Nekkid Ladies

At least, that’s what we called them in southern Illinois, where I grew up. Lycoris squamigera, also known as “surprise lilies”, “magic lilies”, and “resurrection lilies”.  They are related to amaryllis plants, but whatever you call them, they have to be one of the toughest, hardiest and most interesting plants in my garden.  They are hardy in Zones 5 to 9 and seem to shrug off hardship.  Cold winters?  No problem!  Hot, dry summers?  Easy!  Shade?  They can handle it. When they are blooming, you can find them around vacant lots and old home places, still growing and happy.

Early every spring, the bulb sends up green, strappy leaves that make you think of daffodil foliage; as the weather warms up and time goes by, the leaves turn yellow and die. Just when you’ve forgotten they were ever there….SURPRISE!  Tall, leafless, pale green stalks come rushing out of the ground, growing by inches every day.  Most wonderful of all, the stalk has a tightly closed bud, which when it opens, is a lovely shade of pink with hints of violet – scented like what heaven must smell like.

Growing Them

The bulbs can be expensive to buy, but find a friendly gardener and chances are that you can get a few bulbs given to you. I dug my bulbs from Mom’s garden.  In her normal “tough love” style, she’d poked the bulbs in heavy clay soil, in with a patch of daylilies which received very little sun.  She didn’t bother to fertilize them or water them, and of course they thrived on neglect.

I’ve dug mine up and carried them with me every time I’ve moved. Although I’ve read that they don’t like to be disturbed, it hasn’t seemed to bother them much.  The trick, I think, is to move them when they are dormant – either between the time they leaf out and flower, or in the winter.

Because their leaves disappear, it’s nice to carefully plant annuals on top their bulbs (which should be planted 5”-6” deep and about 6” apart)…just be careful not to hit a bulb, like I almost always do.

I learned a lesson from a Nekkid Lady the other day; I was head down and backside up in my garden, sweating mightily and diligently pulling out weedlings and seedlings, when I felt something gently touch my head. Startled, I looked up quickly and found myself nose to bloom with the Nekkid Lady flower and was absolutely enchanted by the scent of it.

The lesson? Don’t get so involved in the work of the garden that you can’t enjoy the beauty of the garden.

Stay green, good friends.