Dierama pulcherrimum Dark Cerise

Dierama pulcherrimum 'Dark Cerise' is a variety of angel's fishing rod with deep cherry-red flowers. This perennial plant with corms is very graceful with its cluster of upright and narrow, grass-like leaves. From June to August, its long and flexible stems arch and sway under the weight of the clusters of bell-shaped flowers and the effect of the wind. This spectacular but less hardy perennial appreciates warm and sunny locations. It deserves to be planted in a sheltered position, along a south-facing wall or as a standalone with foliage plants. It grows in light, well-drained, moist to wet soil with a thick mulch outside regions with mild climate.

Dierama pulcherrimum is a slow-growing plant with corms belonging to the Iridaceae family. This perennial is native to wet and marshy meadows in East Africa and South Africa. Its vegetation is more or less evergreen in winter depending on the climate. The 'Dark Cerise' variety is hardy up to approximately -7°C (19.4°F), in very well-drained soil. It resembles a grass, with an upright tuft composed of green leaves reaching a minimum height of 50 cm (20in) and, after many years, 60 cm (24in) in diameter at the base. In summer, from July to August, long, thin and sturdy floral stems, reaching up to 1.20 m (4ft) in height, emerge from the foliage, gracefully bending under the weight of the flowers. They bear branched spikes of campanulate or tubular flowers, 6 cm (2in) long, which bloom one after the other. The nectar-rich flowers attracts many pollinating insects. The fertilised flowers give way to small ovoid capsules containing numerous small, hard brown seeds, which will germinate after the winter cold. Plants grown from seeds will flower after 5 to 7 years of cultivation. 

Invite Diarama 'Dark Cerise' into your garden, as it deserves a prominent place planted in a large pot on the patio, placed in isolation, along a pathway, or in a bed not far from water. Dierama pulcherrimum is very well suited to coastal areas where it appreciates the humid atmosphere and can withstand the salty sea breeze. This plant looks stunning in a bed alongside grasses (Miscanthus, Eragrostis, Panicum), Phormium, lychnis, or along a pathway, especially when the light shines through its flowered vegetation from behind. Near a pond, it can be paired, for example, with loosestrifes, lamb's ears, purple phormium, Gomphostigma virgatum Silver Butterfly, or even meadow rues (Thalictrum delavayi, Thalictrum flavum ssp. Glaucum).