Mark Surprise Lily Spots
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This patch of surprise lily tops are starting to die off. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)
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, as daffodil greenery dies off, the easy to spot green leaf tops also start to die back. They’ve been around in spring storing energy for mid-July when the surprise lilies will bloom, aromatic 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 surprise lilies bloom, they will pop up in the middle of the blooming annuals making for a lovely combination.
Surprise lilies are bumblebee favorites, I often have to check inside the flower before picking.
These are surprise lilies in bloom mid-July where I live. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins PHOTO)
What you don’t want to do is to put a shovel, or pick ax, into that pile of resting bulbs. Whatever works to remind you to leave the bulbs undisturbed, this is a good time to do it.
