Sprekelia formosissima
Bursting with blood-red blooms as fiercely stunning because the tradition that it’s named after, the Aztec lily is the right flowering bulb for a heat, sunny panorama.
If you’re in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 to 11 and also you’re racking your mind for a brand new flower so as to add to your backyard, you must give Sprekelia formosissima a go!
Together with boosting your property’s aesthetic, Aztec lilies entice helpful pollinators, which is at all times a plus.
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Tolerant of warmth and salty soils, Aztec lilies aren’t too difficult to develop and take care of, after you have ’em discovered. For some assist with that, our information has you coated.
Learn on to be taught the essential facets of S. formosissima cultivation, from propagation to pest administration. It’ll be a useful useful resource on your journey of discovery.
Right here’s what I’ll cowl:
What Are Aztec Lilies?
Aztec lilies – aka Sprekelia formosissima or Jacobean lilies – are herbaceous, bulbous perennials from the Amaryllidaceae household, which additionally contains vegetation like amaryllis (Hippeastrum), onions, daffodils, and decorative alliums.
Regardless of their widespread identify, Aztec lilies usually are not true lilies.
Aztec lilies originate from Mexico and Guatemala, the place they develop wild on uncovered outcrops and rocky slopes. Consequently, they’ve developed to flourish in warmth, full solar, and rocky to sandy soils.
From the underground bulbs develop three to 6 skinny inexperienced leaves, every with a central crease and most size of 15 inches.
Mounted on stiff stalks as much as a foot in top are six-inch crimson to scarlet crimson flowers, every with six curved petals and yellow-tipped stamens. From time to time, the petals could also be pink, have white to mild inexperienced midribs, and even have white edges.
Blooming anytime in spring to summer time – though they usually don’t bloom each yr – every flower is open for just a few days earlier than it fades.
Every bulb can produce a couple of flower, however normally in sequence, relatively than concurrently.
Whereas open, the flowers entice pollinating hummingbirds and butterflies, which, when pollinated, result in three-capsuled pods that include black seeds.
Almost evergreen in USDA Zones 8 to 11, these vegetation develop about eight to 12 inches tall and vast. They’ll additionally type bigger clumps by spreading laterally by bulb offsets, however that is typically a sluggish course of.
These vegetation might be left in-ground for the winter once they’re grown in Zones 8 to 11. In cooler zones, the bulbs will must be lifted and saved someplace hotter in the course of the chilly months earlier than they are often planted once more in spring.
Talking of growth, Aztec lilies discovered their means into Western horticulture by the use of Spanish explorers and colonists.
The Spanish introduced S. formosissima again to Europe, the place it was launched to the legendary Carl Linnaeus someday within the early seventeenth century, in the course of the Jacobean period of British historical past – therefore the widespread identify, Jacobean lily.
Linnaeus really recognized the plant as Amaryllis formosissima, which it glided by till its reclassification into the Sprekelia genus, created in 1821 by William Herbert to honor the German gardener Johann Heinrich von Spreckelsen.
These days, Aztec lilies are a reasonably planting possibility whether or not they’re grown out within the panorama or inside the house. They do particularly properly in southern gardens, the place it’s good and heat.
Aztec Lily Propagation
Making an attempt to develop some Aztec lilies of your personal? These vegetation might be propagated from seed, by way of bulb offsets, or by planting out bought bulbs. Let’s check out every technique.
From Seed
Rising Aztec lilies from seed positively comes with caveats.
For one, you want a couple of plant for pollination to happen, since Aztec lilies aren’t self-fertile. So if all you’ve got is a single specimen, then seed manufacturing gained’t occur.
Moreover, it takes three to seven years for seeds to develop into bloom-producing, mature grownup bulbs. So if time is of the essence, then seed propagation isn’t for you.
However if in case you have a number of Aztec lilies and aren’t deterred by an extended wait, let’s start!
The first step: purchase seeds. They are often bought, obtained from a buddy, or collected from your personal Aztec lilies.
In case you acquire seeds your self, wait till the seed pods change into tan and crispy earlier than utilizing a pointy, sterile blade to take away them from the plant, lower them open, and harvest the seeds inside.
You can even tie gauzy organza baggage across the seed pods – they’ll catch the seeds once they naturally drop from the seed pods, all whereas permitting for air flow to cut back illness danger.
