Ixia hort.

Garden cultivars derived from the genus Ixia L. (family Iridaceae), whose wild species are all native to the Cape in South Africa, where they grow in fynbos and seasonally dry meadows on well-drained sandy or rocky soils.

The plants cultivated under this name are cormous geophytes, upright and slender, reaching 30 to 50 cm. The foliage is linear, narrow, semi-rigid, arranged in a fan shape at the base of the stems. The flowers, gathered in loose and flexible spikes, open star-shaped with six spreading tepals, in a range from creamy white to bright pink and carmine red depending on the cultivars. Some forms display a dark central eye, highly contrasting, a common feature in the genus in the wild. Semi-double forms occasionally appear in cultivation.

In temperate climate cultivation, flowering occurs from May to June.

The corms are hardy only down to about -5°C and must be protected or brought indoors in winter under cold climates. They require a very well-drained, sandy or gravelly soil, in full sun, and tolerate summer drought well during dormancy. They are perfectly suited to hot rock gardens and Mediterranean gardens.