Red
Spider Lily that is! This Saturday I was mowing and passed by one of
the garden beds on my riding mower when this bright red flower jumped
out at me. Did it really jump? Nope but one day it wasn't there and
now here it is. Spider lilies (Lycoris radiata) are also called a variety of names like Naked Ladies (which are actually Lycoris squamagira),
hurricane lilies, and surprise lilies. You can see why the last name
fits but the other names have their logic too. If you examine the
picture you will note that there are no leaves. Those come later on
after blooming but for now this lily does look rather naked! These
lilies also appear during hurricane season which is why the hurricane
lily name has become attached to this beautiful flower.
I
don't know how this spider lily came to grow in my garden. There is
only one so far and more would be welcome to my garden. I suspect the
bulb for this flower tagged along with another plant from a past plant
swap. Soon my surprise spider lily will fade from view and send up
foliage to gather energy to produce next year's bloom (and hopefully
more bulbs).
For more great information on Spider Lilies check out this webpage at the University of Mississippi!Labels: Bulbs, bulbs and corms, fall blooming flowers, Fall color
