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Surprise lily grows from a bulb about 2 in (5 cm) in diameter. In mid to late summer, usually after the fourth of July, it lives up to its name by erupting from the ground with inch-thick stems, 2 ft (0.6 m) tall, each topped with a cluster of 6-8 slightly nodding lilac pink flowers. The flowers are fragrant and striking in detail - like small amaryllis lilies with rose pink petals flushed with lavender highlights. They are funnel shaped with six lobes to the corolla, about 3 in (7.6 cm) long and an inch or two across. The whole surprise, from first emergence to full anthesis (bloom), takes only 4-5 days. The grayish straplike leaves do not appear until the following spring. They are about 1 ft (0.3 m) long and an inch wide, radiating out and flopping over from the base. The leaves are lush and attractive at first, but by early summer they look terrible as they wither away for another year. Hurricane lily (L. radiata), is similar in many respects, but it has red flowers and long stamens that extend way past the corolla.
Location
Culture
A cluster of surprise lilies makes a striking accent anywhere. You may want to use these in the semishaded woodland garden or along its edge where the messy withering foliage in early summer won't distract. But we like to see the flowers right out in the lawn! Damn the wilting leaves and damn the mowers! When the surprise lilies and hurricane lilies pop up, we mow around them. Many gardeners like to interplant surprise lilies, and other bulbs that flower before their leaves emerge, amongst perennials or at the back of a border. Like other members of the amaryllis family, this one is often grown as a potted plant.
Features Steve Christman 12/12/00; updated 8/17/03
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