Growing Walking Iris
December 15, 2025
Why grow Walking Iris? – Well, toughness is one great reason to grow this awesome plant. Some plants have unique physical features and included in this category is the beautiful Walking Iris (Neomarica spp). They have elegant, white/blue orchid like flowers and an unusual habit of walking. Sometimes in conversation with my customers I’ll mention that “your Iris might not want to stay where you plant it” which is a little amusing given that Irises don’t have legs.
The beautiful strappy leaves give year round structure and produce multiple blooms, flowering one at a time in the warmer months. Once the flowers finish, new plants often sprout from the ends of the flower stalks and root where they touch the ground, giving them the common name "Walking Iris."
It’s a wonderful, hardy ornamental plant suitable for garden beds or containers and can be grown easily even with our cold winters; though ideally with a bit of protection. We certainly have areas which get heavily frosted in our region; including here at Ramesa Farm. So for those really cold snaps, your Walking Iris will be more than happy in a large container or pot. Just ensure it’s in a free draining quality potting mix and placed in a protected location.
Containers can be placed on the verandah or under the protection of trees. Otherwise if you prefer planting in the ground your available microclimates such as choosing a north facing wall will be useful. These areas naturally trap warmth and reduce frost impact and adding mulch around the base of your Walking Iris will help insulate the roots.
You’ll notice, as with many plants that growth slows during the cooler months and so the need for water is less. For Irises, it’s always a good idea to let the top layer of soil dry out before watering again to avoid water logging the roots. If you’re wanting to divide clumps or plant out rooted offsets, spring is the best time. By then, the soil has warmed up and the plant is ready to grow.
Walking Irises (Neomarica spp.) are native to Brazil and their striking, nectar-rich flowers attract a variety of native Australian butterflies, especially those that are general nectar feeders.
Some butterflies attracted to Walking Iris when flowering, include the Blue Tiger (Tirumala hamata) prefering nectar from blue flowers during their seasonal migrations.
Also the varied Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina nerina) likes the large open flowers of Walking Iris among other nectar producing plants. The male butterflies are black with iridescent blue patches and females being more variable.
Another butterfly is the Orchard Swallowtail (Papilio aegeus). While the caterpillars feed on the citrus trees, the adults are strong flyers that seek nectar from a wide range of garden plants, including the Walking Iris.
The Glasswing (Acraea andromacha) enjoys sunny garden areas and visits flowers for nectar. The Tailed Emperor (Polyura sempronius) is also an opportunistic nectar feeder of nectar producing flowers.
If you do want to make your Walking Iris even more butterfly friendly, plant it in clusters to create stronger visual signals for butterflies. Surround the iris with other nectar plants too, like grevilleas, daisies, buddleia, duranta or pentas. Also provide host plants for the caterpillars such as citrus trees, grasses and shrubs for wind protection, flat stones nearby for basking and puddling dishes for providing minerals and moisture.
Walking Iris are low-maintenance, shade tolerant plants which like an occasional feed during the growing season. Once established, they will slowly spread, gifting you with more plants to share with your family and friends; in my mind certainly a worthy plant for the home garden.
