September 14th, 2007
Oxblood Lily Day
One day each year the oxblood lilies peak. Today is that day. A good soaking rain last Sunday brought forth the main display. I don’t know why I’m even inside writing this up. I could spend the whole day lying on my stomach in the grass reveling in the beauty.
I say this every year, but…for Austinites, oxblood lilies are like daffodils for northern gardeners. They presage the beginning of the southerners’ gardening year. They trumpet the triumph of the garden over our worst and most dreaded season, summer. They are of similar size and form to daffodils. (I suppose technically they’re more lily-shaped, thus the name. No they are not related to lilies). They naturalize in lovely drifts. The only thing oxblood lilies lack is a scent.
As you can see, I planned my garden house to overlook the oxblood lilies in the stump garden.
by M Sinclair Stevens in Austin, Texas
September 14th, 2007
What can I say? The oxblood lilies are utterly beautiful massed in clumps throughout your green garden. They look lovely against your unfinished garden house too. Great pics! I only hope mine look that wonderful in a few years. How many years since you planted your first bulb?
I wish I could capture the color. In full sun, they look more orange than in real life. In shade, more purple. Ah, the oxblood lily inventory is something that I
carefullyobsessively track each year. In 1995, I dug up a clump of 64 that were near a felled red oak in my front yard. About 28 of those were flowering size. Some were very tiny and took three or four years to flower after I transplanted them. Over the years, I have divided them furiously and planted very tiny ones in a nursery. I have grown some from seed. And I’ve also rescued some from bulldozers. As of the end of last year I had 1349 bulbs…sort of. If I could find the time and space to divide all the bulbs that need dividing, I’d probably have close to 2000. I give a few away, too. ;-) I like to think of myself as the Johnny Appleseed of oxblood lilies. –mssSeptember 14th, 2007
They are beautiful! I can’t understand why I never actually do that-go and lie on my belly to stare at the beauty there. Like a kid. Or just like an ageless person enjoying the most simple offering in nature.
Simple and yet not simple.
September 14th, 2007
Mine are little bouquets this year, MSS, rather than those glorious sweeps of color in your garden, but oh, how they make my heart glad to see them! Thank you, thank you!
I love the purple heart/Setcreasia leaning in to the lower left of your second photo.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
September 15th, 2007
I like how you share the possession with “Austinites” in general, and I admit seeing them all over town, but to me, they’ll always be your special flower.
September 17th, 2007
Wow! Those oxblood lilies are showstoppers! I have to say that your oxblood lily meadow is the loveliest way I’ve seen them used in a landscape.
Thanks. The problem with a big display like this is the other 332 days of the year it’s rather dull. Do you garden in south Austin? We might be neighbors. — mss
November 9th, 2007
I was talking to Pam/Digging about my desire to cultivate oxblood lillies in my gardens spaces.
She mentioned that you have lovely, old groupings; that you may have a few left from your last give away and suggested I contact you.
She forwarded your page to me. They are beautiful!
if you do have extra that would be such a treat. if no, perhpaps you could recommend a place I might find some.
Thank you.
EQ
I’d be happy to share some oxblood lilies with you. I’ve emailed you some more info. — mss
November 12th, 2007
Hello,
I stumbled upon your website the other day. It is great! Excellent info! My fiancee and I just bought a house and are looking to spruce up our newly expanded flower garden and fell in love with the oxblood lily. I’ve had a hard time finding them locally or online. Do you know of any place that might have them (or is it too late this year)?
Thanks for any info!
JM
Thanks. Flattery will get you anything–or at least it will get you some free oxblood lilies. I’d be happy to share some with you. If I dig them up when the leaves die down next summer, you can have some before their next blooming season. Most of the local nurseries have them. I’ve seen them at The Natural Gardener, The Great Outdoors, Barton Springs Nursery, and Gardens. The potted plants at The Natural Gardener won’t bloom again until next year. I don’t know what would happen with bulbs planted this late. — mss
December 12th, 2007
Another compliment on your oxbloods! I think there might be a patch near my office in Georgetown; there are no flowers, but lots of stalks. I may (will, who am I kidding) go dig some up and transplant into my garden. Do you think they would be okay if I dug them up now and didn’t wait until summer?
Yes. Keep them in water until you replant them. Get them in the ground as quickly as you can. And don’t worry–even with mistreatment, oxblood lilies are very hardy. Did you actually see them bloom? If the leaves are a deep green with a milky white stripe then those might be red spider lilies instead. If they are oxblood lilies, I hope you are able to rescue them. — mss
December 13th, 2007
I saw them bloom from a distance – not close enough to look at the leaves. Although the flower shape was definitely more the oxblood flower than the spider lily, either one would make me happy. Thanks again for your help and your garden is beautiful!
