First oxblood lily heralding fall

September 10, 2014


After our first September rain I start my annual oxblood lily (Rhodophiala bifida) watch, eagerly scanning the garden floor for green shoots nosing up or, more likely, the improbably sudden appearance of red trumpets. These September-blooming bulbs, dormant spring through summer, pop up that quickly after a late-summer shower.


Could there be a happier sight for a summer-weary gardener than these cheery trumpets heralding that fall is on the way? My garden received two half-inch showers last week, and the first bulb is already up. So far it’s playing a solo, but I know it’ll be joined soon by a full brass section.


Not to be outdone, American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is announcing summer’s ebb with clusters of purple berries on long, arching stems.

Add these two to your Southern gardens for the happy promise of cooler weather to come.

All material © 2006-2014 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

15 responses to “First oxblood lily heralding fall”

  1. Kylee Baumle says:

    I SO wish we could grow these year round! I love them!! I do have a beautyberry bush though. It’s loaded with berries this year, after me thinking it had taken the trip during our horrendous winter. It’s bigger than ever after being completely dead above ground this spring. The berries are just now starting to turn color.

  2. Tina says:

    Mine too! My red spider lilies have also popped up! It’s always a treat, especially if you’re like me and totally forgot you even had these beauties. Enjoy the coming season of blooms.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      My spider lilies didn’t bloom last year, but just this morning I was cutting back heartleaf skullcap and accidentally snipped off a spider lily stalk and bud. Argh! There’s one more about to bloom though, and hopefully more will pop up soon. Now I’m fretting because I have an arborist scheduled to trim my live oaks on Monday, and I fear for my emerging bulbs. —Pam

  3. TexasDeb says:

    Now that you have seen your first oxblood lilies, I know mine will be showing up in the next week or two. I used to agonize annually when you and others would post about your bulbs blooming, convinced I’d somehow dug mine up without noticing. Now I just know to be vigilant…and patient. (Somehow I’m better at the vigilance..). .

    • Pam/Digging says:

      They have their own schedule, don’t they? But it’s good to be vigilant because these bulbs pop up seemingly overnight, and if you’re not paying attention you could miss them. Now that would be something to agonize over. —Pam

  4. Shirley says:

    The sign of cooler weather. Mine should bloom soon, just looked for them yesterday. I need to check again but it’s hot out there.

  5. Melody McMahon says:

    My oxbloods are blooming too! Just like clockwork, always after a rain in September. I’m so grateful that we got one inch of rain last Sunday afternoon but wish it had come in the morning before I soaked my old oak tree that I was worried about. Oh well, it was worth it. Can’t replace a 100 year old tree (in my life time anyway!).

  6. Great photo..I have had one bloom that has already come and gone. They are so precious and I love their color!

  7. ShelleyM says:

    I noticed one this past weekend in my yard as well. I had forgotten where they would come up so it was such a wonderful surprise! I got them from my Dad’s yard after he died and it warmed my heart to be reminded of him and know that Fall is definitely on the way, even here in Texas!