Family Index

Scientific Name

Patersonia fragilis

Family Name

IRIDACEAE

Common Name

Short Purple-flag or Blue Iris

Status

Height

leaves 0.15m - 0.3m (15-30cm)

Flowers

Blue-mauve, 6-lobed. 3 outer lobes; large, rounded, spreading,3 inner; tiny and erect.

Fruit

Papery capsule

Form

Tufted or tussock forming herb.

Municipalities

Break O'Day; Burnie; Central Coast; Central Highlands; Circular Head; Clarence; Derwent Valley; Dorset; Flinders Island; Georgetown; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Huon Valley; Kentish; King Island; Kingborough; Latrobe; Launceston; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar

Communities

Coastal Vegetation; Heath

Habitat Notes

Common on sandy or gravelly soils near coasts, frequent in wet parts of coastal heaths.

Site Tolerance

Moist

Frost Tolerance

Soil Tolerance

Loam; Phosphorous intolerant; Poor; Sandy; Well-drained

General Notes

Suitable below powerlines.

Propagation Details

Propagation Calendar

Flowering Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Seed Collecting Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sowing Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Cutting Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Seed Information

Seed Collection

Fruit an angular capsule, breaking into 3 segments, curling back still enclosed in big brown bracts. each capsule contains many seeds which change from cream to red-brown at maturity

Seed Treatment Method

Smoke

Seed Storage Life

Viable Seeds Per Gram

Seed Treatment Notes

Conflicting information: some sources report that most species have low viability. Smoke treatment may improve germination. While other sources say that for most species propagation is easy from seed, which is usually set in profusion

Germination Time

Suitable for Direct Seeding

Cuttings

Expected Time to Take Root

Expected Time to Plant Out

Propagation by Division N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.

Yes

Cutting Notes

Usually propagated by division.