My "naked ladies lilies" are very pink this year---and they're in places I never planted them. Do you suppose they run around underground "naked" when I'm not looking???
"Naked Ladies" in my garden...
Possible? I have many more than I have ever had, this year!
They showed up overnight.
Sounds to me like you ladies might have some naked men in there somewhere too! LOL I accidentally broke one off so I put it in a glass of water. I am amazed how long it stayed nice and kept opening new buds. Nice flower!
What? Are yours flowers???? LOL
I am so glad you posted a picture as I drove past a few of these in the middle of a lawn today and wondered what they were. No leaves just pink flowers at the tops of naked stems. Do you know what the real name is?
LimeyLisa Kay
Are these hardy up in zone 5?
I'm in Iowa and these have been a staple since Victorian times. They definitely live & breed well despite our fridgid winters & hot, humid summers. My buls are really large!!! Mine are from my grandmothers house--Mom's House--really old. The foliage for the lilies comes up in the spring & dies back off without blooming. "Mystery Lilies" or "Surprise lilies" is another name. They spring up from the garden in mid August when all your other lilies are fading out.....
We generally call them magic lilies around here, but they are very common in older gardens and rare in new ones. Mine are the best I have ever seen them this year. They started to pop out of the bed of pachysandra where I have them planted about last thursday (August 7) and are in full bloom now.
George
I must have 50 or more, looks like bamboo shoots with a pink flower at the top. Mine are from grandmas', and moms'.
Been here at least 40 years, have given many bulbs away. They sell for $3.95 a bulb in Parks, etc. catalogs. I call them "surprise lillies, cause they come up overnight,
SURPRISE!
They are Belladonna Lilies, Amaryllis belladonna.
I just ordered some from Touch of Nature, 3 bulbs for $6.95. Hope they do well, I've never grown them before.
Cheri'
Once you have them, you'll love them! And they multiply quickly. I'm adding some to my new back border areas between the irises. The pink is a sweet color...
I'm so looking forward to having them, but I understand they may not bloom for a couple of years.
Cheri'
I think it depends on the size of the bulbs you plant. Mine were 2 inch diameter & bloomed first season. This is the second year, and they've definitely multiplied.
Mine really had a blue swatch on them this year. I was surprised! Has this happened with any of yours?
Mine were a much richer pink than last year--almost rose. They had a bluish area on the end of each petal in the early morning of the first day's bloom. Turned to solid pink after a few days.
It sure was pretty seeing the 2 colors together.
I wonder if they'll let me put 'Naked Ladies' in front of the priest's house :-) I'm going to try to get some to put between some of the Iris I just got from the co-op. Thanks for introducing me to this flower.
Padre, you can have all the naked ladies you want! If anyone complains, look shocked and tell them it's the Belladonna Lily, of Mary's Flowers ...
;-)
Cheri'
Sundry, but "Naked Ladies" is a much funnier name for them!
LOL Mine are all done blooming now. Too bad they are here such a short time.... I just guess being "Naked" in Iowa's winter doesn't appeal to them. Come to think of it, it doesn't appeal to me either! LOL
Poor babies, naked, and out in the cold. That doesn't sound like fun at all. =(
Mine will be properly labled "Belladonna Lily" but I'll call them Naked Ladies. Much more fun, and I don't think Mary minds. LOL
I can't wait to see if mine bloom next year, when and for how long. It's still warm here until October at least ... It's hard to tell when things are going to bloom here until you see it.
Cheri'
This is Iowa. On Friday it was 93 degrees & sweltering humidity. A storm (FINALLY)came thru Friday night, and it's going to be a weekend of 70-75 degree days & 50-60 degree nights. the smell of fall is in the air. We've had a month of no rain & 90 degrees plus. I, being the noted neighborhood idiot, was outside gardening while hosing myself down to keep cool. I can only store irises & daylilies sooo long in the garage before giving up!
We'll have a hard frost in a month with snow by the end of November. I don't have much time to get "Naked Ladies" and all there friends established before snow sets in...
These naked ladies sound like a fun addition to my garden. I have a horrible time with deer. They love the other lillies I have planted. Does anyone have any experience with how deer like them?
No deer here--are you looking to feed them or avoid them???
Looks like George4tax has a bunch to give away. Why not give some a try? I really enjoy them in my garden.
http://davesgarden.com/f/planttrading/
Since they are native to S. Africa (I think) they naturalize extremely well in California. Lots of foliage starting in the rainy season, dying back when it starts getting hot. Mine start 'sprouting' in late July, and grow very fast flower buds 30 inches tall in a week. Supposedly they don't like being moved, so you may not get blooms the first year. Mine also made tons of seeds: large pea-size pearls, white to slightly pink. Supposedly takes 5-7 years from seed, but I never tried.
At my parent's farm in Northern California's central valley, there's a patch of 'em growing on the side of a ditch that never gets any irrigation (so NO water from April - November + 100 degrees F from May-Sept) and they do just fine.
I've been looking for Belladonnas for a while. If anybody is willing to trade some seeds, I can wait for years for them to flower. Not sweat ! I've got patience.
I'd love to have some of them in my chilean garden !
I just bought my first Belladonna bulbs and was going to pot them up. I read they will bloom in pots by Christmastime here on the MS gulf coast. However, after reading the postings and learning that they naturalize so prolifically, I'd rather put them in the ground. Does anyone know when they can be planted outside in zone 8B? Do they need some chilling time with my tulips? (Tulips are in the fridge, waiting anxiously for Dec) Also, are there problems with bulb rot? The Summers here are usually very soggy. Thanks for the beautiful pictures with your postings!! I can't wait to see them in "real life".
I want to NOT feed the deer. They eat more than their share already!
But, as I look closer it isn't hardy enough for me ;-(
Thanks
epazota-Are you sure about the hardiness? Mine came from Grandma's farm & mine are planted on the North side of the house. It's VERY cold here in Iowa every winter and the bulbs just keep growing & growing...
How about some Hardy Cactus for those deer? that woulkd teach them a lesson! I have extra if you want a start...
lol, the deer around here are so vicious! They kill my trees by rutting and rubbing off all the bark circumferenially around the trees. I did not see a lilly flower among other flowers this year. The deer have been here longer than I. So, other than my vegetable garden which has a fence, I try to just avoid plants they enjoy.
I stated on my dave's info that I am a zone 4a, but question if not even a 3b. I live in the valley of a river and get frost awfully early. I know it gets cold in Iowa, but Minnesota is even colder. But, it is tempting to try that cactus. It would be fun. I have to admit I am a newbie to Dave's Garden and do not understand how that all works.
Wandasflowers, do you want to trade one hardy cactus for another? Edited to say that this is a long ways from the Naked Ladies we started with.
This message was edited Sep 23, 2003 9:42 AM
Naked ladies turn into cactuses (cacti?) if they don't shave their legs often enough....
This message was edited Sep 23, 2003 5:31 PM
LOL ! Naked ladies do have a way of changing the conversation a bit. Lord, so do naked men! LOL
Anyway, yes, I'd love to trade hardy cactus with you Mary E. And epazota, you can give those deer a mouthful too!
Email me your addresses & I'll CAREFULLY get a cactus for you both. (It's not the big spines that get you, but the tiny invisible ones.)