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Hardiness: USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 °C (0 °F) USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 °C (5 °F) USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F) USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F) USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 °C (20 °F) USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F)
Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade
Danger: Parts of plant are poisonous if ingested
Bloom Color: Red
Bloom Time: Late Summer/Early Fall Mid Fall Late Fall/Early Winter
Foliage: Herbaceous Smooth-Textured
Other details: Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Soil pH requirements: 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline)
Patent Information: Non-patented
Propagation Methods: By dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including offsets)
Seed Collecting: N/A: plant does not set seed, flowers are sterile, or plants will not come true from seed
On Sep 10, 2009, CherokeeGreg from Fresno, CA (Zone 9a) wrote:
The name fits this plant.(Surprise Lily) I didnot plant it I have no idea were it came from. Its a great plant. I was shocked and surprised when I saw it growing in my garden! I hope there is more that comes up.
Greg
Zone 9
Fresno,CA
On May 1, 2009, tropicalover76 from Beaufort, NC wrote:
people here in beaufort call it the hurricane plant because it only comes up when we have either tropical storms here on the coast of nc, or hurricane rains..
I grew up in Denison, Texas (on the Red River, border with Oklahoma), where the "spider lily," as it is commonly called there, grows in just about everyone's yard, thanks to decades of passing along the bulbs.
Similar to the comment by another contributor, children in my schools would bring in HUGE bundles (two to four dozen) of fresh cut blossoms, a favorite and charming memory of my youth.
It certainly is true, as noted by others, that one usually forgets all about the bulbs being in the ground until one day when you walk into your garden and are greeted by this most beautiful "surprise"!
My husband and I have to move our spider lily soon. We are adding on to our house. The spider lily was his grandmother's (she is not longer with us) and it is really important for it to survive transplant. When is the best time to transplant it?
I recently moved into a new home in LA (Lower Alabama) (zone 8). 2 days ago, I was putting some scraps into my black, open bottom, compost bin and discovered a flower at the top of the bin. It seems to be a very hearty spider lily.
On Feb 4, 2006, mamajack from Fate, TX (Zone 8a) wrote:
i bought an old house and this plant was growing here when i got here. they are everywhere. they grow on top of themselves and under the iris. i have so many i am planting my entire road frontage with them. but i love them. my children take their teachers bouquets. when hundreds of these things are blooming it is truly magnificent to see.
On Oct 29, 2005, phrostyphish from Tuscaloosa, AL wrote:
To those who believe this plant is free of maintenance requirements... you're mostly correct.
This particular flower performs very well in my area, of which the soil is mostly red clay.
We had a mound of these in one corner of the yard, yet only received 3 or 4 flowers each flowering cycle. These are one of the easiest bulbs to divide... when I dug mine up, they were about the size of a plump green onion. In the past 2 years, I've divided them - some remained in their original location, and now bloom profusely. Others have also done equally as well in both shade and full sun locations of my yard.
On Jan 7, 2005, Dogzilla from Tallahassee, FL (Zone 8b) wrote:
This is one of my all-time favorites. In this neck of the woods, we call this "Hurricane Lily" or sometimes, "Surprise Lily" for the obvious reason, judging from the other feedback here.
Typically, it blooms during peak hurricane season, often after a lot of rain is dumped on the area in a short period of time. The specimens I have bloomed during the four-hurricanes-in-one-month in 2004: right after Tallahassee got 10 inches of rain in 12 hours! After the bloom dies, the foilage pops up for a while and then dies back as summer heats up. During peak hot summer, there's no evidence or trace of this plant. Then, as hurricane/rainy season progresses, there you go!
Propagate by dividing bulbs. This is a common pass-along plant in North Florida/Southern Georgia. Dig deep to get to the bulbs.
On Sep 15, 2004, milly398 from Norcross, GA wrote:
I didn't purchase this flower, however to my suprise I was walking through my yard and saw this interesting bud emerging from the ground. Over the next several days I monitored it, and when I came home this evening I saw this georgeous flower!!! I immediately scooped it up and transplanted it to a prettier location (afraid the landscapers might mow it over). I then scanned the rest of my yard and noticed that on the edge of the wood there was a huge clump of these beautiful flowers. I have transplanted them all and am so excited for this wonderful find. I only hope I didn't damage them transplanting them while in bloom. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!
