Spider Lily Care & Growing Guide

As your other flowers are shutting down for winter, one plant is getting started to bloom. Yes, it is the red spider lily, and after its summer dormancy, it sends up a tall stalk with bright blooms.

Each bulb can produce up to four stems that sprout in early fall to the beginning of winter. So, if you want to add some color to your garden, investing in the Lycoris radiata is a low-maintenance plant.

Red Spider Lily Not to Be Confused With Crinum Lilies

Now, when you look at the red spider lily, there is a lot of confusion going on as the Crinum lily is also known as the spider lily. Both these plants develop similarly and are part of the Amaryllis family.

Yes, it isn’t evident, we agree. Yet, similar to the growth the same applies to taking care of your plant as you care for your Crinum lily. Both these plants grow blooms that look like spiders, produce clusters of curled petals, and have a naked stems.

Oddly enough, these plants have no leaves when they start to bloom. In early summer, the foliage dies back, and only notice these outdoor plants when the cold climates move in displaying their gorgeous blooms.

As with the Crinum plants, you get spectacular fragrant flowers in white, red, yellow, and orange lasting up to two weeks. Another fascinating thing is that these plants grow from bulbs, and it is an heirlooms found in Southern gardens.

Also, the Crinum lilies and the red spider lily come from the same regions in China and Japan. Still, the Licorus radiata has a fearsome reputation in Japan. So they plant them at the tombs to guide people’s soles into incarnation.

Some people even refer to this exotic plant as the corpse flower or resurrection lily. Lastly, you can grow them as an indoor plant, and it goes by other names, the hurricane lily or the naked lily.

Lycoris Radiata Similar to Crinum Lily Plant Care

If you want a fast-growing yet late bloomer to add color to your garden or home in fall, the magic lilies, yes, another name, are what you want to grow. You can grow them in most conditions, as you will learn later.

_{Best Potting Mix For Indoor and Outdoor Plants}

You can grow your plant in the same soil types as Crinum flowers. So, your choice of ground is broad, but it does perform better in humus-rich soil to retain moisture. Yet, the earth needs to remain dry in summer as the bulb goes dormant, and if the soil does not drain well, it can rot.

You can also grow your lily in a container provided you have enough space as it is a large plant. Still, the container needs to be big, or the roots become restricted, and it will never bloom. Another important note it needs well-drained soil in the pot.

_{Ideal Lighting and Temperature For Your Hurricane Lily}

The Lycoris genus prefers full sun of at least six hours for the best flowering. While it can tolerate some partial shade, it still enjoys bright indirect light for those gorgeous blooms.

Some gardeners advise that when grown in shady parts, your plant produces blooms earlier than when it grows in sunny locations.

So to get a mix of in-between, you can place your plant in a sunny to shaded area to get them to bloom throughout the winter months.

_{Watering Needs For The Fragrant Flowers to Blossom}

You get a big difference when caring for the Crinum americanum or a Crinum asiaticum compared to your hurricane lily when it comes to watering. This is because your lily goes dormant in the warmer months during the growing season.

When grown as an indoor plant or with other plants outside, the soil needs to be drier. Overwatering is a concern with this plant compared to your southern swamp lily as the latter grows deep roots that can access water reserves.

So, compared to your other spider lilies that thrive in moist soil with consistent watering, your red spider lilies can live in prolonged dry periods. But the rule of thumb is to keep checking the moisture in the ground.

It is believed that the plant only flowers after the first rainfall in autumn, and as an indoor plant, you need to stimulate it by watering them once the weather changes.

_{Similar Temperatures and Humidity as The Crinum Lily}

Once your lily blooms, it develops evergreen leaves and persistent growers throughout the colder seasons. The foliage dies bag in spring.

Still, when you live in high-humidity regions, you need to take note of the watering to prevent overwatering them.

Further, when you live in the USDA hardiness zones six and seven, it helps protect the exposed bulbs from frost, and layering them with mulch helps outside.

_{Fertilizer Needs for Spider Lilies}

You can feed your lily in early spring using a high-nitrogen feed to help your plant store its nutrients for regrowth when reaching its summer dormancy.

Using potassium and phosphorous fertilizer, you can also provide your plant with a post-flowering feed in the fall. Don’t forget spring and summer too. The fertilizer helps strengthen the bulbs for cold conditions.

_{Propagation By Dividing The Bulbs}

The only time you should dig into the ground with your hurricane lily is for dividing the bulbs. Propagation is similar to the lily as the offshoot bulbs grow fast. You can divide the bulbs every year or when you provide your plant with fresh soil and a bigger container.

The best time to divide the bulbs is in the warm season when dormant. First, you need to dig around the base and lift the bulbs from the ground to ensure you have the whole root system. Then, you can pull the mass of bulbs apart to replant in a container or the garden about eight inches apart.

Also, remember to wear gloves as the bulbs are poisonous.

_{USDA Zones For Your Lilies}

You can grow your lily in zones 5b to 10 in country gardens provided it has good drainage, and the same applies to container growing. But also take care if living in a freezing climate to protect the bulbs with mulch from freezing temperatures.

_{Pruning is Similar to Your Red Crinum}

Your plant needs pruning, but not much. You can trim off the dead leaves and remove the spent flower stalks to allow new growth. When moving your plant indoors, please keep it in a bright spot and remove some of the outermost leaves around the bulbs as it helps prevent it from taking up too much space.

Lily Varieties and Similar Plants

_{Swamp Lily}

Crinum americanum is a perennial herb with onion-like bulbs while the leaves spread upright. The flower blooms on a flower stalk that is separate from the foliage. You find the blossoms in pink or white with an aroma.

_{Giant Lily}

The Crinum asiaticum or poison bulb also has scented white flowers, while the long stamens have white, red filaments.

_{Crinum augustum ‘Queen Emma’}

You find this exotic flower growing in Asia and the Mexico lowlands. The star-shaped flower is white purple growing on red stems.

_{Asiatica Purple Crinum Lily}

This is a unique plant known as the Crinum lily purple with purplish foliage that will WOW you.

Lily Plant Diseases & Pests

One primary concern with your plant is root rot from overwatering, with slugs being the significant pests.

Gardeners recommend placing containers with beer near your plant by burying them in the soil when you grow your plant outdoors, leaving an inch sticking out.

The slugs crawl into the container as they are attracted to beer.