The Gloriosa Lily
The Gloriosa Lily is a tropical plant that originated in South Africa. It is also known by the names glory lily, climbing lily, or flaming lily. The Gloriosa Lily is a climbing vine so it needs to be planted near a tree, side of a house, or on a trellis. Its flowers are particularly beautiful, red with a yellow base that almost makes it look it is on fire. The Gloriosa Lily can grow up to eight feet the first season before it dies and has a dormant period. Its flowers are around five inches across.
Gloriosa Lilies are good outside year round if you live in Florida or another state with warm weather that is in hardiness zones 8 or 9. They like the temperature to be in the 60 to 70 degree range at night and 75 degrees and above during the day. Like other plants that grow from bulbs and tubers you can dig them up in the fall and replant in the spring if you should live in an area with colder temperatures. You can also begin the plants inside in pots and plant outside after all danger of frost is past.
When planting the Gloriosa Lily outside, place the tubers about two inches deep in the soil and around one foot apart. Make sure you have a trellis up for the vines to cling to before the plants really start growing. Most people fertilize the plants from the initial planting through the blooming season, which is usually in mid-summer. The Gloriosa Lily likes moist, but well-drained soil and will not grow if conditions are too wet. Every plant produces two new baby tubers each season so you can easily multiply the number of plants you have by removing and planting the baby bulbs. The tubers look a lot like two sweet potatoes grown together. The Gloriosa Lily grows best when the tubers are laid horizontally in the hole, not in the vertical, standing up position of other plants.
The Gloriosa Lily has one major fault and that is that all parts of the plant are poisonous. That means if you have kids or pets that are likely to wander into the garden it might not be the perfect plant for you. It contains the chemical colchicines and if ingested, poisoning symptoms will appear in two to six hours and the person must be taken to a hospital for treatment.
In spite of its poisonous qualities, the wild Gloriosa Lily has still been over-collected in Africa and parts of Asia because its tubers are used for medicinal purposes. This lily is the national flower of Zimbabwe.
The Gloriosa Lily is not bothered by pests or diseases. So, as long as you meet its needs for temperature, sunlight and water it will thrive. You will have a tall tropical-looking plant that is glorious in its summer display of colors.