Plant Library

Other Names:  Nerine Lily, Guernsey Lily, Jersey Lily

Description:

This variety produces a mound of narrow green foliage; stunning rose-pink blooms with curled petals appear in late summer until frost when little else is blooming; a perfect accent in the garden, containers or massed along borders

Ornamental Features

Bowden Cornish Lily features bold clusters of rose trumpet-shaped flowers with lilac purple overtones rising above the foliage from late summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its narrow leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Bowden Cornish Lily is an herbaceous perennial with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Bowden Cornish Lily is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Bowden Cornish Lily will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity extending to 30 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 16 inches apart. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.

Bowden Cornish Lily is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.