Dear Mary Sue, Lauw et al:
As with most Pampas bulbs,
Zephyranthes candida is surprisingly hardy. In the wild it always grows
along rivers in inundated places where the soil is saturated with water for
many months. Exposure is always in full sun and the winter can bring many
days of slight frost. Lauw is right in mentioning that it can respond to a
Mediterranean climate. In the wild it receives year round rains but the
normal pattern is a rather dry February (hot midsummer) after which the
plants flower profusely. But it is not a whole dry summer but some 4 weeks
only, during this drought the new buds elongate and get ready for the first
heavy rain. Therefore drying them for the whole summer would be too much
drought. Here in its natural habitat the foliage does not disappear
completely but in midsummer you find only a few leaves in the plants .
The problem with Rain Lilies
is that they come from different regions. There is not a recipe for all. We
often fail with them trying to grow them under the same regime. Most take a
long time to reach maturity in a cool climate.
Besides Z. candida, Zz.
minima, mesochloa, flavissima, filifolia, can be quite hardy. Z atamasco,
treatiae and simpsonii can take considerable cold as do the Texan ones like
Cooperia drummondii, jonesii, smalli, pedunculata. Of course that they can
stand some cold does not mean that they must be grown in the open. On the
contrary a protected spot in full sun and with a black plastic container
would make all the difference. Avoid clay pots.
Incidentally, when is the Rain Lily TOW?
Regards
Alberto
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