The final surprise lily to flower in our collection is Lycoris x lajolla (pronounced La Hoya). This Sam Caldwell cross of Lycoris aurea x Lycoris traubii was first published by the late Hamilton Traub in 1958, but sadly has never made it into cultivation. We are fortunate to have acquired several clones, of which we
We’re just wrappping up the midseason of the Lycoris (Surprise Lily) flowering season, that runs from August 11-August 25. This typically wraps up the last of the spring-foliage species and hybrids, and takes us through the middle part of the fall-leaved species and hybrids. Lycoris aurea is one of the most tender of the Lycoris
Midsummer Surprises Read More »
It’s lycoris time at JLBG, as we’re just wrapping up the early part of the flowering season (July 15-August 10). Most of the early blooming surprise lilies are the spring-foliaged species and hybrids. Typically, there are only a few of the fall-foliaged selections that flower during this early period. Sadly, most gardeners have only grown
The Season of Surprises Read More »
One of the early surprise lilies to start off the summer flowering season is Lycoris x incarnata ‘Blue Pearl’, in flower now at JLBG. This cross from Japanese bulb breeder, Dr. Shuichi Hirao, is a hybrid of two of the most winter hardy species, Lycoris longituba and Lycoris sprengeri. After flowering, the plant will remain
The procession of Lycoris (Surprise lilies) continues as we pass mid-August. Here are some recent images. So far, this year, we have flowered over 300 different taxa. Below is Lycoris aurea, which has the widest natural range of any lycoris, from India to Africa, south to Indonesia. Winter hardiness of this fall-leaf species is dependent
A Summer of Surprises Read More »
It’s that time of year, where the parade of lycoris (surprise lilies) kicks into high gear. For us, flowering season begins in late June, and continues into October with a steady parade of cultivars. Lycoris flowering is trigged by the natural timing window, but increases after rain showers, and can be consequently be delayed during
Surprise time begins Read More »
We are in mourning this week, for our friend, Lycoris guru, Phillip Adams of California, who passed away in early July at the age of 82. Phil struggled to recover from a fall a couple of months earlier. Phil grew up in on the Mississippi delta, before moving to the Memphis, Tennessee region, where he
The Surprise Lily King has left the Garden Read More »
Most gardeners are so focused on the flowers of surprise lilies (Lycoris), they forget about the amazing foliage. There are two groups of surprise lilies: those which produce leaves in fall, and those which produce leaves in spring. The fall-leaf species and hybrids have foliage that emerges anywhere between September and November. With the hybrids,
Don’t forget the leaves Read More »
Last week, we were chatting on-line with one of our lycoris experts from China about the different forms of Lycoris aurea, when they mentioned the different foliage types that could be found in each region of China where the plant occurs. I should mention that the yellow-flowering Lycoris aurea has the widest native range of
I posted photos earlier from our lycoris selection back in August, but the season extends through September and into October. Below are some of the later flowering varieties. With a selection of cultivars, you can easily have a lycoris in flower from early July until mid October. Lycoris ‘Tipping Point’ looks like the common Lycoris
The Last Surprises Read More »
