First oxblood lily
August 22, 2008
The first oxblood lilies of fall (optimistically speaking!) burst into bloom today, thanks to the generous rain we received last week. Rhodophiala bifida‘s deep, rich red, glowing at the feet of the Turk’s cap and pale pavonia, caught my eye this morning.
Isn’t it beautiful—and a beautiful harbinger of fall? Thanks again to MSS of Zanthan Gardens for her Johnny Appleseed approach to sharing these bulbs with other gardeners.
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
It’s always a gardener’s thrill to spot new blooms. Red is one of my favorite colors just about anywhere anytime… your oxblood is certainly a happy specimen. I must research to see if they would be happy here, too…
Meems @Hoe&Shovel
Southern Bulb Co. offers them, Meems, and promises they’ll grow in Zones 6-10. —Pam
Aptly named & very striking! I sure hope MSS’s Oxbloods are blooming too. She needs something to cheer her up in the garden.
We all do after this difficult summer, MMD. —Pam
How beautiful — I’m going to have to add some of those to my garden somewhere. It’s always nice to note the changing of seasons (HA!) with our gardens, even if Mother Nature doesn’t always stay on schedule!
When mine start multiplying, I’ll be happy to share, Diana. Unless MSS sets you up with a batch first. —Pam
Just stunning! Of course you know how I love that red! I think sharing seeds, bulbs, flowers etc is one of the best gardening pleasures!
Yes, it is, Linda. —Pam
Those are a standout color, Pam. Thanks to the rain your garden should have some more perkiness. Do you have rainlilies also?
No, but they’re blooming all around the neighborhood in neglected yards and city medians. They seem such a miracle bursting forth from those heat-blasted spaces. —Pam
Thanks for the heads-up, Pam – your oxblood lily photo is gorgeous!
I hadn’t seen any blooming but went out after reading this post and found one blooming in the front woodland garden. School starts here on Tuesday – good timing for these Schoolhouse Lilies.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I’m glad you found one too, Annie. It’s a sight to cheer up any Austin gardener. Meanwhile, the start of school may have the opposite effect on the youngest gardeners. —Pam
Well that just knocked my socks off. How beautiful! It is the prettiest red. I will go looking of one of these bulbs. Th
If you can’t obtain them as a passalong, try Southern Bulb Co., Eve. I provided the link in one of the comments above. —Pam
There it goes off the page again. I can’t see what I am typing. Am I the only one this happens to?
No, it happens to everyone, Eve. I’m sorry. It’s a glitch with my blog. I haven’t figured out how to fix it. Try inserting a paragraph return when you hit the sidebar. —Pam
Your Oxblood Lily is gorgeous. I must get some for myself. I only hope they will live here in my zone 8/8B. I love the color red in my garden. So lively.
They should, Lola, as I am in Zone 8b as well. See my answers in the comments above for an online source to order them. —Pam
How aptly named this beauty is! Wonderful.
Its other apt name is schoolhouse lily because it blooms when school starts. —Pam
Wonderful shade of red. I don’t have any Oxblood Lilies. Perhaps I should. We’ve enjoyed the rain here too. So glad you got some.~~Dee
I’m glad you got some rain, Dee. I think oxblood lilies would look wonderful in your garden. —Pam
That is a outstanding color! I can see it in your garden, it must pop!
Especially in the shade, Gail. I love my red-flowering shade plants. —Pam
I planted a few oxbloods 5 or 6 years ago – and still no blooms. I know they’re still there because they’ll put up some foliage each year . . . loved seeing yours in bloom. Mary Beth
Hmm, that’s a mystery, isn’t it, Mary Beth? Could they be in too sunny or too shady a spot? I find mine like part shade. And they seem to be very forgiving of planting depth. —Pam
Very striking-you know how we in the Caribbean love the rich, saturated colors in flowers! A gorgeous shade of red.
