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Hurricane Lillies?

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Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. I don’t think the person who gave the common name Hurricane Lily to what I’ve always called spider lilies, Lycoris radiata meant to cast aspersions on them -- These spidery looking blossoms often do pop up overnight a big rain – thus the Hurricane Lily moniker. Extremely persistent, the foliage emerges after the flowers. comes after the Unlike most bulbs, which you plant two or three in a hole two to three times time the height of the bulb, Lycoris should be buried with the top of the bulb slightly above the soil, just like you plant amaryllis in your garden; both are in the family Amarylidaceae. Many people report their spider lilies don’t always bloom each year. Too much water, too much fertilizer, planted too late? It may be like number twelve of a dozen reasons babies cry, “Lord, only knows.”

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Amanda McNulty is a Clemson University Extension Horticulture agent and the host of South Carolina ETV’s Making It Grow! gardening program. She studied horticulture at Clemson University as a non-traditional student. “I’m so fortunate that my early attempts at getting a degree got side tracked as I’m a lot better at getting dirty in the garden than practicing diplomacy!” McNulty also studied at South Carolina State University and earned a graduate degree in teaching there.