full sun gardening

Mail Order Lilies! YES! (and other Florida bulbs and tubers)

Drifts of orange day lilies are just so gorgeous up north. We certainly have some great bulbs, tubers, and rhizomes that I simply adore here in Florida. These include beautiful crinums, agapanthas, African irises, amaryllis, cannas, peace, blood, hurricane, bulbine, and spider lilies. And then there are elephant ears, gingers, and caladiums. They are all special and delightful in their own way.

I have a fabulous bank of pink crinum lilies in full sun in the driveway.

bank of crinum lilies planted last year

I have extra sensational agapanthas bulbs.

agapanthas with african iris, knockout roses and an orange bird in the background.

I have a few tree lilies.

Tree lily (smells like heaven) with kava kava and red bud tree and beautyberry in the background

And my water lily is STUNNING!

white goddess water lily with canna lilies and chamomile in the background (don’t mind the two-headed frogs! 😉
canna lily in pot
canna lily in pot with super bells and purple lantana
canna lily
canna lily

Gotta love all the different varieties of gingers!

curcumin
pinecone/shampoo ginger

I even planted a terrific edge of bright pink rain lilies last week (sorry no pictures yet they just sprung up from the tubers, pretty exciting!).

Here’s a look at my first year African Iris, also known as “Fortnight Lily.”

I have several clumps of African Iris, also known as “Fortnight Lily.”

Another bulb I enjoy is amaryllis. Even the one I purchased at Tractor Supply bloomed magnificently for me in December.

This is a photo of walking iris.

walking iris
walking iris

Did you know that spider plants are also in the lily family?!?!! And… they can be planted outside!

This spider plant has lived outside in this pot for at least six years. All the spider plants on the property are babies of this prolific mama!
Here are spider plants living in the ground next to another Queen Emma crinum lily, cast iron plants, elephant ears (another bulb), black-eyed Susan vine, gingers and azaleas. Oooo, and there’s a peace lily on the table!

New bulb photos coming soon of pineapple lily, hawaiian punch elephant ears, queen emma crinum lily, chinese beauty shell ginger, scarlet fever ginger, and walking iris.

I really wanted to take a stab and daylilies. I always see such beautiful orange rows when I visit northern states. So, I googled daylilies in Florida and found they do grow here according to the University of Florida’s IFAS web site. After googling some more, I came across a fantastic nursery in central Florida! BINGO. Dan Hansen of Ladybug Daylilies in Geneva, Florida breeds tens of acres of lilies without shade cloth or expensive fertilizers. His specimens are tried and true and acclimated to our tough subtropical conditions.

Desiderata Lily from Ladybug Lily Farm
Desiderata of Ladybug Daylilies

So after spending an inordinate amount of time drooling over his collection, I ordered a breed from his 2012 hybrids. I selected Desiderata because I really liked the combination of purple and orange with semi-frilly petals. These were planted under a Bismarck palm that backs up to a row of loropetalum that blooms magenta frilly flowers and has dark burgundy leaves that turn orange. I think the combination will look stunning. It didn’t hurt that, because it was an older variety, it was less expensive. I knew not what to expect but I did it any way.

A few days later, I received approximately 17 tubers with the pretty developed leaves chopped off. They looked healthy and I planted them pronto. They didn’t come with any instructions. Since I received them in May and the lily variety indicated it was a mid-year blooming variety, I hoped I could see some flowers this summer. I honestly had no idea what to expect.

Dsiderata Ladybug Daylilies

I filled the holes I dug with good garden soil and watered them well. Three weeks later and I have a bloom stalk! YAY! Can’t wait for the rest to stalk out and bloom. By the looks of the one I have, it will probably be small its first season here. Only time will tell but I’ll be sure to update this post to let you know.

Here’s a quick video that also includes a look at a few zinnias that grew from seed I threw down under the palm tree.

June 20th Update

desiderata daylily

And here it is! The first daylily to bloom of the lot. There are a couple more getting ready to blossom as well. Stay tuned for more updates.

desiderata lily
desiderata lily
desiderata lily
desiderata lily
desiderata lily
desiderata lily

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