I should live in the Caribbean then, Nicole. I love rich colors too! —Pam
Oooh! I’m going to have to check on the oxbloods MSS gave me last year.
*crosses fingers*
I hope you have a little red surprise waiting for you, Lori. —Pam
Now, see – the fact that you are even mentioning the word “Fall” when we have at least 6 more weeks of brutal heat to go…just makes me crazy! Every year in September, I ended up getting really mad at the weather (I can relate to MSS/Zantham!) because in my mind, it should be cooling off, you know – like autumn is supposed to. I grew up in North Texas where we actually had an autumn, and I lived also in Colorado where there is REALLY an autumn, and I miss it a lot. I usually decide to travel in September just so I can get out of here. My birthday is at the end of October, and there’s been years here where even my birthday is HOT. Autumn – shmautumn…:)
Robin
Oh, I know, Robin. It’s really a bit of wishful thinking on my part. I call oxblood lilies, spider lilies, and American beautyberry my harbingers of fall not because they really mean fall is almost here but because they offer the promise of fall. They tell me that summer really will end in the not-distant future. My birthday is in early October, and it’s often hot, though sometimes only in the 80s. —Pam
That brilliant red is enough to make your eyes pop Pam. It is indeed a beauty.
Cheery, isn’t it, Lisa? —Pam
Beautiful lily Pam. What a gorgeous, saturated color to perk up a summer-weary garden and gardener!
Yes, indeed! I’m glad it’s perking up mine. —Pam
How wonderful it must be to see such a joyful color in your garden as fall is approaching. It’s a true sign that life is ongoing and spring will be once again right around the corner.
Hmm, not so fast, Jane Marie. We southern gardeners are looking forward to autumn’s “second spring” and not ready to hurry through our cooler, gardening months to next spring already. 🙂 —Pam
Oxblood lily…I must give that one a try next year. So far, I am more successful with bulbs than plants.
Bulbs are becoming my friend too, after several years of thinking that bulbs wouldn’t work in this hot, Texas climate. While that may be true of tulips and many kinds of daffodils, I’m finding plenty of bulbs that do great, including these. —Pam
Another plant to add to my Bulb Mart shopping list! But you know, I think I had this at some point in the distant past. I’m thinking I saw a clump of foliage over on the north side that could be Oxblood Lilies, or it could be Lycoris. Hmmmm. Methinks I must go sleuthing tomorrow … thanks for reminding me, Pam!
Your comment reminds me that I should go look to see if my Lycoris stems are coming up. I think they’re usually later than the oxblood lilies though. Lycoris puts out foliage after it blooms, so if you’re seeing foliage now, perhaps it’s your oxblood lilies. I hope they bloom for you this year! —Pam
Wow! Absolutely gorgeous.
Thanks, Mo. I’m glad you stopped by. —Pam
Just fantastic colour. I am not sure I could grow those up here on my hillside in Wales, they look a bit exotic, but I love them!
The oxblood lilies are from Germany originally, I believe. I doubt conditions there are the same as in Wales, but it’s not very similar to Texas either. So maybe you could grow them too? —Pam
Soooooo beautiful, and I love the Johnny Appleseed approach. Some of my most favorite plants in my garden are some of the passalongs. Thanks for sharing yours.
Passalongs come with built-in memories, don’t they? Thanks for visiting, Kim. —Pam
Wow, Pam! I’m still awaiting my oxbloods. I’ll make a note in my garden diary about when yours bloomed. However, on our side of IH-35, we didn’t get as much rain and mine typically are later anyway. I’ll let you know so we can compare notes next year too. Linda
Good idea. Only two of mine have bloomed so far. The rest are still waiting, but for what? —Pam
Gorgeous red on those… makes me tempted to try some of the cultivars I’ve found listed as hardy to zone 6, even though most are only supposed to be good to zone 7!
Go for it, Kim! What’s life for but taking chances? Let me know how it goes next summer. —Pam