on the inner tepals and dark violet style arms. As noted in "The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs" by John Manning, Peter Goldblatt and Dee Snijman (Timber Press, 2002) "the two species are often confused in the literature and the name Dietes vegeta has been misapplied to both plants in the past." For more information see our listing for Dietes grandiflora.
The information about Dietes iridioides 'John's Runner' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |
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