Name that plant!

[iamshadow]

Things I know
- it's early spring.
- the flowers start out midblue and fade over time to almost white
- it's probably a bulb or similar, since all my jonquils, snowdrops, daffodils and irises are coming out now too.





Speaking of irises, anyone able to pin down what one in particular I have? It is from a root that looks rather like ginger, not a bulb. The leaves are very flat, point straight up, and are shaped rather like knifeblades.

Comments

[teapot_rabbit]

My family always called that first flower a starflower, but I don't think that's the correct name. The are bulbs, but the bulbs themselves are very small.

[teapot_rabbit]

Hah, turns out I was mostly right. The first plant is a spring star flower, Ipheion uniflorum.

[iamshadow]

Thank you! I am so glad I didn't clean out that old pot, even though the stuff in it just looked like grass. I had a hunch it wasn't but wasn't certain until the flowers popped up. They really are are beautiful; I'm probably going to buy a new hanging basket and keep them in the same position, since they seem to like it there.

[loligo]

I think your iris is a Japanese iris (Iris ensata). There are so many different types of iris, it gets complicated, but I don't *think* there's any other kind that has that flat, open-faced form.

[iamshadow]

I'm looking at a website, and I think you're probably right about it being Japanese. None of these have exactly the same colouration - Courtesan's Child is very close, but mine don't have that splash of yellow on the large petals that it does. The tiny bit of yellow on my pic is pollen on the 'hairy' bit, not actual pigment.

[dantesspirit]

The iris reminds me of the Japanese Irises, only not as flat. Maybe it's a version of the Japanese Water Iris, also known as a Louisiana Water Iris?

[iamshadow]

I think it's unlikely that it's a variant of a water iris simply because I am in the Central West of NSW in Australia. This garden was neglected for over a decade before I moved in to care for it, and no special care was given to these irises at all. They survived a protracted drought during that time, in a mostly clay soil with a full sun position, no less, and from what I've just read, water irises need moisture and don't handle drought conditions without cosseting.

[via_ostiense]

The flowers in the first two photos are gorgeous -- I love the crispness of the petals' shape!

[iamshadow]

Thank you - my partner took them; she is an amateur photographer.