December 6, 2016 -  Glory Lily – Gloriosa rothschildiana – also called Flame Lily

          In the off season I do serious weeding and cleanup in the garden to get a jump on the busy spring season. When I was pulling up my trellises, I realized I had not dug up the Rothschild Lilies.  OOPS!

          I immediately dove into action as I am in Zone 7b here in North Carolina and we expect 26 degree lows the next few nights.  I dug the tubers today and they are spread in a shallow cardboard box.  I’ll wrap them loosely in plastic and set them in a dark closet until spring planting.

          I have grown Gloriosa rothschildiana at several of my homes with much success and comment from visitors. They prefer morning sun here in North Carolina.   They should be planted up-close and personal so that you can enjoy their exotic recurved blooms.

          They prefer warm and settled weather with 65 degree night temperatures.  They require at least 1 inch of water a week.  You can tell by the leaves if they have too little water or too much sun.  The leaves should be green and glossy.

          I usually plant the tubers when the growing tips show at the end, if the weather is cooperating. [Be sure it is after your frost date.]  Plant them 3 to 4 inches deep 6 to 8 inches apart in cultivated soil with the tuber placed horizontally and the growing tip up.  Water them in well.  I usually sprinkle a handful of Osmocote over the planting area.

          At planting time I set up the trellis by fastening an eye hook about 6 feet above them.  I tie jute string on bricks and set the bricks close to where I planted them.  When the vine starts to break the surface, I put the brick near the stem so that the leaf tip hooks onto it. [I adjust the string to make it taunt.] The plant does not have tendrils and the wispy leaf tips cling onto the string.  I find they like jute string better than metal.  The leaves are fascinating to watch as they tenaciously “grab hold” of the string.

          Often I see humming birds visit them when in flower.  The flowers are wonderful to cut and arrange in bouquets. [Cut just the bloom, not the vining stem, or you won't have any more blooms.] When the blooms are spent I break off the spent bloom so that the plant doesn't seed and continues to bloom.

          When the vine dies down in the fall and has dried, carefully dig around the stem area to locate the root.  The original tuber will have disappeared and in its place will be a V-shaped or U-shaped tuber.  Be sure to loosen the soil around the tubers all the way to the tips until the tubers come out freely.  Don’t tug on them as they easily break off in the soil.  If you break the growing tip at the end, they won’t sprout next spring.  I put in 6 new tubers last spring and got 11 out. Even I, experienced in digging them, broke one when I was trying to get it out.

          I purchase them from Terra Ceia Farms, Pantego, North Carolina.  Link is listed at the bottom of this blog.   I like to purchase my bulbs or nursery stock from the closest geographical location and I use Terra Ceia for many other plants and bulbs as well.  They have a wonderful website.

          Once you have removed the tubers from the soil, you can then break them at the V.  Some people store them in dry peat moss sealed in plastic.   However, I simply lay them in a shallow cardboard box and wrap the box loosely with a plastic bag and put on a closet shelf in the dark.  [Be sure to mark your calendar to retrieve them in March.] 

          Don’t plant them until you see growing tips.  Wait for warm, settled weather.  They do extremely well in pots.  Two tubers to a 12 to 14 inch pot work well.

          What is nice about the Gloriosa rothschildiana is that the bulbs multiply from year to year.  In a few years you will have a stunning display in your garden if you keep them all. But, if you are a generous gardener, they make a great gift for a gardening friend either in spring as bulbs with instructions, or growing in a pot with a wire trellis.

          Hopefully you will add them to your wish list for next year’s garden as they are easy to grown and a true "attention-getter".

https://www.terraceiafarms.com/