THE NAKED LADIES HAVE ARRIVED

They come quietly in the night. You might miss them although I don't know why because they come every year about the same time. Sometimes you get advance warning from a garden friend about their arrival in their garden. This sends you rushing out into your own garden to look for signs of their arrival.

Borne on bare stem the Oxblood lilies, Rhodophiala bifida, began blooming just over a week ago but the wonderful weekend rain hurried them along. Now, multiple groups of the flower are blooming in my garden. The bulbs were first introduced into Texas by German Settlers and have become a favorite of southern gardeners. Mine were a passalong from Melissa, at Zanthan gardens. I remember going over to her house for a clump of the flowering bulbs. At home I enjoyed them in the house, in a bowl of water, until the flowers faded. Then I planted them in the ground.

The second naked lady to bloom was the red spider lily, Lycoris radiata. They don't seem to be quite as large this year but there are more of them. The first bulbs to arrive in the US were brought by Captain William Roberts. He brought 3 bulbs back from Japan planting them in his own garden. Now the bulbs have naturalized in many parts of the US south.
After the flowers fade the leaves begin to appear and continue their growth throughout the winter and into the late spring. If you plan to move the bulbs then the time will be after they have flowered.