Fundamental Facts
HARDINESS: Zones 5 to 9
PREFERRED SOIL pH: Acid to nearly neutral
PREFERRED SOIL TYPE: Average
PREFERRED LIGHT: Sun to partial shade
ATTRIBUTES: Large pink, red, or yellow trumpet-shaped flowers; for beds, pots
SEASON OF INTEREST: Late summer to early fall
FAVORITES: L. squamigera, L. radiata and L. radiata 'Alba', L. aurea
QUIRKS: Needs 6 weeks minimum winter chilling; may not bloom the first year
GOOD NEIGHBORS: Caladiums, hostas, small ornamental grasses
WHERE IT GROWS BEST: Sites that are moist in spring and late summer but dry in summer
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: Failure to bloom due to overcrowding or extreme summer drought
RENEWING PLANTS: Lives for many years; dig up and divide in early summer
CRITTER RESISTANCE: Excellent
PLANTING DEPTH: 6 in (15.2 cm)
SOURCE: Bulbs
DIMENSIONS: 24 in (61 cm) tall, 12-20 in (30.5-50.8 cm) wide
Magic Lily in the Landscape
Picture this: less than a week after a late-summer rainstorm, 2 ft (0.6 m) tall, leafless stems of lilac-pink, fragrant, lilylike flowers appear like magic. If it sounds like a sorcerer has been at work in your garden, now you know why a couple of the common names of lycoris are magic lily and surprise lily. These tough flowering bulbs make an elegant addition to the woodland garden, where they fit in nicely with other shade-tolerant perennials. If you plant them near deciduous trees, they receive sun when they need it in early spring to grow leaves, but will be shaded in late summer, when the flowers appear.
The straplike leaves of magic lily take up quite a bit of space in the spring garden and often become floppy and disheveled with age. They need the same spring-to-summer growing schedule as daffodils and tulips, so leave the foliage undisturbed until it yellows. Consider combining them with large leafy perennials, such as hostas or ornamental grasses that can hide their aging leaves and fill the gap until flowering time. They also look fine growing in rows, such as along the edge of a lawn. The fragrant blossoms make excellent cut flowers.
All in the Family
Magic lily has a close relative, spider lily (Lycoris radiata). which is hardy only to Zone 7. Very popular in the Southeast , spider lilies have thin, rosy red, curled-back petals with long, spidery stamens atop straight green stems. The variety 'Alba' blooms in white. Like magic lilies, spider lilies send up flowers following a rain shower in late summer or early fall. However, the dark green foliage of spider lilies grows from fall to spring and completely disappears by summer. Another relative is golden spider lily (Laura), which has 3 in (7.6 cm) long orange-yellow blossoms at the end of the season. Also hardy to Zone 7, it can be grown in a container.
Growing Magic Lily
In many areas magic lilies are called "pass-along" plants, because they multiply and are handed over the garden fence from neighbor to neighbor, but bulbs can also be obtained from mail-order nurseries in the fall. Magic lilies don't like to be disturbed, so decide where you want them to grow, plant them, and then leave them. Space the bulbs 8-10 in (20.3-25.4 cm) apart in 6 in (15.2 cm) deep holes. A group of 3-5 bulbs will make a nice initial showing and eventually fill in. Patience is necessary, because magic lilies do not bloom the first, or sometimes even the second, year after planting. In times of serious drought, you may need to encourage magic lilies to bloom by slowly watering them with a drip hose in late summer until the ground is saturated.
After 8 or 9 years, clumps of bulbs may become crowded and need to be divided. This is best done in early summer, just as the leaves are dying back. These tough plants are virtually impervious to pests and diseases.
Magic Lilies flower in late summer after a rain, springing up on tall, leafless stalks.
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