Oxblood Lily or "Schoolhouse Lily" - 4 bulbs

The Southern Bulb Co. is proud to offer the rare Oxblood lily! Sometimes called the School House lily, these hardy plants frequently make appearances in older neighborhoods of Central Texas. Oxblood lily flower bulbs bloom with a vivid display of several entrancing flowers in the Fall. They are historic and, until now, are almost impossible to buy. The Oxblood lily flower bulbs in our collection are guaranteed to bring a touch of charm to any garden.

The tough little harbinger of fall.

Originally a native of Argentina, these naturalized bulbs were introduced to Texas by German settlers. The name refers to the vermilion red, amaryllis-like flowers they produce. These are tough plants that will naturalize in almost all locations. Although they will grow almost anywhere, the flowers hold up best when planted in partial shade to full sun. After flowering, they send up strappy, bright green foliage which matures in the heat of the following summer or late spring. You can leave Oxblood lilies undivided for years, and they will come back every year with the fall rains. They bloom around September and their foliage remains green all winter.

As a good "rule of thumb" for Oxblood lily flower bulbs, plant at a depth about three times the height of the bulb itself. This can be confusing with their sometimes long neck, and if the neck is very long, simply have a small portion of the top of the neck above the soil, or plant your bulb sideways. It will eventually turn itself up and the blooms will hardly be affected the first year, and not at all in future years.

What does “in the green” mean?

In the summer and fall, we ship dry bulbs that many consumers are familiar with. However, in the spring we ship some flower bulbs with their foliage still on them because the bulbs are growing and have bloomed or are preparing to bloom. Do not be concerned if the foliage is yellow when you receive the bulbs. That is normal. When the customer receives them, the foliage is in the process of drying down naturally. Plant the bulbs, with foliage and all in the ground and let the foliage turn brown and die back naturally.   Another option is to not plant the flower bulbs and store the bulbs with the foliage in a cool, dark, and well ventilated spot, and most importantly let the foliage die down naturally. In other words, DON'T cut the foliage of bulbs when you receive them in the green. The browning and dying back of the foliage is the natural process of the bulb sending food and energy from the leaves down into the bulbs for their summer dormancy. There are pros and cons to buying bulbs "in the green" in the spring as opposed to dry in the fall. 

PROS: 

• The bulb is larger, healthy and producing
• The bulbs are more likely to bloom the first year 
• The bulbs didn't endure a drying period so they will produce stronger blooms and foliage the very next year
• The bulbs will adjust to their new home quicker and therefore multiply more quickly
• You can see exactly where you have planted these bulbs and others
• You know exactly how deep to plant them because they are marked! You plant them where the white area on the neck is below the soil.  

CONS: 

• They are fresh so you must be more careful
• They need to be planted immediately 
• The bulbs are larger so they weigh more which makes shipping cost more