Carolina Gardening: Blooming and Growing In July, 1 by TomH3787

TomH3787 wrote:
ardesia - Gloriosas pretty much propagate themselves. I always end up with too many and compost the extras. Each single rhizome will usually grow into 2 or sometimes 3 new rhizomes during the summer; when they go dormant you will find the new rhizomes attached at the base in sort of a "V" shape and the old rhizome from the previous season has dried up and will fall off. If you want to you can break apart the branched rhizomes at the base (be sure to keep them dry to allow the broken end to "cure" (but I just leave them as-is). You cannot, however, break a single rhizome into multiple pieces - the only growth bud is at the far end and pieces of rhizome from the middle will not form new growth buds. The key to getting them through the winter is to keep them from rotting. I keep them in their containers in the garage over the winter (just leave them in the dry potting mix) and in the spring I remove the viable rhizomes and replant them in fresh potting mix. It is possible to overwinter them in the ground in zone 8a+ as long as the site has very good drainage.

We got some more rain today - it's still on the dry side but getting better. Forecast is for a chance of rain every day this week - l hope that works out.

Here's Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant'. It's a bit beaten up from the rain.