Tuesday, August 09, 2005
August Lily
Lycoris squamigera has thrust its tall, pale stalks topped with baby-pink flowers up through the dry, August soil in a matter of days, a delightfully incongruous color, in this season of yellows, and oranges. My Mom always called these rain lilies (which they're not... rain lilies are Zephyranthes, a whole different kettle o' fish, and not hardy here). She wasn't alone in her naming, though, as everybody called them rain lilies, and I can remember Mom saying they sprang up after the first rain after a hot, dry spell in August. They were also called August lilies, and more recently I've heard them mostly called surprise lilies. They are members of the Amarylllis family, native to eastern Asia, with squamigera being the hardiest, and probably being a hybrid.The foliage comes up in spring, then dies back, and the flower stalks come up naked in August (thus, another common name: naked ladies). They are seldom planted to advantage around here, tending to be stuck by themselves in the middle of a brown, dry front lawn, so when they pop up, with their long stalks and slighly harsh, pink flowers, they have somewhat the effect of a plastic pink flamingo in the front yard. I've seen them planted in truck tires, which is an especially nice touch. In a mixed bed, though, they are interesting, and I must admit, every year, I am indeed surprised when they appear. My clump is an offset from my Mom's original plant, which bloomed every hot August in her front yard, fifty years ago.
// posted by IBOY @ 6:50 AM 
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What zone are you again?
I'm wondering if I can grow these, they'd make a nice lead-in to the japanese anemones that come into flower this and next month...
I'm wondering if I can grow these, they'd make a nice lead-in to the japanese anemones that come into flower this and next month...
I recognize this is a very old post but just to clear things up, August Lily is a type of hosta and does grow from seed. It is not a lily, which would grow from a bulb.
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: July 02, 2010
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