Lilies may be surprise to some homeowners

“I was so surprised when I saw lilies blooming in my yard,” is a statement I have heard many times over the last few days. For the last few weeks pink Surprise Lilies, Licoris squamigera have been blooming in Shawnee.
This plant has many common names, including resurrection lilies, mystery lilies, hardy amaryllis or the titillating name, naked ladies.
 The lilies first show life in the early spring when rather wide and thick foliage emerges from the ground. After a while this foliage dries and disappears.
In August cream-colored stems emerge a few inches from the ground. At the top of the stem, tight flower buds are formed. The stems grow several inches a day so that in about three days they are about two feet tall and the blooms begin to open. They continue to open and develop for another day or two until fully formed. After about a week or 10 days, the petals fall and are gone until next year.
Surprise lilies may be grown from bulbs purchased in the fall or spring and from transplants, usually taken in the spring when the foliage appears.
Bulbs should be planted just below the ground surface. Transplanted bulbs should be planted at the same depth as they were growing and the foliage left on until it withers.
Normally bulbs and transplants done in the spring do not bloom until the following year.
Dick Deem’s mother, Dorothy Deem, had hundreds of the lilies in her back yard. After she passed away Dick invited a number of members of the Shawnee Garden Clubs to dig some of the lilies. Mrs. Deem was a charter member of the Chrysanthemum unit.
In addition to planting the lilies in member’s gardens a large number were planted in the circle bed at Rose Garden Park, Broadway and Franklin. They have been blooming around the birdbath in the center of the bed.
Surprise lilies may be planted in full sun, part sun or full shade. I saw a very attractive bed recently at the National Cowboy and Western Art Museum in Oklahoma City.
It had about nine surprise lilies planted close together under an ivy ground cover in a grove of trees. Another ideal location is in a bed of Hostas.
If you have a flowerbed that you can see from your dining room or living room window, consider planting some there so that you can enjoy them when they surprise you with their blooms.