I just received some mail order bulbs from Florida, but I'm not sure what to do since they are not dormant as every other bulb I have planted has been. I need advice!
First of all, I got some red spider lily bulbs that I plan to plant in the yard around the base of a deciduous tree. The bulbs arrived in a plastic bag with lots of roots and foliage. Should I plant them in the yard now, or plant them in a pot and store them in a garage for a while, or something else?
I also got an Crinum americium bulb that I am planning to keep outdoors in the shade in a pot. Should I plant and keep it indoors for a while (this winter?), or can it go straight outside?
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!
Dennis
Bulb help!
Plant your spider lilies now and enjoy the foliage but BE SURE AND MARK WHERE THEY ARE BECAUSE they will lose their foliage later, still be there and next fall up will pop your lily sans foliage. The foliage comes after the flower and then disappears to put it another way so you don't want to plant over the bulbs or worse dig into them and have them mold and mildew.
Ann
If your lily bulbs are lycoris radiata, they'll be fine planted now. Those are just what Ann described with the foliage disappearing and surprise blooms usually in September. They multiply well and will even come up through lawn turf. They're tough and trouble free little fellows. The Anmerican Crinum I'm not sure about if it's in a pot. In the ground, it should be fine. Is your's the white one called "Swamp Lily"? I think it would likely be fine either way. I have several different crinums, but all are in ground rather than pots. They like to be set and left alone. Moving them can cause them to take awhile to start blooming again. Of course, I don't have any plant that hasn't been relocated at least twice:) , so everyone's not as bad as me about finding "the perfect spot".
Hope this helps.
Crow
Yup, they are lycoris radiata. It is a load off my mind that it is OK to plant them now. Thanks!
And my other plant is a white swamp lily. I'm going to keep it in a pot with no drainage holes. I read that it blooms really well, even in shade. Should be pretty neat! :)
Dennis
Dennis,
I do plant over my spider lillies. I plant annuals like zinnias or the such. They will do their blooming in the summer while the spider lily is asleep. In the late summer when the zinnias are pooped out the lillies will just pop up all of a sudden and brighten the spot. After they bloom they will have their little straplike leaves most of the winter. Then they disappear until late summer again.
I have seen them planted all over the lawns in places. You mow during the time when they are asleep and it doesn't hurt them at all. You walk over them and they don't even care. When you least expect it they pop up right through the grass around the time you are not needing to mow anymore.
I had a neighbor in Orange who planted daffodils, spider lilies and a few other similar bulbs before she laid her sod. The daffs show up in the winter and then flower in the spring. The lillies in the late summer to early fall. She always has some kind of surprise right in the middle of her yard coming through the St. Augustine grass.
The spider lilies will multiply quickly and their show is short but so worth the wait.
Charlene