It’s always exciting for us when the summer flowering surprise lilies begin to bloom, which usually happens here around mid-July. Lycoris are members of the Amaryllidaceae family, and are cousins of better-know bulbs like hippeastrum (amaryllis), zephyranthes (rain lilies), and narcissus (buttercups).
Since we grow over 700 different lycoris varieties, the flowering season goes all the way from now into October. Below are are few of the early varieties from the start of the flowering season.
Does JLBG have a collection of L. longituba and L. longituba var. flava? As a Northern gardener, I have been wishing that the different Chinese longituba colors were here in the US, since Lycoris x squamigera (in all its not unconsiderable glory) is about all that makes it through the winter up here.
If you ever need a trial site for zone 5 Lycoris, signe up… but I really am very curious about the longituba.
We have a good selection of yellow-flowered L. longituba clones, but don’t have enough quantity to offer yet. In the interim time, I would suggest trying L. x caldwellii, which are somewhat similar hybrids of L. longituba and L. chinensis, both Zone 4/5 winter hardy species.