Leucocoryne ixioides Andes - Glory-of-the-sun

Originally from Chile, Leucocoryne Andes, known as Glory of the Sun, is a bulbous plant with contrasting bicoloured flowers. It has punch, with its lavender stars with a large purple central spot and a yellow heart. Floriferous and fragrant, it produces multiple flowers on each stem. Its linear foliage disappears at the same time as the flowers. It deserves a prime spot in rockeries or borders. It thrives in the sun and in rich and well-drained soil. Its flowers are perfect for cutting.

Leucocoryne ixioïdes belongs to the Aliaceae family. It is found only in scrub vegetation and valleys in the mountainous and somewhat arid coastal areas of Chile, in regions where rainfall is abundant in autumn, winter, and spring that have hot and dry summers. Therefore, they thrive in a Mediterranean-type climate. 'Andes' is a selection with lavender flowers marked with purple in the centre and a yellow heart. The plant grows from a bulb that can only withstand very light temporary frosts. It forms a tuft of linear, long, narrow, grass-like basal leaves that emit a garlic scent when crushed and turn yellow during and just after flowering. Flowering takes place in June and attracts a large number of butterflies. 5 to 12, 4 to 6 cm (2in) diameter flowers with a sweet fragrance, are gathered in umbels, grouped at the top of tall, thin, and somewhat twisted stems that reach 50 cm (20in) high. It has remarkable staminodes (sterile stamens) emerging from the white throat of the corollas, resembling white horns. The bulbs go dormant in summer, during the hot and dry season.

Leucocoryne ixioides 'Andes' will be easy to grow in open ground in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean, where the mildness of the winter and the long period of summer drought closely resemble the conditions it experiences in the wild. It will naturalise there by forming bulblets. This plant will be magnificent in a rockery, alongside botanical tulips, capers, Erodium foetidum, Peruvian squills, cistus, beschorneria yuccoides, and asphodels. In colder regions, it will make beautiful potted plants that can be stored dry in summer and protected from frost in winter. The flowers hold well in a vase and will diffuse their fragrance throughout the house.