Name of this lilly

[Neel]

Hi, I've been looking for this type of Spider Lilly but don't know the exact name. I saw it growing in a house here in Southern California and was trying to find a plant. I tried online but wasn't sure the exact one since multiple species come up but I want the one that will grow in So Cal. Thanks. 

 

 

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, Neel said:

Hi, I've been looking for this type of Spider Lilly but don't know the exact name. I saw it growing in a house here in Southern California and was trying to find a plant. I tried online but wasn't sure the exact one since multiple species come up but I want the one that will grow in So Cal. Thanks. 

 

 

 

 

Hymenocallis ...but tough to say which species since several look similar..  Regardless, all are very easy to grow in a moist, shady spot, and many should be easy to find.  If interested in that specific one, maybe talk to the owner and see if they'd part with a couple bulbs.

A neat cross often lumped into Hymenocallis called " Sulphur Queen " is another one worth growing ( bulbs are offered online pretty often ). Flowers are extremely fragrant.  Did fine for me in CA.

[Neel]

Thank you for the reply. 

The owner let me dig one up, but the soil was so rocky and tough that i damaged a lot of roots, but i'm hoping it pops back up.  I'll also check out the one you mentioned. I assumed they weren't easy to grow in CA since I don't see them very often but remember seeing it more common in tropical countries. 

[Silas_Sancona]

Just now, Neel said:

Thank you for the reply. 

The owner let me dig one up, but the soil was so rocky and tough that i damaged a lot of roots, but i'm hoping it pops back up.  I'll also check out the one you mentioned. I assumed they weren't easy to grow in CA since I don't see them very often but remember seeing it more common in tropical countries. 

They're more obscure / less commonly grown for sure, but people do grow them there.. 

For whatever reason, the summer/ fall- flowering, tropical looking Bulbs like these, most Crinum species,  Tiger Lilies ( Tigridia pavonia ) Ox Blood, and Hurricane Lilies ( Genus Lycoris ) aren't as widely grown in the west as back east or in the South. All are perfectly hardy out there, esp. in S. Cal.  With Hymenocallis,  most people assume they need a ton of water.. Some sp. like wet feet/ growing in water for sure,  but most will do fine in a spot that is slightly moist, ...but not a swamp.

Here's a really good article from the Pacific Bulb Society regarding Hymenocallis:  https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Hymenocallis

  As long as you got the bulb and most of the roots, you should be good, though it may take a year or two to really put on lots of new growth ( Hymenocallis form offsets pretty readily once established )  Tossing an organic,  slow release source of Potassium, like Langbeinite,  ...and some Calcium ( Oyster, and/ or Crab shell Meal ) at them 3x's a year helps them bulk up faster.  

There's actually a couple species that grow just to the south of AZ along streams in the dry tropical forest areas of Sonora, and another that grows in the hill country of central Texas.  A nursery or two here offers one of the species from Sonora from time to time.. Reminds me, i need to get one i have into a bigger pot.

[William Ryan]

I had always thought of those as members of the Crinum family (and treated them as such in the garden). Did not realize that Hymenocallis is a separate and distinct plant. Thanks for the information!

[Silas_Sancona]

39 minutes ago, William Ryan said:

I had always thought of those as members of the Crinum family (and treated them as such in the garden). Did not realize that Hymenocallis is a separate and distinct plant. Thanks for the information!

   Here's an interesting twist..  Sea Daffodil, Pancratium maritimum, which could easily be mistaken for one, was apparently lumped in with Hymenocallis for some time, and used to be labeled as Hymenocallis caroliniana, even though it isn't native to North America ( Mediterranean Basin / Coastal Middle East / Western coasts of France and Spain ).  Both genus belong to separate Tribes in the Amaryllis family as well.