RED SPIDER LILY

 

Red spider lilies are from the amaryllis family and the proper name for them is Lycoris radiate.  They are truly worth waiting for their appearance in the late summer and early fall. 

Memories of them popping up in the lawns of St. Augustine grass in the deep south still linger with me as I watch them suddenly appear, very similar to yard spiders, in the yard.  My mother always had these lilies in her yards and they were one of her favorites.  You don't realize they are there until you walk out to the yard and there they are standing in full beauty to give a powerful showing that you did not expect. 

My sister-in-law who lives in Texas gave me a brown bag full of the bulbs two years ago in the spring.  I  put them in the ground and patiently waited for them to pop up that fall.  Nothing happened that fall and I was very disappointed as I am used to my very green thumb's quick results.  But I decided to wait another year for the blooms and was certainly surprised when I thought I saw something red under the big oak tree and upon investigating found that the spider lilies had decided to put on a gorgeous show.  They stand very tall and erect on a slender green stem and when the flowers are gone some long thin leaves appear. 

They reproduce new bulbs each year and I am looking forward to a much larger display next fall.

Plant, Wait and Enjoy!

 

 

 

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