Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Resurrection Lily, Naked Lady

On Aug 1, 2019, AnJah from Alden, MN wrote:

I bought a house in southern MN 17 years ago. The first year I discovered the Surprise lilies in the flower bed, and some came up in the vegetable garden, even after we had tilled it! I can't seem to stop them from flowering and multiplying. Once I dug some up to thin them out and threw the bulbs on the compost heap. They flowered even there, in a heap. It survives the -30 F winters, wet springs and hot summers... and thrives. They also survive being covered in snow as they are typically the first plants to come up, even before the tulips and daffodils. Other gardeners around here consider them a weed because they grow so rapidly and crowd out other flowers, especially in spring when their foliage is thickest. But I love them and eagerly await the flowers in late summer. I will never fo... read morerget the first time I saw the naked stalk come up in my garden that I had neatly weeded and planted. I thought someone had played a joke on me. Since then I have simply let them bloom where they will and surprise me.

On Apr 15, 2019, Glorianne from Screven, GA wrote:

Finally I am glad to discover "naked ladies" have other names ! My dear mom-in-law loved them and would direct us to see them in her area of mid Wisconsin. Imagine my surprise when we discovered them growing in south Georgia a few miles from our retirement house. They are growing in incredible profusion this season.. early Spring is the best here. Their favorite spots are in low ditches by highways. Those areas hold water but drain nicely. The sunshine warms them between the raised highway bed and the forest growing a few yards away. This year, 2019, there are thousands of blooms. We look for them there each year but this is the most in 14 years. They have naturalized well.

On Apr 1, 2017, BridgeJet23 from Old Saybrook, CT wrote:

So my naked ladies greens are coming up in the various gardens. These flowers look so much better in a mass, and I unfortunately planted them separately here and there. I read that one has to transplant them in the autumn..but heck, I can't find them then because there's nothing left of the plant by then. Will harm come to these if I carefully dig them up now (with fork) to put them together?

On Aug 16, 2016, Reziac from Laurel, MT wrote:

Billings, Montana area, zone 4... it surprised me, all right. House sat empty and neglected for 3 years before we got it, so it dates back to before that. Last March it grew a big clump of leaves that died back by June, and that was the last I saw of it. This year it did the leaves again, died back, and suddenly now in mid-August it's sent up 7 big flower stems and is blooming like crazy.

The spot it's in gets VERY hot and dry in summer (only other thing that will grow there is bearded iris, and hyacinth in early spring; during summer everything else struggles).

This is supposed to be a tender bulb not hardy past zone 6, but no one told it. Two winters ago it was -30F here. It leafs up while there's still snow on the ground and getting hard freezes every nigh... read moret.

Next year I think I'll try spreading the offshoot bulbs (the mature bulbs are huge, 4" across) to other problem spots where nothing wants to grow.

On May 17, 2015, wilmabooper from Los Angeles, CA wrote:

Good morning.
I live in Los Angeles and I have purchased a clump of bulbs from a local house sale.
In mid summer the long stalk produces a fragrant pink flowers that resemble lycoris squamigera however I suspect it's likely a hybrid because the leaves that come out before the bloom are much wider leaves than the typical strap leaves that are fairly even width similar to amaryllis belladonna or agapanthus (plus the flowers are not as symmetric as A. belladonna). I think the leaves are more like crinum leaves. Additionally the bulbs are really large (larger than softball) and after the leaves die back the bulb's dried stalk protrude out of the ground many inches.

I wonder if the above description describes any variety?

Thanks

On Aug 29, 2014, weedsfree from Magna, UT (Zone 7a) wrote:

Received mine in June and I had 2 bloom in August. One even has seed pods on it. With all the comments requesting patience for Lycoris owners, I can't wait to see what happens next year! I did plant mine so that the neck of the bulb was poking out of the ground and that seems to be a good depth.

On Aug 3, 2013, keith20mm from Jasper, AR wrote:

I planted these March 2013 and pretty much forgot about them.

August 1 I found them popped up, and opening... very pretty. They definitely surprised me.

As a member of a small choral group which practices Friday, I mentioned to my group that I noticed three naked ladies in my yard that morning as I was leaving for practice.

The director paused then asked me "... and you came here?..."

There's one other house on my road. As I was passing by it, I noticed that there were many of these just like the ones in my yard, new.

This is USDA Zone 6a, and neither bed is full sun... in fact, quite shady for both beds.

My bed has 5-year old bark mulch in the uppermost layer, and just local dirt below.

On Jul 22, 2013, vossner from Richmond, TX (Zone 9a) wrote:

Surprise lily was most definitely a surprise for me. It took 8 years to bloom! I didn't give up on them b/c from the very first season, I would get healthy foliage but no blooms. I made it a point to get bulbs from different sources in case bulb quality or maturity was an issue. I don't think so. Just didn't feel at home in my gardens until now. Go figure.

On Apr 26, 2011, Erutuon from Minneapolis, MN wrote:

Surprise lily grows in the courtyard at the University of Minnesota Biological Sciences Greenhouse. I haven't been around in late summer to see it bloom, but it's probably this species. This spring, it began to come up during a warm spell in the middle of February, then got frozen twice before spring finally came. Several clumps are next to the tropics room, which is set below ground level and keeps the soil particularly warm.

