The Rain Lily
The biological name of the rain lily is Zephyranthes grandiflora and it is a member of the amaryllis family. It is also known by such names as pink rain lily, pink storm lily, and rosepink zephyr lily. The name is accurate as the rain lily blooms several times throughout the summer and fall, whenever a rain shower follows a period of dry weather. Buds appear after the rain and open in a couple days. The flowers are generally three inches across and are a nice, pink-rose color. The leaves of the plant grow to be a foot tall.
The origins of the rain lily are thought to be in Central America. Today it is a plant that is seen all across the southern parts of the United States in gardens and in plant pots on steps and walkways. The rain lily grows well in pots and likes to be slightly over-crowded. You can plant as many as a dozen in one eight-inch pot. You can place them outside in pots or grow in the ground if you live in hardiness zones 8-11. Anywhere north and colder you will have to dig them up and bring them inside for the winter.
Because a rain lily blooms during rain after a dry period, you can get them to bloom sooner if you water them during a dry period. They like both full sun and partial shade. Many southerners plant rain lilies in rock gardens. They pop up with their flowers turned upward to the sky much like crocuses.
There are over 70 kinds of plants within this family of zephyr lilies. You have to be careful when purchasing them by ascertaining that they have been correctly labeled. The Zephyranthes rosea, for example, has much smaller flowers and needs even warmer temperatures to thrive. Unlike Canna Lilies, the rain lily is not a showy plant at all. There is also a white rain lily, Zephyranthes candida, which blossoms in the late summer and fall, and a yellow rain lily, Zephyranthes citrina, which has flowers in the fall. The rain lily is more closely related to the narcissus and snowdrops than to true lilies.
If you want to try out other pink rain lilies, the Zephyranthes morrisclintii is a good choice. It is an early bloomer, with flowers in the early spring. The Zephyrantes marcrosiphon is also a rain lily that has deep pink flowers. If you want to plant several different types of rain lilies, you could have flowers blooming from early spring until late in the fall.
As more and more people discover the beauty of the rain lily, the range of the plant is moving further north from its traditional southern roots. Because it grows easily and has virtually no pests or diseases, it is not too much work to dig up the bulbs in fall and keep them in a cool, dry spot until they are replanted in spring. People that have planted the rain lily say that it’s sudden bloom after rain is always a surprising burst of color.