Walking Iris - Neomarica Gracilis

Greg was very taken with this plant, it was a wee tad expensive being such a large plant so offered to get it for his birthday, along with an appropriately sized pot - wheww...
We managed to throw both our backs out lifting it into the pot 'just to see how it would look' and so there it sat for two months, in fact it is still unpotted as it started forming flower buds and we didn't want to shock it..

Care and gardening information
Neomarica plants are clumping perennials that reach anywhere from 18 to 36 inches. And once you see their flowers, you will appreciate another of its common names—the poor man’s orchid (not to be confused with the Schizanthus poor man’s orchid). This exotic-looking plant with its graceful sword-like foliage has white, yellow or blue flowers that resemble a cross between that of an orchid and an iris. Although they are short lived, lasting only a day, numerous blooms continue to follow over an extended period of time throughout spring, summer and fall. 

When the new plantlet is formed at the tip of the flower stalk, it bends to the ground and takes root.
In addition to propagating themselves, the walking iris can be easily propagated through division of offsets or by seed in spring, 

Rhizomes can be planted in the ground or pots just beneath the soil. Walking iris grows best in moist, well-draining soil in areas with light to full shade but will also tolerate some sun as long as they receive adequate moisture.

Allow the plant to go dormant in winter and limit its watering to once monthly. You can feed the plant every two weeks with a water soluble fertilizer in the summer, or use a granular slow release fertilizer annually in early spring as part of your walking iris care.
There is some great info at this site that the above has been taken from
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/walking-iris/walking-iris-plants.htm

We had the plant against the Alfresco trellis but it seemed to be going backwards, leaves were getting lighter and something is chewing it.  Thinking it was getting a little too much direct sun we moved it to against the Alfresco pillar.  It is doing better but I think I was not watering it correctly, using a hose on shower the water was more inclined to run down the leaves past the pot.  Am now watering it at the base with a watering can, this way I can measure how much water it is getting. 

18th August 2018

 
Great excitement over our breakfast coffee...Greg spotted the very first flower on our Walking Lilly. 
The bud was obviously chewed so the flower is a little deformed but what the heck, we are besotted!

 There has been several bursts of flowers since this exciting pic.
The flowers only last one day, and after each flush of flowers there are several days while the next lot of flower buds swell and then burst forth.  
22-9-18 today has been the most prolific flowering yet - 16 flowers on the plant.  Happiness is...

20-10-18
The Neomarica got rather damaged in its flowering process, the strappy leaves really put on some length and wound up getting trampled somewhat.
We have raised the pot on a pot stand, hopefully this will protect it somewhat.  We plan to subdivide the plant, not radically, just remove a few of the smaller plants and re-pot into the self-watering pot that the plant is simply resting in at the moment.

SEPT 2020

The original plant, we need to take this pot into hand and divide the plants. Relocated from Alfresco into Courtyard Garden 2019

These plants are from the first offshoots. Other shoots were planted, anything in a shallow pot hung on but did not flourish, shoots planted into deeper pots flourished: barrel pot with Red Christmas. Shoots from first flowering, planted directly into this pot and relocated to Courtyard garden 2019.