I’ve got these mysterious bulbs popping up in my yard these days. They’re very pretty pink things, but I have no clue what they are. I just moved in in August, so obviously anything that blooms in October is new to me. They don’t look intentionally planted. The previous homeowners were NOT planters. I put them up in my garden blog, but since nobody reads my blog I thought I’d put it to the Teeming Millions, who haven’t steered me wrong on plant identification yet. What are these things? Can I mark them now and move them to somewhere I can enjoy them more once they’re done blooming? Did somebody plant them?
Here in Central Illinois, if they were light pink, and blooming in August, I’d call them “Resurrection Lilies”, a.k.a. Lycoris squamigera. I see that SC has a "Red Spider Lily, a.k.a. Lycoris radiata.
But I’m just guessing.
Take the pix down to your local Master Gardener at the County Extension office, they’ll be able to ID them in about 2 seconds, “oh, yeah, those are…” Locate your county here.
Yep, Lycoris radiata, Spider Lily, aka, “Naked Lilies”, because when they bloom, there are no leaves apparent. Some wiseacre then quipped, “Nekkid Ladies”, which is a common term for them here in the South, at least.
Wow, thanks! That’s exactly what they look like. They’re exactly the color of my plastic flamingos! So, if I mark 'em now, and once they die back down dig them up, will they grow in a place of my choosing? I don’t want to accidentally mow them, or drag the trash can over them! Also, how did they get there? I never thought about it, but I guess bulbs do have seeds? Blown there? Or I do have an old house, built in 1928 - it’s possible that at some point there was a garden where now there is none, I guess. But the bulbs I always hear about being persistent like that are crinums, not lilies.
Zsofia,
Spider lilies, like crinums, are an old passalong plant favorite, and if your house is old, the Nekkid Ladies may well be happily esconced in what was once a garden area.
Here’s a more elaborate link than the previous ones.
To add, if you have some old crinums, likely with an older house, and want to move them, be prepared for an archeological dig…you have to dig wayyyy down, and be careful to Not chop off roots, or the whole 50 year old plant is done for.
In England, I think they are known as Nerines, and in Japan, they are called Higanbana, or flowers that bloom at Higan, which is a Buddhist festival. They are highly regarded and there are some areas full of them that people will flock to see. They are rather insecty but very beautiful.
And they don’t grow in my area of Japan, it’s too cold for them. Sniff.
I don’t have any old crinums (that I know of, anyway), but I’ve ordered one new one from the zoo and botanical garden’s annual bulb sale, to pick up at the beginning of next month. I am so psyched about it! They’re pretty expensive, but I understand the thing will probably outlive me.
The Naked Ladies I’ve seen grow a spray of leaves earlier in the season, which die off long before the flower stalk comes up, hence the “naked/nekkid.” They’re also called Wild Amaryllis.
A humorist (Lewis Grizzard?) said that in the South “naked” means you ain’t got no clothes on, but “nekkid” means you ain’t got no clothes on, and you up to somethin’.
You know, now that you say that, I think I did see some weird bulb-leaves around there when first I bought the house and mowed. I think I managed to avoid mowing them - I’ll have to be extra-careful now!
And they are definately unclothed and up to something, didn’t you see what color they are? They’re definately very naughty flowers.
I’m envious. Those are pretty, and just quirky enough to greatly please. Neat addition to the garden! (All my mystery plants have turned out to be dull and weedish.)
Warning: having read up more on them, it seems they HATE to be transplanted. They won’t bloom for years if you dig them up. FYI.
If you want to get some of your own, oldhousegardens.com claims to sell the true passalong plant. I haven’t bought from them but they come very highly reviewed online.
