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joyceann_gw

Naked ladies-suprise lilies

joyceann
16 years ago

I literally have hundreds of these in my yard. They are all up with the green foliage. Is it safe to dig and trade them now, or should I wait for the foliage to die down, or do I absolutely have to wait until fall after they bloom?? I really, really need to get rid of some of these. I already traded and gave away about 200 and they just keep coming up in places that I never noticed last year. Advice is greatly appreciated.

Joyceann

Comments (35)

  • west_texas_peg
    16 years ago

    Are these the red spider lily, Lycoris radiata?

    Peggy

  • joyceann
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    No, these are baby pink. People seem to call them all kinds of different names though.

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    16 years ago

    You should dig them when the foliage has faded but you can still find them.

  • west_texas_peg
    16 years ago

    Sounds like they are Rain Lilies or Belladonna.

    I would love to have some if you need to get rid of them.

    Peggy

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    16 years ago

    They are most probably Lycoris Radiata, as it is pink surprise lily that is hardier to our zone.

    Below is a link to a pic and description.

    I have them also, and they are so lovely.

    Sue

    Here is a link that might be useful: Surprise lilies/August lily/Naked Lady

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    16 years ago

    See my post above where I goofed on the name.

  • west_texas_peg
    16 years ago

    Lycoris radiata is red, I have these in my garden. Perhaps she has Lycoris squamigera which I have or Habranthus robustus which I have started from seeds.

    Peggy

  • joyceann
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Sue got it right, thats exactly what I have. The only problem is that I have them everywhere!! I'm not kidding, just popping up in the middle of the yard, by the garages, around the fence, patches everywhere. I agree they are pretty, but come on now!! I will be definitely trading off as many as possible as soon as they die down!
    Joyce

  • plantdoctor
    16 years ago

    joyce--please put me on your list--when you start to dig!!!!--fm

  • frankye
    16 years ago

    I would love some too. I had to move suddenly last year. My only regert about moving was the 400 lilies I had to leave behind. Those were my babies. I'm trying to start over.

  • Lisa_H OK
    16 years ago

    I would love some too!

    Lisa

  • joyceann
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Hi all,
    I wrote down the emails of the 4 people who were interested in the bulbs. I must warn you though, these things have been growing for years and years. Some of the bulbs are like a big onion! They are expensive to ship I'm sure.
    Joyceann

  • west_texas_peg
    16 years ago

    I would love to make a swap with you for some of these. I have Crimson King iris or Richard Wallace canna. Please let me know.

    Peggy

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    16 years ago

    Joyce is right...the bulbs, if they are blooming sized, or near it, are quite large and heavy...especially if the foliage is left on them to die back.

    1 LB could/would be 3 or less
    2 lbs could/would be 6 or less

    Additionally they really resent being disturbed, and may sulk for a season or 2 b4 all of them bloom.

    Sue

  • west_texas_peg
    16 years ago

    You could probably get a lot of them in a $8.10 flat rate box. I received 150 Lycoris radiata in a flat rate box.

    Peggy

  • decolady01
    16 years ago

    Joyce, I would love to get some of your Naked Ladies if you have enough.

    Becky

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    16 years ago

    These are about 3-4 times the size of a Lycoris Radiata....but mailing flat rate would probably be the cheapest, unless they
    weren't going far.
    8LBS going to zones 1,2,or 3 from here is $7.75.

    Sue

  • emilyg
    16 years ago

    I would LOVE some!

  • jaceysgranny
    16 years ago

    I've moved them when they were in active growth, in fact I just sent some in a trade that have their leaves on them. I just put moist paper around them and plastic bags to be sure they didn't dry out. I'm sure they won't bloom this year but they'll have the green to help feed them. They usually take several years to bloom after being transplanted but I did receive some from a friend that had their full grown leaves and were just dug and they bloomed that same year so you never know. I love them and they are hardy to zone 3/4.

    Nancy

  • chills71
    16 years ago

    I'd love a couple as well.

    I looked through your trade list and wow, you've got one of the largest lists of daylilies I've seen. I don't know if I have anything that could tempt you, or I could just send postage.