As soon as a seed pod seems, the seeds ought to be ripe after about 4 to 6 weeks.
Upon getting seeds, sow every one into a person three-inch container stuffed with a 50:50 mixture of perlite and coconut coir. Sow every seed as deep as it’s vast – a couple of half-inch deep. Lay every seed flat on its facet.
Moisten the media and expose the containers to brilliant, oblique mild indoors. Preserve the media moist as you look forward to the seeds to germinate, which ought to take a few weeks.
To make sure that the bulbs will probably be developed sufficient to resist out of doors situations, continue to grow your seedlings indoors in a brilliant, not directly lit location for at the least two years previous to transplanting.
Preserve the rising media moist all of the whereas, and repot them when there may be lower than an inch or two of area between the creating bulb and the facet of the container.
Through Bulb Offsets
Aztec lily bulbs develop offsets, which finally produce new shoots and roots.
As extra offsets are produced, the flowers, leaves, and stems on the mother or father bulb don’t develop as giant, and the specimen can change into cramped in its rising website, whether or not open air within the backyard or in a pot.
Separating offsets from the mom bulb alleviates these points, and even yields extra vegetation.
Nonetheless, the disadvantage of that is that they don’t like being disturbed and should not flower for some time after division. However hey, at the least you’ll finally have extra Aztec lilies!
To divide, look forward to the foliage to die again in fall earlier than lifting the plant from its rising website or eradicating it from the container.
Brush off the soil from the bulb and roots so you possibly can see what you’re working with, then snap or draw back the offsets by hand.
Plant every offset two inches deep in its personal six-inch container of well-draining, but moisture-retaining media.
Water the media, place the containers in brilliant, oblique mild, and take care of the offsets such as you would seedlings till the bulb is giant sufficient to transplant.
Through Bulbs
In case you’re in Zones 8 to 11, you’ll must plant your bulbs in fall at the least six – ideally eight – weeks earlier than the primary frost. For vegetation grown as annuals in colder zones, plant the bulbs in spring after the ultimate frost date.
For rising Aztec lilies in-ground, put together patches of deep, wealthy, and well-draining sandy loam soil with a pH of seven.0 to 7.8 in a full solar location. You would possibly want to conduct a soil check to verify if any amendments are wanted.
In case you’re working with clayey, acidic, and/or barren soil, you’ll must amend it with some coarsely textured grit, limestone, and/or humus, respectively.
Plant every bulb 4 inches deep, basal plate down, and area them eight to 12 inches aside. Water them in properly.
If you wish to develop your Aztec lilies in containers, put together a six-inch-wide, eight-inch-deep container with drainage holes for every bulb.
You can even put a number of bulbs in containers bigger than that, so long as they’re spaced at the least 4 inches aside – this’ll permit the shoots to assist one another keep upright.
Fill your chosen containers with a well-draining, but moisture-retaining medium, akin to a 50:50 mixture of perlite and coconut coir. Plant the bottoms of the bulbs 4 inches deep, cowl them with media, then water in properly.
Bulbs for containerized houseplants might be planted everytime you’d like.
Easy methods to Develop Aztec Lilies
Now that you just’ve received bulbs within the floor or in your containers and Aztec lilies a-growin’, let’s learn to greatest take care of them!
Local weather and Publicity Wants
Only a reminder: Aztec lilies must be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 to 11 to make sure their year-round survival open air.
S. formosissima houseplants shouldn’t want thermostat alterations. If the temperature is snug for you, then it’s snug for them!
Gentle-wise, full solar publicity is good, though partial solar can also be acceptable in particularly heat climates.
Aztec lilies grown as houseplants ought to obtain as a lot mild as doable – spots close to south- or east-facing home windows are good.
Soil Wants
The best soil for S. formosissima is well-draining, fertile, and impartial to barely alkaline. Present an organically wealthy, sandy loam with a pH of seven.0 to 7.8, and also you’re golden.
Yearly in spring, work a one- to two-inch layer of compost or well-rotted manure into your planting beds, being cautious to not disturb the bulbs.
Water and Fertilizer Wants
Aztec lilies love even moisture in the course of the rising season, so make sure to water the vegetation deeply each time the highest inch or two of soil feels dry. Throughout winter dormancy, cease watering totally.
