Mark Surprise Lily Spots
/
This patch of surprise lily tops are starting to die off. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Mark Surprise Lily Spots
If you like surprise lilies, also called Resurrection lilies, as much as I do, you will have them planted all over your garden. The challenge is that come mid-spring, the easy to spot green leaf tops start to die back, storing energy for mid-July when the surprise lilies will bloom, pink flowers on top of naked stalks.
In Missouri, these lovely hardy Amaryllis cousins are also called “naked ladies.”
To make sure you don’t dig into the spot full of surprise lily bulbs, this is a good time to mark those spots.
You can do it with sticks at corners with twine.
You can also do what I do and wait for all of the greenery to die off, then plant annuals with shallow roots such as zinnias and cosmos. By late summer, when the surprise lilies bloom, they will pop up in the middle of the blooming annuals making for a lovely floral combination.
These are surprise lilies in bloom mid-July where I live. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
What you don’t want to do is to put a shovel, or pick ax, into that pile of resting bulbs so whatever works to remind you to leave the bulbs undisturbed, this is a good time to do it.
