PlantFiles: Rain Lily, Rainlily, Fairy Lily, Zephyr Lily
Zephyranthes candida

I live in Reynoldsburg, Ohio and had these appear from nowhere in a bed about 8 years ago. They receive no special treatment or feeding but each year they spread a little further. The flowers don't last much more than a week and leaves and everything disappear by mid to late Spring. Should I be doing anything to help them?

My Mother has rain lillies growing in her front yard. Every time it rains (which is often), this plant goes bananas! She has them in white and purple (but it looks more pink to me). For a while, she was having some issues because the lawn guys would buzz them down to nothing but, they would always sprout back. So I would say it's pretty hardy!

Apparently, if you have one, it will duplicate itself pretty rapidly. My Mom said that the lady that gave them to her had only a few in her yard... by the time she moved out, they were completely covering the area where she had them. It was like a sea of rain lilies!

I have been loving them for a while... my Mom told me to dig some up but I just never had the heart to do it. They look so pretty in her yard... So I just ordered a bunch of yellow bulbs off e-bay. Of course I am going to give her some because she loves yellow. I am going to plant them around my roses... it should look STUNNING!

This is a perennial in lahore, pakistan. It self seeds easily though it is grown mainly from bulbs. It blooms in monsoon rains. looks good in masses.

This great little plant is sold in pet shop aquariums as a "Dwarf Onion"! It is listed as a 'terrarium' plant, but will live completely underwater in an aquarium for months. I plant to plant this lily around the edge of my pond in zone 5! We'll see how it does!

Not really supposed to be hardy in my area but it has held on like a champ and even spread, though it will not bloom when growing in abusive conditions, like competing with vinca, poor soil, underground rodents, no water, etc. This year I treated it better and it bloomed and seems to be thriving. All my different colors planted together bloom at different times - only white, only pink, only yellow - weird. Foliage not that attractive on the white ones.

Love it. It stays evergreen and the flowers are so lovely: pure white, and so simple and fresh looking. I have mine planted in an area where my well pump (we are not on city water) baskwash discharges. So they are inundated with water from time to time. Sad to say, I sorely neglected that part of the garden the last couple of years and another moisture loving plant overtook the area. However, I cleaned up the area last month and found the Zephyranthes bulbs had thrived and multiplied. In fact, the bulbs have multiplied so much that I will have to divide and transplant soon.

Was told that it wasn't hardy in my zone (6 - East Islip, NY 11730), looked good til February when we got a ton of snow and I was sure it died, but this spring, the green leaves are back! Looks like plain grass but when it blooms, it is very pretty.

This plant does well here in Rio de Janeiro. I planted two dozens of well formed plants 4 months ago, and they are still blooming like crazy. I have found a weird yellow and jelly fungus growing on the leaves of one of them, but I don´t know how it is affecting it, or if it could be dangerous to the other plants.

Besides that, the white flowers, lasting 2 days each, are just lovely, an uncommon sight over here.

From the essay, "Deserving of Italics" by Michael Cunningham, in the gardening quarterly, "Hortus", No. 70 Summer 2004.

In 1513, the plain of the Rio de la Plata was so carpeted with bajillions of Zephyranthes candida, that the Spaniards who "discovered" it called it the River of Silver.

This white Zeph is very common. It is distinctly late blooming. Will set seed freely. Can be used to make trihybrids and at least a few will be fertile. Often the trihybrid is prettier than the first hybrid. (By trihybrid I mean using 3 distinct species) Candid x Citrina for example, then that F1 x macrosiphon. The seedlings tend to be pastel and prolific bloomers.

Introduced in 1515 from Argentina and now widely naturalised. One of the hardiest.