For each houseplants and out of doors specimens, month-to-month purposes of a balanced fertilizer will assist to maximise blooms. And similar to with watering, stop fertilization throughout winter dormancy.
Bonide Liquid Plant Meals
Indoor vegetation would do properly with Bonide’s 10-10-10 liquid plant meals, out there by way of Walmart.
Southern Ag Granular Fertilizer
For out of doors specimens, do that granular 10-10-10 fertilizer from Southern Ag, out there at Amazon.
Rising Ideas
- Full solar is perfect, however partial shade works in extremely popular climates.
- A impartial to barely alkaline soil pH is perfect.
- In the course of the rising season, water each time the highest inch or two of soil feels dry.
Pruning and Upkeep
Because the plant prepares to go dormant in fall, its foliage will die again – make sure to trim this off after it has turned brown and withered.
In the course of the rising season, take away any leaves that seem broken or diseased. You can even snip away flowers as they fade, for those who’re not attempting to reap the seeds.
After about three to 4 years, your Aztec lily will possible begin to outgrow its container or planting website. You’ll must repot container-grown specimens and dig up and divide outdoor-grown clumps.
In-ground bulbs in USDA Zones 8 to 11 can stay buried for the winter. Cowl the soil with a few inches of mulch, and so they’ll be well-insulated throughout temperature dips.
Bulbs rising in climates colder than Zone 8 will must be lifted as soon as the foliage dies again in fall, earlier than the primary frost.
Elevate the bulbs by sticking a spade, trowel, or gardening fork into the bottom adjoining to the bulbs, then pushing the deal with all the way down to unearth the bulb and surrounding soil.
Get rid of any broken, mushy, discolored, or in any other case unhealthy-looking bulbs.
Clear the wholesome lifted bulbs, lower off any remaining stem tissue an inch above every bulb, and trim off any roots.
Place them on a newspaper-lined tray in a darkish, well-ventilated place with ambient temperatures of 60 to 70°F to treatment. Preserve them there for one to a few weeks till they’ve dried out.
Place the cured bulbs in paper or mesh baggies, then retailer them in a darkish, dry place at 40 to 50°F till it’s time to plant them once more the next spring.
The place to Purchase
As a not-too-common bulb, the Aztec lily could also be a bit tougher to search out than, say, a tulip or daffodil.
To begin, I’d advocate that you just browse plant outlets, on-line distributors, and catalogs specializing in decorative flowering bulbs.
In case you don’t discover any leads there, you possibly can at all times search for sellers specializing in southern vegetation, as S. formosissima is a southern gardening favourite.
Plant swaps and horticultural exhibits are nice locations to look, too. And don’t neglect to ask your gardening mates for spare bulbs, offsets, or seeds!
You might come throughout ‘Oriental Crimson,’ a sturdy cultivar that blooms prolifically in the course of the rising season.
Managing Pests and Illness
For probably the most half, you gained’t have to fret about many pests and ailments. However there are positively some try to be conscious of.
And don’t neglect – the perfect type of preventative plant well being care is cultivating your specimens correctly.
Pests
Let’s go over a few annoying pests that may injury your vegetation: mealybugs, and slugs and snails.
Mealybugs
Coated with a white and mealy wax, mealybugs are small, segmented bugs that are likely to congregate in crevices, on leaf undersides, and at different inconspicuous, hard-to-spot places on the plant.
Feeding with piercing-sucking mouthparts, these pests extract fluids from plant tissues, which may trigger chlorosis, stunted development, dieback, and even plant loss of life.
In addition they produce honeydew as they feed, which may entice ants and result in the formation of black sooty mildew.
Sturdy sprays of water can knock mealybugs off of vegetation, whereas sprays of horticultural oil can kill them.
Out within the panorama, pure enemies like parasitic wasps and ladybugs assist maintain mealybug populations down.
Infestations on houseplants are simply handled with dabs of a 70:30 answer of isopropyl alcohol and water, respectively.
Monterey Horticultural Oil
Monterey sells read-to-spray and concentrated types of horticultural oil at Arbico Organics.
You’ll be able to be taught extra about learn how to handle mealybugs right here.
Slugs and Snails
Shelless or shelled, it issues not… each slugs and snails is usually a actual ache.