On Aug 8, 2010, boru from Altoona, WI wrote:

When I moved to Wisconsin several years ago, I was saddened when I learned that "Naked Ladies" were not supposed to be hardy in zone 4a. Ha! I have always pushed the zones, and this is a plant I was going to work with until I could find the right micro climate in my garden. After years of growing them here in Eau Claire, I will have to say that I have had no problem with them anywhere I place them, so long as it is sunny. I will say that I used a bit of advice I had read in a garden magazine even before I moved to the "Frozen Tundra," if you want blooms, KEEP THEM DRY! Excellent drainage is the secret. When planting this far north and in this occasionally rain soaked environment, use twice as much perlite and sand as you think you might need. Also, it does not hurt to plant a bit deeper. U... read morenless you use materials that provide good insulation to the sides (eg. old railroad ties), I do not think a raised bed will help because of the need to keep the bulbs warmer. Finally, when summer comes, do not water at all. After the leaves have died back, they will have received all the moisture they need for the year's blooms. As I write this in the early days of August (in one of our rainiest summers yet), I have the first of several clumps blooming like crazy, even though I had thought this might be the first year of no blooms due to the high moisture level. Like I said, more than excellent drainage will produce blooms for those that want this wonderful plant in zone 4.

On May 28, 2010, hoynicker from Pottstown, PA wrote:

My daughter found a pile of them about 4 yrs. ago. washed up against a tree in the woods on the other side of our creek, the Manatawny in Pottstown, PA. We dug them all out, 50 total, and I planted them all over my property not knowing anything about them accept seeing them on other properties in the area. I found they like good soil and drainage and water. And boy do they smell fabulous.
I was told at that time by a friends horticulture friend that they are worth about $8 to $10 a piece. However, not all mine were full grown bulbs.

On Apr 27, 2009, plantaholic186 from Winnetka, IL wrote:

Patience!!

Okay- the billionth note on this plant (quite the hot topic!). I have planted this bulb in two different gardens, both z6-ish. Both times, the bulbs took at least one year before *anything* happened. In my current garden, it took two years before I saw any leaves whatsoever. So, leave them be for a couple of years....

On Aug 18, 2008, Janetgia62 from Des Moines, IA wrote:

I received about 8 bulbs from a neighbor many years ago as we were getting ready to move, so I planted them at our new house in a corner of the perennial border on the patio. This is a very sunny spot that gets a lot of water and they have done beautifully, a great show every year (blooming now, mid-August) and lots of expansion. A couple years ago I moved some of them to a new location, also very sunny but not as much water, and they have done well there too. Now we are moving again to a place with mostly shade - I love these plants, and am anxious to find them a spot they will like at the new place!

On Apr 6, 2007, amazar from Eau Claire, WI (Zone 4a) wrote:

We have lived in this house since June of 2000. Every spring these leaves have come up on the southwest side of the house and died back. Every spring I have wondered what these were from. Finally, in August 2006 up it comes! We were out of town at the time, so I missed the rapid growth and only saw the tail end of the flowers. This spring, there are several clusters of leaves - looks like the bulb split, so I came here to find out when to divide it. Looks like I may be in the extreme north end of its zone. Judging from other people's comments, it may have been planted a little too close to the house - in the dry area under the eaves.

On Apr 8, 2006, JenniferSM from Woodland, CA wrote:

What a surprise when my husband and I moved into our 40-year-old "new" house and found these (at the time unknown to us) beautiful, slender and smooth "leaves" popping out of every corner of the yard, dying back later in spring, and "oh my"...... NAKED LADIES coming up in the same place just a few months later. It took us an entire year-and-a-half (spring, summer, and spring again) to figure out that they were the same plant!
Our local nursery told us that these plants needed dividing (after hearing from me that they didn't all bloom), and since doing so, they've done their "show, "dissapear" and then " Real SHOW" act for us...much to our delight.
We love them!

On Jan 16, 2006, Gabrielle from (Zone 5a) wrote:

It's always nice to have a beautiful flower appear in a hot, dry period of summer. They come back faithfully year after year, and ask for nothing in return. The foliage can be kind of a pain earlier in the season though. My information says it is hardy in zones 4-11. Other names I have come across: British Soldiers, Hurricane Lily, Spider Lily. Blooms in August in my garden.

On Aug 20, 2004, marjisgarden from Lindsborg, KS wrote:

The durn things grow when & where they want. But I wouldn't be without them. They grow all over here in and arround Lindsborg, Ks. Just south of Salina, central part of the state.

On Aug 5, 2004, ShirleyToo from Sterling, CO wrote:

A friend had these growing in her back yard, they were going to plow them under... so I took all I could dig... hundreds of bulbs! I planted some and gave some to parents. Theirs didn't do well in the sandy soil at the ranch, but mine... now that is a different story. They didn't come up for three years. This year, I had 13 come up in the front, and none on the side. The 13 were so surprising, not there one day, and four inches tall the second day! They are about 2 1/2 feet tall now, six blooms on each stock, and beautiful!! Then I spied one on the south side, just peeking out of the soil... now two days later, almost 8 inches tall!! Water is the key. I think the more they get, the better they like it... definitly a keeper!

On Jun 28, 2004, jhyshark from Scottville, MI (Zone 4b) wrote:

I have to remember to fertilize in the spring when the foliage is showing in order to get them to bloom in my poor sandy soil, but it's worth it.

On Sep 7, 2003, Tristram from Normal, IL wrote:

Dug some clumps of bulbs from my mother-in-law's and stuck them in the ground at home. They've been doing well for 6 years, now. They get full sun. I've never fertilized or mulched them. They grow along an east-west fence, so get some shelter. I have divided them a couple times. One curiousity: each bulb only blooms every 2nd year. The year it blooms, it makes no foliage. The year it doesn't bloom it makes foliage. Descriptions I've read of this bulb seem to suggest that the same bulb produces both foliage and then, later, a flower stalk in the same year. Mine sure don't work that way.

On May 28, 2003, beckykay from Godfrey, IL (Zone 6a) wrote:

I think mine were planted about 6 in. deep here in zone 6 in Illinois. I planted them behind my smaller bushes and some inback of my foundation plants so when the leaves die back you can't see them. Slow to produce new bulbs.