Description
(syn. Rigidella orthantha)
Tigridia orthantha (syn. Rigidella orthantha) is found across from Guatemala and Mexico. It is a plant of high altitudes (2,000-3,000m) usually in cloud forest where it is both cooler and more humid through the year. As this might suggest, it is not a lover of hot-dry climates and it does best with cool humidity and a freedom from too much direct sunlight. At the same time, in the UK at least, it does not want heavy shade and a damp climate!
It makes large and elongated, tunicated bulbs (these are not corms) and ‘elongated’ also applies to the fan of sword-like, highly pleated leaves which are actually rather decorative. A few of these are borne below a strong spike that holds a raceme of several, ephemeral flowers of brilliant and glowing crimson-red. The humming-bird pollinated flowers are gorgeous, they are up-facing and very conspicuous with their three, long petals which are sometimes flecked with yellow. Each bloom lasts but a day, however they are made in succession over several days and each plant can bear more than one flower spike at a time, so that they can be in flower over several months in summer.
For compost it does well in something that holds some moisture, but which also has good drainage and so passes water freely. It is more or less hardy in the UK but it does not appreciate hard freezing and like any plant grown in a pot, it is likely to die if frozen through from edge to edge.(This applies to a host of plants that we think of as hardy of course). If grown in the open ground in a colder area then a mulch might be useful, but many regard it as hardy. If you decide to grow in a pot, then protect this from freezing through. They are summer-growing, winter-dormant bulbs adapted to an almost-dry winter rest so expect that the leaves will yellow in autumn and may be lost, this is normal, the plant re-grows in spring.
Described originally as Rigidella orthantha as long ago as 1845 by Charles Antoine Lemaire, in Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l’Europe 1: 107. 1845. (It was transferred to Tigridia in 1977 by Ravenna). I have been unable to trace the original 1845 description but the same publication does hold a fascinating little paper giving cultural advice from over 170 years ago. A translation from the original French and a colour plate are available in our members area.
