Reviewed By ROY NICOL
Roy is a Professional Gardener and Horticultural Consultant, specialising in large garden year-round maintenance and garden development. He is an RHS Master of Horticulture and uses his research in the application of no-dig methods in ornamental garden settings. Roy has been a Professional Gardener for more than six years and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, Professional Gardener's Guild and Association of Professional Landscapers (Professional Gardener).
IN THIS GUIDE
One-of-a-kind Dierama plant hails from South Africa – but you may well argue that it comes from a Fairyland.
From the midst of ribbon-like evergreen leaves rise wiry stalks that arc and sway. From these arcing stalks droop and dangle a row of delightful floral bells.
The slightest waft of air sets these flowers nodding in a charming show of pretty colours and dainty movement.
Unusual, charming, and relatively little-known – that just about describes the Dieramas of Southern and East Africa.1Dierama. (n.d.). Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:20306-1
D. pulcherrimum and its various hybrids and cultivars are called ‘Fairy Fishing Rods’ or ‘Angel’s Fishing Rods’, while the other species, D. igneum, are called ‘Wandflowers’.
The ‘Fishing Rod’ Dierama plants’ wiry stalks are usually 90-150cm long and tend to arc at a 30-60° angle and really do somewhat resemble fishing rods from which sprays of flowers dangle, droop, and delightfully nod away.
Overview
| Botanical Name | Dierama |
| Common Name(s) | Angel’s Fishing Rod, Wedding Bells, Fairy Bells, Wandflower |
| Plant Type | Perennial |
| Native Area | South & East Africa |
| Hardiness Rating | H4 |
| Foliage | Evergreen |
| Flowers | Often purple, pink or red |
| When To Sow | May, June |
| Flowering Months | June, July, August |
| When To Prune | March |
Sunlight
Preferred
Full Sun
Exposure
Sheltered
Size
Height
1 – 1.5M
Spread
0.1 – 0.5M
Bloom Time
June – August
Soil
Preferred
Clay, loam, sand
Moisture
Well-drained
pH
Any
Many of the ‘Wandflowers’ have a similar habit and appearance while others have erect stalks and semi-erect flowers.
Fishing Rod or Wandflower, this genus’s flowers are surely among the most perfect of floral bells and display elegantly tapered tepals.
Depending on the variety, these bell-like flowers can be from 3-6cm in length.
Colours include all shades of pink-purple from faint pink through mauve to purple, with white, yellow, and red flowers occurring on (only) a few varieties.
Dieramas bloom very obligingly exactly through summer – from June to August.
The flower stalks rise from the middle of a basal clump of elongated ribbon-like linear leaves rather like wild grasses. In most species this foliage is of a bluish-green hue.
Both stalks and leaves emerge from fibrous corms which put out roots from the basal surface.
Similar to bulbs and rhizomes, these corms function as stores of energy.
Dierama is a genus of 44 species and belongs to Family Iridaceae with the Irises and Gladioli.2Dierama. (n.d.-b). Pacific Bulb Society. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Dierama?setskin=pbs_greenish
Its varieties are evergreen perennials.
During prolonged freezes it may drop its leaves and ‘go deciduous’ but as long as temperatures do not plunge into seriously negative territory, the dormant corm will awaken in spring and push up new foliage.
Habitat & Growing Conditions
What Dierama species have in common is their love for sunny, open locations.
Most species in their native habitat are found in savannahs and other grasslands, in rather indifferent soil, and even poor soil.
For example, both D. pulcherrimum and D. pendulum often grow in gravelly, stony ground.
Although in cultivation Angel’s Fishing Rods and Wandflowers are typically set by bodies of water, in the wild many species are highland plants.
For instance, both D. robustum and D. dracomontanum grow at altitude, even on mountainsides, and frequently almost cover hillsides.
Even in nature Dieramas do not tolerate waterlogged or damp soil and prefer well-draining ground. Only a few species grow in heavy soils.
These plants are hardy to H4, making them just hardy enough in most (though not all) regions of the United Kingdom with tolerance to -10°C.
Plant Care & Growing Tips
Dierama plants need to be protected from three things: hard frost, heavyish soil, and shade.
Fair warning given, D. pulcherrimum and its cultivars are rather more resistant to frost than some other varieties.
Soil Requirements
A loamy or sandy soil enriched with organic compost or humus with a subsoil layer of gravel or perlite would be perfect for Dierama.
Most Dierama will grow quite happily in pebbly or gravelly soil.
Soil pH should ideally be in the slightly acidic to neutral range, 6.1-7.3, though somewhat more acidic or alkaline soil will do.
Soil must drain very well and the site should enjoy full sun.
Planting Out
In practice, Dierama varieties are often bought as potted plants and transplanted.
You may also be able to buy corms from a nursery or get them from a friend.
Corms should be planted from 7-12cm deep, in a container or in open ground. Be sure that the rooting side is downward.
If potted plants are transplanted into open ground, do so to the same soil level that they are in the pot to preclude any complications.
Planting or transplanting Dierama should be done in spring, and once done let it settle in its new home and do not shift it.
Plants kept or grown in containers may be brought indoors during the winter and kept in a sunny spot.
Dierama should be watered regularly only while establishing, as after this they are drought-tolerant plants.
In winter they, that is the plants’ corms, should be protected more than ever from damp.
These plants may be fertilised with a very limited quantity of balanced 10-10-10 liquid fertiliser or a small quantity of bonemeal or fishmeal in spring mixed into the soil away from the corms.
Dierama corms will multiply vertically – they will stack one atop the other in a ‘chain’.
Though they can be divided every year it is not a good idea to do so, as replanted corms can be slow to re-establish.
Aim to divide Dierama corms about every four years – this should be done in winter or early spring.
Where To Plant Dierama
Dierama are wildflowers as such – their arcing wiry stalks and dangling, nodding floral bells create a whimsical appeal that is ideal for informal gardens and country gardens.
Within that style, they look especially lovely beside ponds and brooks.
If you go for this latter design option, be sure that the corms are above the water table – they must not be kept in damp soil otherwise they can rot.
They are excellent choices for planting in containers to be placed on balconies, patio parapets, or alongside the exterior wall of your dwelling.
The vigour of Dierama plants in containers should constantly be monitored; some varieties will do well enough in containers while others will not.
Finally, they are ‘especially excellent,’ so to speak, for planting along walkways for obvious reasons!
Dierama varieties are ideal for planting in indifferent soil, but which should be well-drained, in bare and unused patches of your yard.
“As Dierama grows in grassland in mountainous areas and is drought tolerant, it is particularly suited to growing in those sunny, dry areas of a garden, perhaps against a south-facing wall,” says Roy Nicol, a Professional Gardener.
“Grow it along with ornamental grasses such as Miscanthus, where the feathery seed heads will move in the breeze with the spikes of tubular flowers from the Dierama.”
Pruning Dierama
Dierama do not need to be pruned.
You may deadhead spent flowers but their seed sacs are pretty in their own right.
You may also remove any tatty or withered and browned foliage provided a sufficient number of green leaves remain on the plant.
Common Problems
Dierama are not known to suffer from any pests or diseases in particular.
On the basis of prevention being better than cure, what is very important is to guard against ‘root rot’ by ensuring that the corm is not in waterlogged ground or in continuously damp soil.