Transferring round on a muscular, oozing “foot,” these mollusks use their rasping tongues to take irregularly-shaped, but smooth-edged feeding holes out of plant tissues, which actually saps a plant’s well being. Plus, they go away nasty slime trails of their wake.
In case your vegetation have a slug or snail drawback, you possibly can exit at evening with a flashlight to choose them off vegetation by hand and eliminate them.
It additionally helps to weed your backyard, clear up plant detritus, and get rid of different spots the place slugs and snails can cover in the course of the day.
Slug and Snail Traps
Alternatively, these plastic beer traps from Gardener’s Provide Firm can do slug- and snail-catching for you.
Study extra about coping with slugs and snails in our information.
Illness
Pathogens simply hitch a experience in contaminated soils and on unsanitized backyard instruments, so be certain to steadily sterilize your gardening instruments and use pathogen-free soils.
Narcissus Leaf Scorch
Attributable to the fungus Didymella curtisii, narcissus leaf scorch ends in reddish-brown scorching and recognizing on the leaves. Because the illness progresses, the foliage turns yellow and brown earlier than dying.
These signs additionally happen in flowers and on flower stalks, which is no bueno.
Surviving between bulb scales and in outdated leaf particles, the fungus spreads by way of fruiting our bodies, particularly in moist and humid situations.
Contaminated leaves and flowers ought to be eliminated ASAP, whereas severely contaminated specimens ought to be dug up and pitched.
To forestall this illness from the get-go, eliminate leaf detritus earlier than it accumulates, and at all times retailer bulbs at correct temperatures.
Root Rot
Whether or not brought on by pathogens or purely an abiotic concern, root rot begins when vegetation sit in oversaturated soils.
When roots are disadvantaged of oxygen for too lengthy, they basically suffocate, change into necrotic, and die. Consequently, the bulb doesn’t obtain the nourishment it wants and rots, and the shoots above the soil line wilt and die again.
To forestall root rot, not overwatering is important… and to alleviate root rot, you have to cease overwatering, ASAP.
To assist out a severely root-rotted plant, dig it up and take away any necrotic roots. If greater than half of the roots and/or greater than half of the bulb is rotted, then the specimen might be toast.
Finest Makes use of for Aztec Lilies
A fiery-hot magnificence just like the Aztec lily has many aesthetic purposes.
It dazzles anyplace a reasonably flower is required, nevertheless it’s particularly superior as an in-ground floral show, a border planting, a container specimen, and an addition to rock or alpine gardens.
And though it’ll undergo a quick dormancy interval, it’s additionally a stunner as an indoor houseplant.
Fast Reference Rising Information
| Plant Sort: | Herbaceous perennial bulb | Flower/Foliage Shade: | Crimson, pink/inexperienced |
| Native to: | Guatemala, Mexico | Upkeep: | Reasonable |
| Hardiness (USDA Zone): | 8-11 | Tolerance: | Deer, warmth, partial shade (sizzling climates), salt (average) |
| Bloom Time/Season: | Spring-summer | Soil Sort: | Wealthy, sandy loam |
| Publicity: | Full solar | Soil pH: | 7.0-7.8 |
| Time to Maturity: | 3-7 years (from seed) | Soil Drainage: | Nicely-draining |
| Spacing: | 8-12 inches (open air), 4 inches (containers) | Attracts: | Butterflies, hummingbirds |
| Planting Depth: | 2-4 inches | Makes use of: | Alpine backyard, containers, greenhouse planting, houseplant, rock backyard |
| Peak: | 8-12 inches | Order: | Asparagales |
| Unfold: | 8-12 inches | Household: | Amaryllidaceae |
| Water Wants: | Reasonable | Genus: | Sprekelia |
| Frequent Pests and Ailments: | Mealybugs, slugs and snails; narcissus leaf scorch, root rot | Species: | Formosissima |
Don’t Be Foolish… Develop Some Aztec Lily!
When you have the chance to develop S. formosissima, you positively ought to. Carpe diem, because the go-getting Romans had been fond of claiming!
With some Aztec lilies within the backyard, your panorama will look completely beautiful! Similar factor goes on your dwelling, for those who go the indoor container route.
Are you rising Aztec lilies? Nonetheless have questions, or maybe tidbits of your personal to share? Head on all the way down to the feedback part beneath!
And for extra details about rising flowers from the Amaryllidaceae household, strive these guides on for measurement subsequent: