One of the most useful and most neglected of all summer-flowering bulbs is Ismene or hymenocallis, also known by the common names:
- Peruvian-daffodil
- Basket-flower
- Spider-lily
It is spectacular in the garden, especially when planted in masses, and it is delightfully fragrant and always striking in an arrangement.
The long-lasting, glossy, strap-like foliage adds a lush tropical quality to the garden and is also effective in arrangements.
It remains green right up to frost. And in addition to all this, the spider lily is free of pests and diseases.
We’ve grown them for 15 years (for the most part in the same location) with no sign of bugs, worms, borers, aphids, mites, or diseases.
Hymenocallis Varieties
The variety most commonly grown is Hymenocallis calathina, often listed in catalogs as Ismene calathina.
It grows 2′ feet high and has large, white, funnel-shaped flowers.
Hymenocallis festalis, a hybrid that suggests the name “spider-lily,” has very long, narrow, recurved segments surrounding the trumpet center.
You will never want to go without it once you have seen this hybrid in an arrangement.
Other hybrids are the following:
- Yellow Sulphur Queen
- The large-flowered Daphne
Ideal Growing Conditions
Spider lilies are not difficult to grow. They have a few decided preferences, but these can be met easily.
The bulbs are delivered in spring, but they should not be planted until all danger of frost is past.
Here are the following preferences for remarkable growth:
- Select a spot in the garden that receives full sun or very light, broken shade, and where the soil is—or can be made—rich and flaky.
- Given a good garden loam to start with, the spider lily’s chief need is plenty of humus.
- While forking over the bed, incorporate peat moss in the soil, or if you are lucky or foresighted and have a good supply of well-rotted compost on hand, add this to the soil, forking it in thoroughly.
- Plant the bulbs shallowly (3″ to 4″ inches deep) and water well.
In only a few days, green shoots will appear above ground, and before you know it, flower buds will show.
The flowering period is quite extended since all the blooms do not appear simultaneously.
After the bloom is over, do the following steps:
- Give the bed an application of complete plant food.
- Rake the fertilizer in lightly.
- Water well if the soil is at all dry.
The handsome foliage will then grow taller and glossier as the season advances.
As soon as frost strikes, here are the tips to follow:
- Dig up the bulbs and dry them gradually just as they come out of the ground—roots, tops, and all.
- We usually tie them together loosely and hang them upside down.
- When the tops wither, remove them but be sure to protect the fleshy roots which adhere to the bulbs. We place the bulbs in flats and keep them under a bench in our cool (60° degrees Fahrenheit) greenhouse.
Start The Spider-Lily Bulbs Indoors
Spider-lilies can be forced for early spring bloom by starting them indoors in January or February.
Place one bulb in a 5- or 6-inch pot with the top of the bulb just at the soil surface.
For very early outdoor bloom, the bulbs may be started in the same way in March or April, later plunging the pots into the garden beds.
Since the bulbs bloom so soon after being started, you can also have late summer flowers by holding the bulbs in a cool, dark, dry place from spring until early summer. Then set them out in the bed in the usual way.
In the South, spider-lilies are, of course, grown as year-round garden flowers. The bulbs increase rapidly by forming offsets.
The spider lily’s large, white, fragrant blooms are most effective massed against evergreens, a dense hedge, or a retaining wall.
They are “musts” for the scented garden and all-white plantings, and they are also often grouped in the mixed border, where they help pull together the brilliant colors.
Reader Shares Ismene Spider Lily Plant Experience
Ken Abbot shares his experiences with Ismene – the spider lily and why it is a favorite.
In my garden, Ismene is one of my best border plants. No matter how dry and hot our summer weather may become, the strap-like leaves of this flower never become discolored or lose their refreshing color.
At first I grew Ismene or Peruvian Daffodil for its fragrant curiously shaped blossoms, but now I grow it also for its interesting green foliage that remains bright all summer long.
Ismene bulbs, even those as small as 1-1/2″ inches in diameter, will bloom the first year. They may be started in pots in December and, if given a warm place, will bloom in the house in March. Or, they may be left in storage until they develop 3″ to 4″ inch sprouts and then planted in the garden when all danger of frost is over. Flowers will bloom in 16 to 18 days.
Bulbs may be planted in the herbaceous border or among other flowering plants in full sun or shade. Used in front of such plants as the hardy amaryllis, Lycoris squamigera and radiata, it combines well with them and also covers up their bare stems. It is also attractive when used as an accent plant.
When the first blossoms are about to open the entire stalk of this lily-like plant may be cut and carried into the house. There, every undeveloped bud will open and bloom.
During my many years of flower growing, I have had not one but many favorites in my garden but, taking it all in all, I am calling Ismene my favorite flower.