How to Grow Lycoris in Australia

Lycoris (Lycoris species), in the family Amaryllidaceae, are bulbs grown for clusters of spidery flowers on bare stems in late summer and autumn. The store sells two: golden spider lily (Lycoris aurea) and red spider lily (Lycoris radiata). The leaves follow the flowers, stay green through winter and spring, then die down for a dry summer rest. Most failures come from planting too deep or watering bulbs while they rest.

Three mistakes that matter

1. Burying the bulb. A bulb planted with its neck well under the soil can take longer to flower, or sulk for years. Set it so the tip of the neck sits level with the soil surface, or just above it.
2. Watering through the summer rest. The bulbs rest dry from late spring to late summer, and steady water then can rot them. Plant away from lawn sprinklers and watered vegie beds, and leave the bed dry.
3. Cutting the leaves early. The winter leaves rebuild the bulb for next year's flowers, and cutting them while green or yellowing weakens it and reduces flowering. Leave them until they wither, then tidy up.

When to plant

Plant dormant bulbs from late summer into autumn, while they are leafless. Aim to have them in by Anzac Day, so roots form before winter.

A new bulb often skips its first autumn and flowers from the second, so a bare first year is no cause for alarm. A potted plant already in leaf can go in at other times, at the depth it grew in its pot.

Site, soil and setup

Both species come from eastern Asia, where they grow on rocky hillsides and stream banks. They need summer warmth and soil that dries out while they rest.

A clump stays in one place for years, so crop rotation does not apply. Flower stems reach about 30 to 60 cm.

Weed status, state by state

Container growing

The bulbs need a deep, wide root run to flower, and a cramped pot can stop flowering altogether. Use the largest, deepest pot you can, with drainage holes, and set three bulbs about 15 cm apart. Fill it with premium potting mix and set the necks at the surface. Red spider lily is the smaller plant and suits a pot better. Golden spider lily grows larger, but earns a pot where frost would ruin its leaves.

• Watering. Water when the top 3 cm of mix dries, from the first flower stems until the leaves yellow. Then keep the pot dry until late summer.
• Feeding. Water in fish and seaweed blend at 25 mL per 9 L every fortnight while the leaves are green.
• Position. Full sun to part shade, out of strong wind while the stems are up.
• Frost. In frosty gardens, move pots of golden spider lily under a verandah or eave for winter.

Planting Bulbs

Lycoris start from a dormant bulb, rounded and about 5 cm across, with a neck at the top.

The two the store sells

Ismene, also sold as spider lily, is a different bulb with its own guide.

Planting a bulb

1. Prepare the bed as under Site, soil and setup.
2. Space bulbs 15 to 30 cm apart, closer for a dense clump.
3. Dig each hole deep enough for the whole bulb, with roots spread down.
4. Set the bulb so the tip of its neck sits level with the soil surface, or just above.
5. Firm the soil and water in once with seaweed solution at 30 mL per 9 L.
6. Mark the spot, because nothing shows above ground until the stems or leaves appear.

Dividing a crowded clump

Leave clumps alone for years: they increase by offsets and flower best undisturbed. When a crowded clump starts to flower less, lift it with a fork while dormant in early summer, around December. Gently pry the offsets, or daughter bulbs, away from the mother bulb without cutting them. Replant them at once with the necks at the surface, and expect a gap in flowering, often of a year or more.

Care by growth stage

A dry summer rest and green winter leaves decide how well a clump flowers. Feed lightly, and only while the leaves are growing.

Flower stems often rise soon after heavy late-summer rain, and a clump can flower in waves as more rain falls. Where summer stays dry, one deep soak in late summer can bring them up. If growth stalls in poor soil, a light dose of all-purpose controlled release granular (NPK around 14-5-10) scratched in as the leaves appear can help. Avoid high-nitrogen feeds, which favour leaves over flowers.

Companion planting

Pair Lycoris with plants that hide its bare stems in flower and cover the gap it leaves in summer.

Grows well with

• Daylilies, whose arching leaves fill the space while the bulbs rest.
• Phlox, which flowers in the same border and hides the base of the stems.
• Echinacea and rudbeckia, sun-loving perennials for the same well-drained bed.
• A low groundcover, which softens the bare stems and stays clear of the bulb necks.

Keep apart

• Vegie beds, watered lawns and anything else watered through summer: see Three mistakes that matter.
• Garlic, onions and other edible bulbs, because the bulbs look alike when dug and a mix-up is dangerous.

Harvesting Blooms

Cut stems for the vase when the first one or two flowers in the cluster have opened and the rest are coloured buds.

• Wear gloves, because every part of the plant is poisonous.
• Cut in the cool of the morning with clean secateurs.
• Cut the stem near the base and stand it straight in deep water.

A cluster lasts about two weeks, longer out of hot sun and wind. Keep the vase in a cool room, out of reach of children and pets.

Common problems

No flowers. A new bulb often waits a year, and a deep-planted bulb waits longer. A crowded clump flowers less; see Dividing a crowded clump.

Soft, rotting bulbs. Summer water or waterlogged soil rots the resting bulb; replant firm bulbs on a raised, unwatered bed.

Leaves turned to mush. Frost collapses the succulent leaves of golden spider lily and weakens the bulb. Grow it in a frost-free spot, or in a pot moved under cover.

No leaves in summer. The bulbs are leafless from late spring until after flowering; this rest is normal, not a sign of death.

Pests and diseases

Lycoris are generally free of serious pests and diseases, and rodents leave the toxic bulbs alone.

Lily caterpillar (Spodoptera picta). Grey caterpillars with black lines, up to 5 cm long, attack amaryllis-family bulbs in New South Wales, Queensland and the NT. No record names Lycoris as a host, but around Sydney they feed in early to mid autumn, just as its leaves emerge. They chew leaves in groups, then bore into the bulb's crown. Check under leaves for egg masses covered in pale brown hairs, and pick off egg-laden leaves and caterpillars.

Prevention first

• Check the new leaves regularly through autumn for egg masses and chewed tips.
• Fork over the soil around a damaged clump to expose pupae.
• Check nearby crinums, clivias and hippeastrums too, because the caterpillars feed across the amaryllis family.
• Plant only firm, unblemished bulbs, and discard any that feel soft.

Tips

1. Plant in groups of three to five bulbs, which fill out into a clump that flowers as one.
2. Plant beside a path, in a courtyard or at the front of a border, where the bare stems are seen up close.
3. Spent flower stems can be cut at the base once the flowers fade, or left to wither; neither harms the bulb.

Due to quarantine restrictions and our shipping policy, we cannot send Lycoris bulbs to Western Australia or Tasmania.