clipped from www.arhomeandgarden.org

Plant of the Week Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Naked Lady Latin: Lycoris squamigera

With the arrival of August, gardeners throughout the state are delighted to see their gaudy and somewhat ungainly surprise lilies come into bloom. These bulbous plants belong to the amaryllis family and are native to southern Japan.

The bulbs are as long as three inches in diameter with long necks and persist for years once established. The foliage comes up in late winter and looks like a large-leafed clump of daffodils, but without flowers. There will be one bloom for about every 10 leaves produced by the clump. The leaves die away with the arrival of the first warm days of late spring, usually disappearing below ground by late May. This growth pattern is an adaptation of the species to survive in an area with moist springs and prolonged periods of summer drought.