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Neomarica gracilis

Botanical Name: Neomarica gracilis (added by D. Kramb, 08-JAN-06)


Botanical Synonyms:

Cipura gracilis (Herb.) Heynh., Cypella gracilis (Herb.) Baker nom. illeg., Cypella gracilis (Herb.) Klatt, Cypella gracilis f. humilis Baker, Marica gracilis Herb., Moraea cultriformis Schott ex Klatt (Anonymous, 08-APR-08)


Classification:

Other Iridaceae (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Common Names:

Walking Iris (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Chromosome Count:

N/A


General Description:

Thick and clumping with 2 foot tall fan shaped, upright, shiny, yellow- green foliage, fugacious 2 inch white flowers with blue markings and brown streaks (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Distinguishing Features:

Flowers appear at ends of flat swordlike scapes which lean over and root where they touch the ground, so plants "walk" around the garden (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Preferred Habitat:

Grows best in partial sun/shade in south, prefers loose moist soil but will tolerate almost any conditions, a garden workhorse (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Hardiness:

Hardy to zone 8, may get winter foliage kill in 20's but is root hardy, protect from winter wind with a southern or southeast exposure (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Native Range:

WC & SE Brasil. (Anonymous, 08-APR-08)


Status in the Wild:

Unknown (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Commercial Availability:

Frequently offered in retail nurseries in south and retail mail order (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Sources Cited:

Swedish Wikipedia (Anonymous, 08-APR-08)

Discussed in many Southern gardening books, I used Southern Living Garden Book and Neil Odenwald's ID, Selection and Use of Southern Plants (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)


Additional Comments:

Outstanding container plant, be patient may take 2 years for good results, many sources cite this plant being hardy only in zone 10,11 but newer references say zone 8-10, some tropical plants are hardier than first realized, Neomarica gows prolifically in my 8B garden with no winter protection (Justine Manis, 28-DEC-08)

Where to buy it:


Durio Nursery
www.durionursery.biz



Iris Haven
www.irishaven.com.au



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