Dying For A Dietes?

Needing an extremely low maintenance, beginner friendly plant? Look no further than Dietes.

Dietes, meaning two (di - Greek) affinities (etes - Greek) are plants mostly native to South Africa, which means they are wonderful for handling our harsh climates. There is one species though; Dietes robinsoniana, which is native to Lord Howe Island here "in" Australia.

But, the one most know and see is Dietes grandiflora. One of the taller species, it's a quick growing, clumping, strapy foliage plant, same as most others. With that 'traditional' Dietes flower.

Due to their root structure, which as the plant matures can become quite dense, they make excellent erosion prevention, holding even the loosest of soils in the place. Dietes make a lovely stand alone feature plant, are great border plants and can even help with weed suppression!

The other one you might see, especially here in South-West Australia, is Dietes bicolour. Still with the same tell-tale strapy foliage but with a twist... In spring-summer, on long stems, they produce yellow blooms!

So how easy are these things? VERY! You can pretty much plant and forget!

Averaging between 80cm and 1m (some might creep to 1.2m), Dietes require next to no water once established, survives quite happily with minimal fertiliser and is happy to be left alone. They also really enjoy full sun but will tolerate part shade.

If you really want to, you can give them a hair cut once a year, just grab a sharp pair of shears and lop them back to the ground, or close enough. This encourages a heap of healthy new 'leaves'  and, I find, a nice flush of flowers. If you dead head the spent flower stalks it will help encourage new blooms but thats up to you. I've had mine for 2 years now, and have cut it back once, and have never watered or fertilised it, and yet, it THRIVES!

If you fancy more plants and you have one already, you can divide existing plants as the are classified as rhizomatous plants.

Alternatively you can let the flowers go to seed, although be careful as anything seeding runs the risk of spreading to unwanted areas.

Note: Rhizomatous plants are plants that produce rhizomes under the ground, helping them store nutrients and with propagation.

Dietes seeds.

Germination can be a slower process than other plants, taking between 3 and 6 weeks for the seeds to start (but don't give up until you hit the 10 week mark). Whilst their germination rates aren't 100%, they can be improved by soaking them in water for 24 hours prior to planting.

Make sure they are kept nice and moist and in a sunny (to part shade) position.

Then once your babies are big enough transplant out, 3nsuring their crown is above the soil, water regularly for a few weeks, and viola!

So that's it. A beginner friendly, low maintenance, flowering plant with a ton of landscaping uses!

Happy planting everyone.