Ixodia achillaeoides, a native of south Australia, is a potentially ex
cellent cut flower that can be used in floral arrangements, The plant
was found to require relatively low temperatures for flowering( <17 de
grees C). Long days reduced the time to flower initiation and sped up
development. However, under these conditions, flower initiation occurr
ed only on terminal shoots, while axillary shoots did not develop and
remained vegetative. Under both natural short days (starting from Octo
ber) and controlled short days, flowering time was delayed, but both l
ateral and terminal shoots developed and bloomed and thus many more fl
owers were formed. Growing ixodia plants first under short days and th
en under long days decreased time to flowering but reduced the number
of flowers as compared with continuous short days. When plants were fi
rst grown under long days and then under short days, flower initiation
occurred earlier (as compared with continuous short days), but not an
thesis. The number of flowers formed with this treatment was similar t
o that found under continuous short days.