Lycoris: An intriguing flower that brings color at summer's end

COLUMBIA, Mo. – In August, most garden flowers show the attrition of having endured the heat and humidity of a typical Missouri summer. This is the time, however, when lycoris adds both beauty and intrigue to beleaguered landscapes. Mysteriously, the pink, lily-like flowers seem to come out of nowhere to adorn gardens, with no evidence of foliage to support their growth.

“Lycoris’ habit of popping out of the ground without any announcement has earned it the common name of surprise lily,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. For many, it’s a mystery of nature as well as a surprise.

A member of the Amaryllidaceae plant family, the genus Lycoris is named in honor of a Roman beauty (and mistress of Mark Antony) famed for her intrigues. Presumably the name was chosen because of the disappearance of the plant’s leaves in the spring followed by the reappearance of the flowers that emerge from the ground in late summer. There are more than 20 species of lycoris, with L. squamigera (a.k.a., surprise lily) being the most widely planted.

The flowers of lycoris are very showy and fragrant. Rose-lilac or pink in color and tubular in shape, they average about three inches in length. Flowers are borne in clusters of four to seven as an umbel atop leafless scapes (flowering stalks) about 18 to 24 inches high. Unfortunately, since they emerge during the heat of late summer, the flowers are not particularly long-lived.

Like all flowering plants, lycoris does have foliage. It starts to appear in the fall after the flowers have died back. However, it is not until the following spring that significant growth is made. Lycoris bears strap-like leaves about an inch wide and 12-18 inches long

In late spring, the leaves turn yellow and die back, leaving only an underground bulb as hidden evidence the plant exists. It is from these bulbs that the scapes emerge, usually in early August, and its cycle of life is repeated.

As mentioned above, lycoris produces bulbs that serve as a source of propagating the plant. Readily available in the fall, bulbs should be planted about 4-6 inches deep and about 6 inches apart. Lycoris performs best in full-sun locations although it can be grown in light shade with good results. Like most bulb plants, it prefers soil that is porous and well-drained.

Lycoris is a robust perennial that requires little care. Hardy to USDA Zone 5, it is nearly free of insect pests and diseases. Grasshoppers can pose a problem since they have been known to devour the succulent scapes and buds nearly as fast as they emerge. Fortunately, this happens only during years of heavy grasshopper infestation or in hot, dry years when other vegetation in not readily available outside of the landscape.