Late last winter, our friend and fellow gardener Bruce Gray brought us a one-gallon pot with some green grassy plants in it. They weren’t very tall and kind of looked like little green grassy plants. They took up residence on our front porch until we could decide what to do with them on a more permanent basis.
Weeks passed as we planted our vegetable plants and so on, and the little grassy plants did fine, but nothing spectacular. With everything else that was going on, I didn’t think much about it. Then, they sent up a flower stalk.
When the bud opened into a lovely pink flower, suddenly, it got my attention. At that point I used my plant identifier, Picture This, to find out more about it. Aha, at least I finally knew the name.
It was a pink rain lily. I made sure to water it regularly, hoping it might bloom some more. Much to my delight, it sent up another bud or two, then a few more, and before long, as the photo shows, we had a small pot topped with gorgeous flowers.
At that point, I knew that it would become the subject of an article soon. Rain lilies are part of the genus Zephyranthes. There are a few different species.
Picture This identified our rain lilies as Z. carinata, but when I first looked at Wikipedia, it showed Z. rosea and also called it a pink rain lily, so if you are using the common name, you could get different varieties.
Z. rosea is native to Peru and Colombia (though another common name is “Cuban zephyrlily” – go figure). According to Wikipedia, Z.
carinata is native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. Most of the articles I read indicate that rain lilies are easy plants for gardeners. However, there seem to be some differences of opinion on their need for sun.
One article said they need sunlight, but ought to get afternoon shade. Another said they would do well under a tree. A video suggested full sun would be fine (though perhaps not here in Red Bluff).
Ours have been in a mostly shady spot on our north-facing front porch and they have done well. I suggest you experiment. Everybody agrees that they are called rain lilies because rain, or even perhaps a good watering, will bring on the blooms.
That certainly seemed to happen with ours. Providing well-drained soil’s also a good idea, since they’re bulb plants and could otherwise rot. All in all, they seem to be well-suited to the Tehama County climate, and they provide an awesome floral display.
The Red Bluff Garden Club is a member of the Cascade District, California Garden Clubs, Inc.; Pacific Region Garden Clubs, Inc.; and National Garden Clubs, Inc.
We meet at the First United Methodist Church, 525 David Ave., Red Bluff, at 1:00 pm on the last Saturday of each month except December and July. Come join us!.
