PlantFiles: Trique
Libertia sessiliflora

Libertia sessiliflora is a Chilean Native rhizomatous plant that loves shade and deep, organically rich moist soil.

This plant is grown for its lovely flower spikes (up to 1 m!) covered with blooms that range from light blue to lavanda to deep blue with a yellow center. Each plant produces some 6 flower spikes. It also has attractive foliage, tyipical for iridaceae. The seed pods are very much like the ones of Sisyrinchium striatum, but the seeds have an irregular shape and a reddish colour.

Propagation: this plant can be propagated dividing its rhizom. In this case, the recommendation is not to do it more than once every three years, since it takes some time for the plants to recover from division.

Propagation from seeds: stratified sowing in Autumn or regular sowing in Spring, in a mix of two portions compost, two portions river sand, one portion regular garden soil and one portion peat that has been previously impreganted with water for 24 hours. Plantils can be transplanted once they reach some 3 cm (a bit over 1"). Some plants will bloom the first year grown from seeds, but most will do the second.

Libertia sessiliflora loves shade/deep shade and the closeness to water (ponds, etc.).