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Zephyranthes katheriniae

 
Zephyranthes katheriniae
Fourth-year plants, finally developed enough to make a visual impact
rain lily

Common name rain lily
Family amaryllidaceae
Life cycle perennial (Z7-10)
Flowers red or yellow
Size 8"
Light sun
Cultural notes well drained soil
From seed germinate at room temperature
detailed seed-starting info below

Small species from Mexico whose natural forms include yellow- and pink-red-flowered versions – ours are all in the red camp, with a subtly yellow center (which seems to be the form most common in cultivation). The small flowers have rounded petals, and the leaves stay narrow in a grassy clump. I haven't been able to find any direct references to ultimate plant size, but most online photos show plants no taller than 6-8 inches.
Our plants were still quite small a year after being started from seed, but did put out some tentative blooms in our nursery area in late May (which confirmed that we grow the red variety, sometimes referred to as 'rubra'). The following spring I planted them out in a proper garden border, where they bloomed in late April, again rather sparsely. Finally, in their fourth year in the garden, the individual plants grew robust enough that the small cluster makes a bit of a splash when they come into bloom after a good rainstorm.

Zephyranthes katheriniae
First flower on second-year plant, none too impressive yet
rain lily
Third-year plant
Zephyranthes katheriniae
Fourth-year plant, robust with several flower stems per bulb

In our garden, this plant grows in the following areas: foundation border, rock garden zone

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Seed-starting details for this plant

  1. Seed from NARGS '18/'19 exchange. Baggy 70F (33%G, 10-13d). The ungerminated seed particles were flimsy, probably duds
  2. Seed from '20 garden. Baggy 70F (23%G, 11-16d)
  3. Seed from '21 garden. Baggy 70F (36%G, 6-14d)

Compared to most rain lilies, this species seems to set a smaller fraction of viable seed. Not a problem, just start a larger number of seeds.


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