Not sure, Jenn, but thinking that maybe he's grouping them with grasses. I'm going to talk with him next week about NOT doing this this year, and letting them grow. I can trim out the spent flower stalks to encourage more bloom. I was somewhat horrified myself when he did it the first time. Didn't check with anyone, and he did it a second time last fall. That's when I figured this was absolutely not the right thing to do for this species. Confirmed in the MG class. Patty S.

No real secret to growing the easiest hybrids with Anigozanthus flavidus parentage, but they do prefer both good drainage and regular warm season irrigation. In habitat they even well tolerate seasonal winter flooding and summer wild fires. Full sun, good air circulation, planting out in cooler months to minimize drought stress,(typical nursery container mixes for them very quickly dry out if you aren't adequately wetting the root ball, and probably accounts for most plant deaths). They are extremely easy once established, but don't crowd the foliage or insist on overhead spray irrigation which encourages ink spot disease.

Here is a different shot showing the original plant as well as the new one. I wonder if the Dianella was cohabiting with the Kangaroo Paw in the original pot? If it was then it has taken 4-5 years to appear. Or it may have been there all the time but never flowered due to me pruning back the KP all the time. Thanks for the feedback.

They can be tricky. They want water while in flower but once done flowering they like to dry out and go dormant. If you water while dormant you'll definitely shorten their life. They are also very susceptible to ink spot so it is generally recommended not to overhead water. Each fan only blooms once and it's recommended that the fans be cut back as far as possible after blooming is done without damaging the new fans. They want excellent drainage. Then there is the problem that they don't like excessive phosphorus and so many residential garden soils are overloaded with phosphorus from decades of ill conceived fertilization with 'balanced' 20-20-20 fertilizers.