If you look out the big bay window in the livingroom, you look down at an unfinished watergarden (sigh...I won't whine about that today) and across the driveway, and you'll see clusters of pale pink trumpets, on long, long naked stems, nodding gently in the breeze.
Surprise lilies, aka naked lilies or resurrection lilies, are one of those plants that you either love or hate. I happen to love them. About this time every year the hollow bright green stem pops out of the ground, leafless and lonely. Lonely unless, of course, they are planted in a clump as they should be. There are usually five flowers topping each stem, accessorizing the stem like the cherry accessorizes a banana split. The stall stems seem to lean on each other as friends should. The clumps are a welcome sight in the garden as the daylilies have just about finished for the season and asters and mums won't appear for a while yet.
Surprise lilies, aka naked lilies or resurrection lilies, are one of those plants that you either love or hate. I happen to love them. About this time every year the hollow bright green stem pops out of the ground, leafless and lonely. Lonely unless, of course, they are planted in a clump as they should be. There are usually five flowers topping each stem, accessorizing the stem like the cherry accessorizes a banana split. The stall stems seem to lean on each other as friends should. The clumps are a welcome sight in the garden as the daylilies have just about finished for the season and asters and mums won't appear for a while yet.
The bulbs for these perennials are quite expensive, up to $10 each via mailorder. Instead of shelling out a bunch of money for five bulbs (there really shouldn't be any less than that planted together, but more is fine) drive around the area and look for abandoned farms and homes with the lilies. Mark the bulb area and remember where it's at...in a few months, go back and dig up the bulb, which is probably planted very deeply.
Monday night I threw a baby shower for a sorority sister. I cut eight of the surprise lilies so that they were exactly the same length and dropped them into a plain, tall crystal vase with just a few inches of water. The simple arrangement looked very elegant on the cake and punch table.
I hope that you have all survived Tuesday's bad weather. It was pretty hard on my poor surprise lilies.
shel
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3 comments:
Thanks for the Info. These LIllies were here when we bought our home 15 yrs ago,and although we were told their name "ressurection lillies" I was unable to find out anything more about them. They have spread out to places we were not intending and since my friends and family want some I am wondering when to dig them up and when to replant, any help would be great!
Lee, I'm glad I could help! If you can, mark the spot where the undesired lilies reside. A plastic kife, like you use at a picnic, is an easy way to mark them. Or moisten the ground and push in a dowel rod. Let the lilies die down completely. In the early spring, dig up the bulbs...they should be planted deeply...clean off all of the soil and let them dry out for a week or so. Then have your friends plant them in a deep hole that has been partly refilled with soil that has been amended with bone meal and blood meal. This will feed the roots of the plant once it starts growing. Be sure to water deeply whenever you plant bulbs. This helps to eliminate air pockets.
I hope your friends and family enjoy the beauty of these rare gifts that you are so kindly sharing as I much as I enjoy them!
shel
Lee, I'm glad I could help! If you can, mark the spot where the undesired lilies reside. A plastic kife, like you use at a picnic, is an easy way to mark them. Or moisten the ground and push in a dowel rod. Let the lilies die down completely. In the early spring, dig up the bulbs...they should be planted deeply...clean off all of the soil and let them dry out for a week or so. Then have your friends plant them in a deep hole that has been partly refilled with soil that has been amended with bone meal and blood meal. This will feed the roots of the plant once it starts growing. Be sure to water deeply whenever you plant bulbs. This helps to eliminate air pockets.
I hope your friends and family enjoy the beauty of these rare gifts that you are so kindly sharing as I much as I enjoy them!
shel
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