Plant This: Sweet pink rain lilies

July 31, 2010


Looking out my living room window toward the stock-tank pond, this caught my eye: dozens of sugar-sweet rain lilies (Zephryanthes ‘Labuffarosea’) blooming with abandon after our recent rains.

Because they celebrate the rain, I feel a kinship with them. Summer rain is always welcome here.

I also treasure them because they were a passalong gift from Annie in Austin, and so they remind me of her.

For a petite flower, they pack a lot of punch when they burst into bloom seemingly overnight.

If your garden is in need of rain, here’s wishing for dark skies and a steady, gentle shower for you.
Note: My Plant This posts are written primarily for gardeners in central Texas. The plants I recommend are ones I’ve grown myself and have direct experience with. I wish I could provide more information about how these plants might perform in other parts of the country, but gardening knowledge is local. Consider checking your local online gardening forums to see if a particular plant might work in your region.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

0 responses to “Plant This: Sweet pink rain lilies”

  1. David C says:

    Nice!
    I used 80+ various Zephyranthes spp. in the interior courtyard of the office I leased space in. The architects all noted how much they liked those “flowering grasses”, every time after it rained. And they stayed green most of the winter, and this last one was a cold one!
    Tough yet delicate…but cannot be found much locally.

  2. Jenny says:

    Only need one word for this. Stunning.

  3. meemsnyc says:

    Wow, so pretty and delicate!!

  4. Fougeres says:

    I’ve heard you can plant these in pots, or by your door, and when you are expecting company, you drench them thoroughly about 10 days in advance. Then you can greet your company with them. I think I’d let them be on the dry side first, and time it once to get the sequence down. Great pictures, Pam!

  5. Ami says:

    Beautiful! I only have one of this rain lily in my garden. It is so lovely when it flowers after the rain. I hope it can multiply itself quickly. Yours bloomed in abundance is just stunning, and I loved how you planted them around the rocks.

  6. RBell says:

    Boy, you had a LOT of blooms – good, thick clusters of the bulbs. Looks real nice.

  7. The Labuffarosea like you Pam…they really like you! It’s so cool to see them blooming in your garden.
    The ones I kept are in flower in several places and for the first time I noticed they’re not just visually sweet, but when you have a good-sized clump open at once, this rainlily has a very sweet fragrance.
    Annie at the Transplantable Rose