    ~Chills

  • girlsingardens
    16 years ago

    If anyone is interested I have plenty of pink naked lady bulbs if anyone is interested. I have some in a spot that need to be moved for some work that we are having done.

    Stacie

  • plantdoctor
    16 years ago

    Stacie--yes-- i would like some of your pinks--please e-mail me ---have lots of newer named daylilies to trade--thanks,floyd

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    16 years ago

    Those of you who love Lycoris should look into L. sprengerii, fully hardy to zone 5b, and the most spectacular colors of electric blue shading into orangey-pink that I've ever seen. Hard to find and not cheap, but absolutely unbelieveable.

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    16 years ago

    Ooooops. After checking out Lycoris sprengeri, I am really left wondering now just what I have.

    As the bloom matures it has violet tones, though no oranges.
    Mine look like the ones in the pic in the link. Does Plant Delights touch their photos up, as Brecks does I wonder.....

    Sue

    Here is a link that might be useful: Lycoris sprengeri at Plant Delights

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    16 years ago

    and neither one really looks like what I have, that develops different colors as it matures.

    hmmmmm...I at least know the 'are surprise' lilies, and hardy to zone 5b anyway.

    Sue

    Here is a link that might be useful: both at bulbmeisters

  • chills71
    16 years ago

    Stacie...I emailed you offering a trade. Did you get the email?

    ~Chills

  • patricia_mi
    16 years ago

    Hi Stacie,
    I sent you an e-mail :)
    Patricia_mi

  • joyceann
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I am going to start digging my naked lady bulbs. Please let me know what you have to trade.
    Joyce

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    16 years ago

    RE L. sprengeri link to photo. No touch up. In fact, they are even more intensely colored and spectacular in the flesh. Amazing bulbs.

  • arachnid_2004
    16 years ago

    please put me on your list for pink surprise lilies. will gladly pay postage. Sam

  • madamekikia2z
    16 years ago

    Hello Stacie,
    I sent you a mail.

    Kiki

  • florogirl
    16 years ago

    see the last post was in june, does anyone have anymore of these bulbs they would like to get rid of, would really love to start a bed by spring! please email me if you do bfloro@wcnet.org

  • dcw_ks
    15 years ago

    I like suprise lilies but have never had any. I moved last fall and have some unidendified things coming up in the new yard. What does the spring follege of suprise lilies look like?Dianne

  • aliska12000
    15 years ago

    Like a lush, slightly darker green iris or strap, tapered with a roundish point and smooth, a lot like my giant hyacinths actually. I planted 5 last fall, probably too close together, only they better be the ones that are pink and purple, buds are not quite magenta, then open with yellow throats, pink and purple petals, and the the petals are tipped in sky blue. I like them better than the pink ones.

    A couple of the neighbors in my zone grow the pink ones with no problem. I know they do multiply but don't know if they spread as far as the OP's evidently do.

    Literature I've read say they resent being disturbed, so I would wait until fall to dig them . . .carefully, get them replanted in their new site ASAP. The instructions said to plant I think it was about 5" deep and mulch heavily for the first winter. They come up through the mulch. They are sold as fall-planted bulbs. I only found two sellers for these particular ones on the web, but there may be more. oldhousegardens.com is one, can't remember the other, maybe Brent and Becky's.

    They look like lilies but they aren't. They belong to the amaryllis family. I found all this out by posting my photos and asking questions.

    Here are some I found growing wild in a field. I've no idea why they grew there, don't remember their being a house there, and they don't propagate by seeds which are usually sterile, a word for it I can't remember. There is another shot if you click on image #3. The images are from a sarcastic photo essay I did about urban development. These beauties got bulldozed like I knew they probably would. I went to the plat room at city hall and looked up the property owners to ask if I could dig them up but didn't know how to grow them then, and didn't think I could dig in that mass of undergrowth. The people were wealthy, and I was afraid to ask anyway. I really should have because even if they didn't want me to have them, they might have tried to save them themselves unless they knew they were there and did. They may not have known they were there the way they grow.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Lycoris Squamigera aka Resurrection Lily, Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Naked Ladies

  • finchelover
    11 years ago

    My daughter who is supposed to know so much about flowers went and cut my ladies down,now will they sprout their "stick' and bloom or has that ended it all for the year

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