Spider lily: description and characteristics, planting, growing and care with photo

The homeland of the spider lily is Japan. There the flower is called higanbana. We know several more names of this decorative culture: resurrected lily, licorice, golden amaryllis. A flower of delightful beauty is shrouded in a haze of mystery, however, like all representatives of the east. There are many legends and legends about him. Having settled such an exotic guest at home, you can tirelessly admire its decorative effect and bring the aroma of oriental culture and fairy tales into your home. Caring for a spider lily is easy.

Description and characteristics of lycoris

Belonging to the Amaryllis family, the spider lily has a bulbous root system that makes it look like daffodils and tulips. The characteristic of the culture that has made her the heroine of legends is that her leaves and flowers never appear on the plant at the same time.

Unlike other bulbs, the spider lily has a rest period in the summer. And only in the first days of September, the lycoris wakes up and throws out an escape. It is characterized by very fast growth and within 4-5 days grows by 50 cm. After a short period of time, about 5 buds are formed on each shoot, which are distinguished by a funnel shape and exude a magical intoxicating aroma that spreads far beyond the garden plot.

The palette of buds is the most diverse: there are golden, purple, orange, red, white shades of petals. The entire flowering period of the spider lily is quite short - only 10-12 days.And after the peduncles wither, the lycoris demonstrates the beauty of its leaves. Moreover, they remain for the entire winter period, and disappear only by the month of June.

This culture is usually planted in cemeteries, for which it received another name - the flower of death. It is believed that the spider lily is designed to decorate the afterlife of the dead.

Pros and cons

Like every plant, the spider lily has its strengths and weaknesses. The benefits of planting this ornamental crop include:

Extremely beautiful buds.
Bright scent of blooming flowers.
Easy maintenance.
No need for an annual transplant.
Strong immunity to diseases

Among the cons of lycoris:

Demanding on the composition of the soil.
Sensitive to drafts.
The need for shelter for the winter in the northern regions.

Flower types

Among several dozen representatives of this genus, there are several varieties that are successfully grown in the Russian climate.

Radiant

Reaches a height of 30 to 70 cm, leaves are narrow, about 5-7 mm, some especially long curved from the center. With the advent of autumn, pink or terracotta buds bloom on the radiant lycoris. The petals have a characteristic feature - a narrow and long tendril deviating back. In the center is a bunch of wide processes with wavy edges.

Scaly

The maximum height of scaly lycoris growing in Japan is 70 cm.There is a rosette near the ground itself, it consists of bright green belt-shaped leaves, the width of which ranges from 1 to 3 cm. Flowering occurs in the last days of August, when about 8-9 buds are formed on one stem. The color of the oval petals is light lilac. In the center of the flower are thin stamens. Flowering period - no more than 2 weeks.

Blood Red

One of the most undersized varieties - its dimensions do not exceed 45 cm in height. The leaves are small, appear on blood-red lycoris in April, by June they turn yellow. On one large stem, 6 buds are formed, having a bright scarlet color, their diameter does not exceed 5 cm.

Golden

The shape of this species resembles radiant licorice, but the color of its flowers is yellow. The petals are characterized by a fringed curl, inside the flower there are snow-white stamens.

Features of growing ornamental crops

To admire a rare exotic plant in your garden, you must strictly follow all the rules for planting and preparing the soil for a spider lily. The plant is not capricious, but it still has its own requirements for soil quality.

What time to plant

The best time for planting a spider lily in the garden experienced flower growers call autumn. Moreover, it is important to take into account that for the first temperature drops to minus levels, at least a month remains. In this case, the lycoris will have time to grow in a new place and adapt to the surrounding conditions. He will endure the winter without problems, and next autumn he will delight with exotic beauty with flowers.

If for some reason the planting could not be carried out in the fall, it is allowed to do it in the spring, however, in this case, the spider lily may get sick, and the gardener will see flowering not earlier than in a year.

Preparing the site and planting material

For planting a spider lily, a site is selected that is protected from blown winds and drafts. It must be taken into account that the bright rays of the sun leave burns on the foliage of the lycoris, so they place it in light partial shade, which falls from deciduous trees. In addition, in bright sunlight, spider lily buds will not be as colorful, their color will fade.

Before planting, they dig up the selected area and remove all weeds so that it does not drown out the young flowers. The soil should be loose, sandy.

Spider lily bulbs before planting in the ground are treated with any fungicide or kept in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Boarding process

Step by step instructions for planting lycoris:

Make holes about 15 cm deep in the selected and prepared area.
Respect when placing the bulbs between them a distance of 25 cm, so that the flowers have enough nutrition.
A small layer of river sand is laid at the bottom of the hole to improve the permeability of the soil.
Gently press the material into the soil, sprinkle with sand on top, if there are voids, fill them with soil.
Plentifully spill the soil with water.

Experienced flower growers recommend laying a layer of mulch from fallen leaves or straw.

How to properly care for a flower

The decorative effect and he alth of an exotic guest depends on compliance with the rules of care.

Feeding

Although the spider lily is quite capable of providing itself with nutrients by pulling them out of the ground, additional fertilization is necessary in some cases.They are guided by the appearance of lycoris - if it has stopped its growth, has become lethargic, they introduce mineral compounds suitable for bulbous plants. They do this only 2 hours after irrigation, otherwise top dressing will simply burn the bulb and destroy the crop.

Irrigation

During the period of set of buds and the formation of leaves, the spider lily requires abundant and regular irrigation. It is impossible to allow even a short-term drying of the earth, this will certainly affect the decorative qualities of lycoris.

In the summer dormant period, when the leaves have withered and the flowers have not yet appeared, moisture is completely stopped.

Transfer

Frequent replanting of spider lilies is not needed. In one place, the culture has been quietly growing for 5 years, but after this time, the lycoris will have to be moved to a new site. If this is not done in time, the flower will start to get sick and eventually die.

Preparing for winter

Spider lily bulbs do not need to be removed from the ground for the winter. However, the peduncle must be cut out after the end of flowering, it draws all the juices from the plant and interferes with its full preparation for the cold. If the region has cold and little snowy winters, cover the bulbs with a layer of foliage or spruce branches. This is enough for a successful wintering spider lily.

Diseases, pests and how to deal with them

Spider lily shows strong immunity to diseases and pests. The fact is that in the foliage of licorice there are phytoncides that protect the plant from these problems. The only pest that sometimes infects the flower is the narcissus fly. It is fought with a solution of any systemic insecticide, watering the site during the active growing season of the plant.

Reproduction rules

Most often, flower growers use daughter bulbs for growing lycoris, which are regularly formed on the mother plant. The seed method for propagating spider lilies is rarely used, since the material has a very low germination rate.

Application in garden design

Landscape designers recommend combining lycoris in plantings with low-growing plants that have similar care requirements. Spectacular flower arrangements are created with begonias, crocuses, ferns and anemones. Spider lily also looks good in rockeries and alpine slides in combination with delphiniums and irises.