Bulbmeister.COM - Discussions

[kmirvin]

I have a number of rain lilies in bloom in pots in the greenhouse. My favorite scented one is Habranthus tubispathus var. i{texanus}, a.k.a. Texas Copper Lily. I also like the scent from my Zephyranthes drummondii. In the ground I have 4 species of Zephyranthes in full foliage, but I protect them through the winter under a structure with supplemental heat. In other words, I got a head start on the growing season. I can't wait to see them bloom en masse. My hardiness zone is 6b.

[nestor]

I grow 4 types of rain lily: white, white-pink, yellow and pink. The white grow locally here in northeast Florida. They prefer wet areas like drainage ditches. They start to bloom sometimes even in late March and continue on through May with occasional blooms later in the year. The bloom can get quite large, maybe 3". Some blooms really open up wide, others are more cup shaped. The sepals are more narrow. It appears that multiple blooms can come from a larger bulb. My soil is quite sandy, so I have lost hundreds of bulbs collected in the wild. When they widen the roads, they get buried under the pavement, so sometime I try to "rescue" some of them. These easily form seeds and are quite easy to start from seed. Offsets form easily. The foliage is very narrow almost like chives.
My white-pink came from a neighbors back yard. They might be a naturally occurring type, but I cannot be positive. They just start blooming in May and go strong for about one month. They seldom bloom later. The sepals are much wider than the white and have a blush of pink. Blooms are more cup shaped and are about 2". The outside of the bud is very pink before it opens. The foliage is much broader, up to 1/2". This lily forms offsets like crazy, often several dozen small bulblets. It also seeds easily and will spread quickly.
My yellow were purchased from a catalog. They do not multiply much at all, and I do not recall seeing any seeds. The flower is small, maybe 1-1/2". They have been coming back every year for about 4 years since I bought them.
My dark pink are similar to the yellow regarding bulb multiplication and seeds. The flower is probably 1-1/2"-2". I have pictures of the bulbs and would be interested in a more positive identification. Nestor White

[kmirvin]

Nestor:

Did you know that you can post images to this forum? Just read the simple instructions about how to do this after clicking the "Formatting" link under "Documentation" in the side bar...

[mjw1955]

I rescued 6-8 large clumps of Z. citrina from a ditch the other day. I have about 250 bulbs. Please post if you would like some of these and I will mail them to you. The bulbs were about to be crushed as they are widening the road.