PlantFiles: Tiger Flower, Mexican Shell Flower
Tigridia pavonia

I live in Seattle Washington and planted my tigridia about three years ago. The first couple of years it had a few blooms that were tri-petal cream color. This year it has multiple blooms that are are six petal, 3 yellow and 3 orange with yellow accents. The flower lasts one day so it must be tigridia, it seems unusual. I will have about a month of blooms when all the pods have been expended. It is a real conversation piece for my yard.

I bought these in a packet of bulbs at a big box store. I didn't know what to do with them so stuck the little bulbs in the soil of planters around the deck, which contained other plants. Today I was surprised with Trigridia blossoms. They are quite beautiful. The duration of one day is not an issue for me - they are exotic and something to look forward to. They look more beautiful in person than in a photo. Thanks to the other people who have posted here, I'll know what to do with them this fall, for flowers next year!

They are beautiful and very easy to grow. I bought mine on sale at a Christmas Tree Store for almost nothing at the closeout.

My favourite plant ever!! I first planted 20 of these bulbs last April (2007) & only got 3 blooms- but what blooms!! Im actually devastated by looking at the photographs- I didnt think anybody would have blooms as beautiful as mine!! I had them in pots last summer & forgot about them all winter- they were outside with little or no shelter & Ireland can be very frosty. I planted the bulbs to the ground in April this year & have just photographed my 4th bloom, with 5 more on the way so far. Its such a pity they only last 1 day, but its a great excuse out to the garden in the mornings before work!

I live in Brigantine, NJ next to Atlantic City - (on the bay). My tigridia get full sun but is mixed well with acidanthera and glads, as well as heliopsis, ice plants, well the list goes on. I mulch very well, four times a year, but it comes back every year so far and it is going on its fourth year.

Bloomed a lot later than I expected. Soil here in the Mojave is very, very sandy, so all bulbs do well with plenty of water, as it drains away quickly. A beautiful late summer surprise. As this is the first year I've planted them, I have a feeling they will come up sooner next year.

I have successfully grown this plant here in my zone 8b garden in North Florida for one season. I am planning to lift the bulbs and bring them inside for the winter in order to avoid exposing them to too much moisture while they are dormant.

I agree with the previous commenter that staking may be required.

Blooms last only 1 day, but are quite large and unusual. Mine bloomed almost daily for about a month in early summer.

I have mine growing in a pot at the foot of some larger potted plants in full sun on my back patio. It is a nice accent in this type of situation, with the larger plants providing it some support for its legginess. Be sure to place it where you can observe the blooms up close.

I have enjoyed this flower so much..it is planted in full sun and had been popping up all over my garden..beautiful foliage as well...it's true..the bloom only lasts one day....Jeanne

I planted bulbs of these plants approximately 6 weeks ago, at about 4 inches deep in containers. The bulbs have not produced any shoots as of yet. This is unusual for me with bulbs. Is this normal? How long do these usually take to produce sprouts?

Planted in April. Bloomed in Sep-Oct. Beautiful flowers but only bloomed for a day.

We have been growing these in Minnesota for many years. They are not hardy, but the bulbs are easily lifted by just yanking the whole plant by the leaves in October, then we clean them, snip off the stems, let them dry, and them place them in trays filled with peat moss for the winter, and store that in the basement in a cool, dark place. We always store them "ready to go" so that the tray just needs to be watered and fed in late winter to get them started. They have been increasing in numbers, and we haven't had to buy any since the first time we got them. Super easy... Just be sure to start watering the tray at the beginning of March. They take several months to show leaves above the soil, so it doesn't matter much if you don't have that tray in a bright location until April, when it's warm enough for us to use one of those mini-greenhouses heated with a 60w lightbulb outdoors. They seem to be really tough, and can even tolerate light frost. This is a beautiful, interesting tropical bulb that's easy to lift and overwinter, and it does really well in zone 4 summers.

I wonder if this plant will grow in Florida, or whether it's too moist here?

spaceman_spiff

Very stunning and easy to grow - I've largely ignored these and they've bloomed spectacularly. Would be interested to test their frost-hardiness.. The foliage is surprisingly nice, too. Doesn't need staking here.

On the downside, flowers do only last a day. :(

I have 3 areas in which I have these. In one area, they are in containers of them. I had purchased them as bulbs (no growth on them). I have no clue as to why they have not bloomed. Can anyone assist me with directions as to what I need to do to encourage bloom formation? I think I had read that they take 3 or 4 years to become bloom producing size. thought that maybe they are not receiving enough sunlight. They have been cold hardy here with the lowest temperature in the past 3 years being about 25 degrees or so.

Planting from seed:
They will germinate at 55-65°F. Surface sow because the seeds require light for germination. Surface sow the seeds on top of sterilized sandy soil and then sprinkled sparingly with coarse gravel. The seeds shoud be refrigerated until it is time to plant them to keep the seeds fresh. In most regions it is best to lift the bulbs in the autumn and store them in dry sand in a cool basement until spring. Replant when all danger of frost has passed. In warmer locals, heavily mulch. Bulbs should be planted 4 inches deep.

Actually much hardier than thought. Mine have survived to -4 degrees C. with 2-4 cm. frost heaving with no adverse effects. I once saw this species blooming wild in the Chiapas highlands - and boy! was it cold that morning!! IMHO it's autumn and winter moisture that kills this plant in northern climes - not temperature.

Very pretty 2-3" blossoms, but they only last one day. They come in many different colors and are not cold hardy north of zone 7 so corms must be lifted in the fall. Plants have bloom spikes of about 18"-24". I was disappointed in that they probably should be staked. The straight sword like leaves are similar to gladiolus. Another name is Shell Flower - they are native to Mexico

exotic member of the iris family with sword-like foliage and stunning 4" blooms of red, pink, and white with chocolate speckled throat. Easily grown from seed and best planted for the summer in well drained soil, either in a sheltered position or permanently in a large container. Prefers full sun. Hardy only in frost free climates. Lift in autumn and store in dry,cool and frost free place. replant in spring.