March 30th, 2008
I moved from Austin (East 14th Street on Swede Hill) to Fayetteville in March 2007. I dug up as many Oxblood bulbs from my Austin yard as I could (about 50). I’ve had them in pots and will plant them in my new yard soon. I couldn’t leave without them.
September 21st, 2008
When I was answering phones for Neil Sperry’s Texas Gardening radio show this morning, a caller inquired about some red lilies she had been given permission to rescue from a construction site. Neil guessed that she had found oxblood lilies. Her call sent me on a search for photos this evening, and I found yours. They are positively beautiful! What a lovely garden you have!
Tell me, please, how much sun the lilies require. (It appears that they tolerate some shade.) Thanks so much! — cs
Yes, oxblood lilies can tolerate quite a bit of shade. They are particular about their siting. They can take sun or shade or a mix. Most of mine are planted under old cedar elms or pecans–trees with a high canopy; I guess you’d call it filtered sunlight. The only time they’ve been unhappy is planted when I let English ivy grow over them and suck up all their water. — mss
November 13th, 2008
Hi, there! After seeing your photos weeks ago I got a pricey order of oxblood lily from the southern bulb co. Now, I look at your pictures and measure each mm. of growth.
I realize I have a long way to go to 2000,
so I can just appreciate your photos periodically.
Thanks, IHC in Beaumont
January 31st, 2009
yes, would love to plant some oxblood lilies..hope I can find some to buy…thanks for your photos
there was an old homeplace by my parents that had spider lilies everywhere when I was young.. they were magical to me… I haven’t seen any since hurricane Ivan.. I need to find some and start the magic again!!
March 5th, 2009
I love oxblood lilies and have hundreds in my garden. I know of several abandoned sites in the central Texas area which are home to thousands of bulbs. I frequently dig the bulbs and ship them all over. My prices are very reasonable in comparison to the major websites offering them. If you’d like a bunch please E-Mail me and I’ll get an order to you. My minimum order size is 100 large to jumbo bulbs for $75 plus shipping.
May 24th, 2009
I bought some oxblood lilies (or one, rather) in the fall and I left it in a pot until the leaves died. Can i keep them in containers until I have a yard to put them in or do they do better with deeper soil?
THank you!
July 30th, 2009
Wowee, what a great stand you have! Gorgeous! Your oxblood pix make me miss my old yard so much! tho’ not the old plumbing, wiring, or foundation of that house ;) New house is great, new yard, not so much. I had inherited a beautiful stand of these oxbloods on 49th street, but they were blooming when we sold and couldn’t be moved without killing them. And there were only a couple of small bunches left, but how I loved the surprise of their blooms in the fall. Now after a few years in a new tract home with a pretty bare landscape, I finally have the periennial “bones” of my garden established, and I’d love to have some bulbs to give this place some charm and character. Do you have any this season, or has this awful drought taken them? I will buy some, I don’t have anything to trade. Thanks for sharing your pictures, and I hope your fall show is as lovely as ever this year.
August 11th, 2009
My grandmother had oxblood lillies that grew along her fences in Fedor, TX. Her birthday was in September and her favorite color was red, so the lillies were usually in bloom when we went to visit.
Sadly, she passed away, but the plot where their house stood so many years still had lilies, but not in bloom. My husband and brother dug up several bulbs but with these last 2 summers of drought, they have not produced any flowers..yet.
During her funeral the pastor even mentioned Frieda’s lilies that bloom after every rain.
Thanks for the memory!
Around Labor Day, you’ll probably start seeing the bulbs nose up. When that happens, give them a good soaking. They’ll bloom eventually. Oxblood lilies never give up. — mss
September 14th, 2009
If it’s still cloudy, I bet it looks like a movie screen.
September 14th, 2009
can i dig up the oxblood lilies i found in my yard and how can i transplant them
You can dig them up almost any time but I think it’s easiest right after they bloom but before they have too many leaves. Just separate the bulbs and replant them immediately. They are not picky about the depth. Keep them well-watered for a couple of weeks. Or you can wait until the early summer when all the leaves have died down. It’s sometime hard to find them then or to dig them up without slicing into the bulbs with your shovel. The advantage is that they are dormant (no growing roots) and so they don’t have to be replanted immediately. — mss
October 6th, 2009
I found my first ox blood lilies this weekend near Milam. TX. What a thrill.
November 19th, 2009
Just realized I failed to list my E-Mail address on my above comment. You can reach me at pmacnames@austin.rr.com. If you want large, healthy oxblood bulbs at reasonable prices I’m the guy you’re looking for.