On this beautiful and #sublimesunday initiated by , I’m sharing some photos and information before the day ends about a gorgeous flower that blooms in my Florida garden at this time of year.
The walking iris (Neomarica iris) is also known as the apostle plant or fan plant. The leaves form an overlapping fan of twelve leaves, hence the names of apostle plant or fan plant.
Buds of the walking iris plants in my backyard.
But why walking iris? These plants get this name from the way they seem to walk around the garden and propagate. Small new plants form at the end of a flower stalk where a flower has just faded. The blooms last only a day, but then the stalks bend to the ground where the new plant grows and eventually takes root. And so the cycle continues.
A new plant has “walked” to a new area.
Although the walking Iris is not native to Florida, it is not an invasive plant, but is known as being a Florida-Friendly plant. Contrast that with the other plants in my photographs! The sword ferns you see are highly invasive, and very hard to get rid of no matter how many I pull out! They have a tendency to choke out everything unless kept under control.
The walking iris thrives in partial shade, so the semi-wild area in my back yard is very suited to it.
If you don’t happen to be fortunate enough to live in hardiness zones 9-11 in the USA though, walking iris makes a great houseplant. Because it likes semi-shaded areas outdoors, place it in a bright window away from direct sunlight and keep it well watered!
Pretty soon your plant will produce new plants that you can pass along to friends.