On Oct 8, 2003, TulsaLady from Talala, OK (Zone 6b) wrote:
I found this plant close to my greenhouse but I've never bought or obtained a Spider Lily, nor do I own any types of lilies right now.
It's a beautiful plant. I live in zone 6b and it bloomed in mid-September and was very showy. I will transplant it to a nicer location so I can see it more.
On Sep 27, 2003, CDauphinet from New Iberia, LA (Zone 8b) wrote:
Once you put the bulbs in the ground, you can actually forget about them! Their blooming time is not long - 2 to 3 weeks at the most.
The red ones grow wild here - you can find them in ditches, in the middle of yards, etc. I recently found yellow Spider Lilies (Lycoris chinensis) and they are lovely with the red Spider Lilies.
This plant is very easy to keep and virtually no mantainance needed. The bulbs divide so I have several plants now. They are hardy plants and can take transplanting with no probelms. I highly recommend it for any garden.
On Aug 8, 2002, smiln32 from Oklahoma City, OK (Zone 7a) wrote:
Lovely addition to any landscape. The small, narrow strap-like blue-green leaves die away in early spring. Then seemingly out of nowhere in August, the 15" tall spikes emerge from underground, topped with a deciduous azalea-like flower of bright red. After the flowers fade, the leaves emerge again and persist until spring, producing food for next year's flowering
Regional...
This plant has been said to grow in the following regions:
Albertville, Alabama Auburn, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Dothan, Alabama Jones, Alabama Lanett, Alabama Madison, Alabama Northport, Alabama Pell City, Alabama Smiths, Alabama Vincent, Alabama Mesa, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona El Dorado, Arkansas Canoga Park, California Clovis, California Colton, California Fresno, California Lindsay, California Oakhurst, California Brooksville, Florida Cottondale, Florida Crestview, Florida Daytona Beach, Florida Fountain, Florida Keystone Heights, Florida Lake City, Florida Milton, Florida Oldsmar, Florida Pensacola, Florida Tallahassee, Florida Albany, Georgia Colbert, Georgia Columbus, Georgia Dacula, Georgia Fitzgerald, Georgia Hawkinsville, Georgia Jesup, Georgia Macon, Georgia Mcdonough, Georgia Norcross, Georgia (2 reports) Patterson, Georgia Stone Mountain, Georgia Thomasville, Georgia Wichita, Kansas Abita Springs, Louisiana Bossier City, Louisiana Carencro, Louisiana Deridder, Louisiana Elm Grove, Louisiana Franklin, Louisiana Gonzales, Louisiana Independence, Louisiana Logansport, Louisiana Mandeville, Louisiana Natchitoches, Louisiana New Iberia, Louisiana Paulina, Louisiana Pearl River, Louisiana Pineville, Louisiana Scott, Louisiana Shreveport, Louisiana Springfield, Louisiana Zachary, Louisiana Arnold, Maryland Knoxville, Maryland Lincoln Park, Michigan Brandon, Mississippi Florence, Mississippi Louisville, Mississippi Marietta, Mississippi Mathiston, Mississippi Olive Branch, Mississippi Starkville, Mississippi Waynesboro, Mississippi Wiggins, Mississippi St. Robert, Missouri Beaufort, North Carolina Elizabeth City, North Carolina Greenville, North Carolina Lake Toxaway, North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina Rowland, North Carolina Snow Hill, North Carolina Sunbury, North Carolina Hulbert, Oklahoma Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Pond Creek, Oklahoma Tulsa, Oklahoma Conway, South Carolina Greenville, South Carolina Lake City, South Carolina North Augusta, South Carolina Prosperity, South Carolina Memphis, Tennessee Middleton, Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tennessee Sale Creek, Tennessee Austin, Texas (2 reports) Belton, Texas Bullard, Texas Corpus Christi, Texas Dallas, Texas (2 reports) Dayton, Texas Fate, Texas Fort Worth, Texas Gilmer, Texas Harker Heights, Texas Houston, Texas (2 reports) Huntsville, Texas Irving, Texas Lewisville, Texas Lubbock, Texas Nacogdoches, Texas New Caney, Texas Port Lavaca, Texas Rosharon, Texas San Antonio, Texas (2 reports) Santa Fe, Texas Terrell, Texas West Columbia, Texas Winnsboro, Texas Norfolk, Virginia South Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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