White African Iris Plant – Dietes iridioides (Fortnight Lily, Live Starter Plant)

The White African Iris plant (Dietes iridioides), better known to many gardeners as the fortnight lily, is one of the toughest, most elegant evergreen perennials you can plant. It sends up delicate, iris-like white flowers — marked with cheerful yellow-orange blotches and soft violet centers — above neat, fan-shaped clumps of sword-like foliage. The blooms appear in repeat flushes roughly every two weeks throughout the warm season, which is exactly how the fortnight lily earned its name. Practically carefree and beautifully architectural, the White African Iris plant brings year-round structure and recurring color to any landscape.

Why Grow a White African Iris Plant?

• Long, repeat bloom season – elegant white iris-like flowers appear in fortnightly bursts from spring through fall, and nearly year-round in mild climates.
• Tough & evergreen – crisp, sword-shaped foliage stays green all year and provides reliable garden structure.
• Drought- & heat-tolerant – thrives with regular water yet shrugs off dry spells once established; even tolerates poor soils and coastal conditions.
• Deer- & rabbit-resistant – generally left alone by wildlife and rarely troubled by pests.
• Versatile & low-maintenance – excellent as a groundcover, border, mass planting, container plant, or accent near water features.

Love easy, dependable plants? Browse more in our Flowering Plants and Groundcovers & Border Plants collections.

Plant Specifications at a Glance

• Botanical name: Dietes iridioides (syn. Dietes vegeta, Moraea iridioides)
• Also known as: White African iris, fortnight lily, butterfly iris, Cape iris, wild iris
• Plant type: Evergreen, rhizomatous, clumping perennial
• Plant family: Iridaceae (the iris family)
• Mature size: typically 2–4 feet tall and wide, with flower stalks rising above the foliage
• Bloom season: Spring through fall (nearly year-round in mild climates), in repeat fortnightly flushes
• Flowers: White, iris-like blooms marked with yellow-orange and violet
• Cold Hardiness Zones: 8–11

White African Iris Care & Growing Guide

The White African Iris plant is famously low-maintenance once established. Follow these simple guidelines:

• Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade. Best flowering comes in full sun, though it appreciates light afternoon shade in hot climates.
• Water: Give young plants a regular watering schedule to establish a strong root system. Once mature, water occasionally — it tolerates moderate drought, but water more regularly during extended dry spells.
• Soil: Dry to moist, well-drained soil. It adapts to a wide range of conditions, even tolerating poor soil and damp spots near water.
• Cold Hardiness Zone: 8–11.
• Maintenance: Remove spent seed pods to encourage more blooms and limit self-seeding, and clip away any dead leaves. Leave the flower stalks in place after blooming — they re-flower from the same stems, so only cut a stalk once it is completely finished.

Ways to Use White African Iris in the Landscape

This dependable, design-friendly perennial works almost anywhere. Popular uses for the White African Iris plant include:

• Borders, edging, and foundation plantings
• Evergreen groundcover, including under trees and in dappled shade
• Mass plantings for a bold, bouquet-like effect
• Containers, rock gardens, and woodland gardens
• Rain gardens, water features, and coastal landscapes

It pairs beautifully with other tough, sun-loving plants. Gardeners often combine it with the grassy Liriope Aztec or the drought-tolerant Bulbine Hallmark Orange for contrasting texture and color.

What You’ll Receive

These are live White African Iris starter plants grown and shipped by Carlos Plant Farm. Plants are less than 12 inches tall when we ship them. The photos in this listing depict mature plants of the correct species so you can see how they will look as they grow and bloom. Choose your preferred plant bundle size using the options above. We are not in any way responsible for plants once USPS takes possession of them.

Due to different state laws, we reserve the right to charge extra fees in order to comply with those laws if necessary.

Terms of the Sale

Please read the following terms of the sale completely. The customer agrees to all of the following when purchasing from Carlo’s Plant Farm:

• All sales are final. All orders are insured against damage or loss.
• The customer assumes all risk of loss or damage once USPS takes possession. If the order is damaged in any way during shipping, the customer agrees to file an insurance claim. Carlo’s Plant Farm agrees to assist the customer in filling out the form.
• Once your order is shipped, we offer no cancellation refund at all.
• We reserve the right to delay shipping due to extreme heat or cold.
• If you are unhappy with your order for any reason, you agree to contact us as soon as possible. The customer agrees not to publish a negative review before contacting us. If you post a negative review before contacting us, we will ask you to take down the review and remind you of this terms of sale agreement.

In purchasing from Carlo’s Plant Farm, the customer acknowledges, understands, and agrees with all the above terms of the sale.