I'm so jealous! I only saw them once- at Roger's Gardens, and I didn't buy them. Doh! Good luck with them. Post photos.
Renee

I am on my third one. I can keep them alive for years, but so far have not found how to make them bloom. Am trying new locations with more sun, difficult with my shady location. Al

The wonderful owner of Tuition Growers raised them by request for me and it took him 3 long years of pampering them along. What a guy! He might have more today. Tuition has a space at the Green Scene plant show at Fullerton Arboretum today. Admission is cheap. Parking's free and close. It's my favorite plant show of the year because of the variety of plants for sale. Some other shows have lots of vendors with expensive pergolas and garden art. This one focuses on plants. Fun to see the loaded up wagons rolling around like mini planters.

I'm a fan of the Fullerton Arboretum's Salvia Spectacular in the Fall...and I usually take my own wagon in case their wagons are already grabbed when I get there.....

All mine have been from seed. Will bloom in second year. Not much luck keeping them alive after that. Think that good drainage, regular moisture and a little shade seem to be helpful, they don't like being moved, from the summer rainfall region of South Africa - grow in grasslands. D. Dracomontanum has done best for me in Los Gatos 9b.

Okay then. This is not a plant that I need if that's the case. I will admire from afar.
Renee

I got some advice about these today and the general idea is that they like a sunny spot with water in summer on a soil with some sand and then much less water in winter. They are a corm like crocrosmia. Moving them will cause them to stop flowering for a few years. They might take a few years to begin flowering but after that, they will settle in. The major problem seems to be overwatering in winter.

If anyone is doing well with these, I would still like to hear about it. I'm going to try 5 in different locations and one in a large pot. I think they look fantastic.

They grow great here in the SF bay area. Remember that they are from high up in the Drakensberg Mountains where they grow in Alpine grasslands with summer rainfall and winter dry season. Meaning that hot summer days and nights aren't what they are used to, and they like it moist in summer and take our winter rains as long as the soil drains well. In my experience, starting off with larger 5 gallon size plants avoids many pitfalls. Absolutely right about them not liking to be moved or divided, leave them be once planted. They will still bloom with dappled sun, but full sun is best. They work well in heavy clay if planted on a slope. Probably easiest to grow nearer the coast in southern California.

Wow....bloom in second year from seeds sounds quite do-able. I'd assumed it would be 3-4 years maybe. Why in the world are these so hard to find in nurseries? Annie has several that I would like, but not currently available....

If you kind of want the same look of little flowers bouncing in the breeze on long stems, Calandrinia is easy, easy. easy.

Got bunches of calandrinia...but also want the dierama. Have you seen Merlin..or Blackbird? Wow!

I guess misery loves company because reading this made me feel better after having lost some healthy Dierama several years ago that I received in a trade. I was so happy to get them and I thought I was taking good care of them in a 3 gallon pot but they died their very first year.

What timing for this thread! I just ordered several dieramas from Edelweiss Perennials. I agree that they should be more readily available in nurseries, as I spent days scouring the internet for vendors who carry them. Several nurseries in southern California didn't even know what they were when I inquired whether or not they carried dieramas.

For anybody else looking to order them online, I'd recommend Edelweiss Perennials (based in Oregon) for having a great selection. Digging Dog Nursery (based in northern California) also carries them online. Annie's Annuals has many in their catalogue, but alas, none are currently available.

I'm waiting for Annie to offer the Merlin and Blackbird...sigh. Did you by chance notice if Edelweiss had those? I'll check their site. I was at Plant Depot in Capo today...apparently every Mom around was opting for plants instead of dinner out somewhere. The one dude I asked there had never heard of dierama and they were too busy for me to follow someone else around...
Then on to Roger's...all the Moms who weren't at Plant Depot were at Roger's. The woman at the info booth MAYBE knew what dierama is but was sure they didn't have any....sigh.

Yes, Edelweiss has Blackbird, but not Merlin. Edelweiss Perennials carries Merlin, as does Far Reaches Farm in Washington.

I miss the days when I used to live in the Bay Area and could spend an afternoon checking out the plants at Annie's Annuals, as well as take in the demonstration gardens there. I get excited when I see some of the nurseries in LA carrying Annie's.

I got 6 of the dierama pulcherrima from Edelweiss and I plan to plant 4 and send one to corona del mar and another to huntington beach to see if they do better on the coast as some people have said.

I have a friend who grows them in Gold Beach and they thrive there.

Just wanted to post some pics of a couple dieramas that I just purchased in bloom.

This is Dierama mossii. Currently two stalks in bloom and another 2 emerging:
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This is Dierama trichorrhizom. Edelweiss Perennials has the photo of the bloom as more lavender, but mine is more of a fuschia. Regardless of the color, I'm just thrilled that it bloomed! I'm amazed at the delicateness of the stems that the flowers dangle from.

{{gwi:530088}}

Close up of the flower & wirey stem:
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I'm absolutely enthralled with these plants. We get an ocean breeze around here and it's wonderful watching the flowers dance all day.

They are fairy flowers. Magical. Thank you for posting pictures so we can all enjoy them.

Your terraces look so nice.

Renee

Thanks for that! Mine are still doing well and we'll see what happens

If anyone is looking for Merlin the wholesale nursery Native Sons has it from time to time. It may be worth looking into what nurseries near you order from them and asking them to order you one when they are available.