Plant Library

Description:

This vigorous bulb variety produces narrow leaves in fall, that persist until the following spring, then die away; stunning clusters of blood-red trumpet blooms appear on stalks in late summer to early fall; an amazing accent plant for the fall garden

Ornamental Features

Oxblood Lily features bold clusters of crimson trumpet-shaped flowers with yellow anthers at the ends of the stems from late summer to early fall before the leaves. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its narrow leaves emerge chartreuse in spring, turning green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Oxblood 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 is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should never be pruned except to remove any dieback, as it tends not to take pruning well. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Oxblood Lily is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Oxblood Lily will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity extending to 16 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 12 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. 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! As this plant tends to go dormant in summer, it is best interplanted with late-season bloomers to hide the dying foliage.

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. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by multiplication of the underground bulbs.

Oxblood Lily is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.