Hurricane Lily Bulbs

Oxblood lilies are (hen-egg sized) small bulbs that grow stems topped with umbels of red or pink flowers that look similar to miniature amaryllis. Ox Blood lily bulbs send up one foot, single or multiple flower stalks, topped by 4 or more trumpet shaped flowers during the hurricane season (September). Buttery colored yellow stamens are located at the center of each flower. In Texas the oxblood lily is commonly known as the hurricane lily, because the massive natural plantings near the ocean flower during the hurricane season.

The Hurricane lily is often called the Oxblood lily in Texas, and the lily grows with pink flowers or red specimens along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States reaching down into South America. The pink flowered Hurricane lily is filmed in this video and rarely seen, but the red form is much more common in coastal USA, where it has become naturalized and found growing in huge communities that burst into bloom from its Summer dormancy, when the hurricane season begins accelerating in September. The bulbs grow to the size of a small hen's egg and multiply profusely under the proper growing conditions. One bulb may produce one or more flower stalks that are surrounded by onion--like leaves. The fall and winter growing plant tends to occur in large clumps and appears to be very much like a miniature amaryllis, hardly ever exceeding 8 inches in height.The Hurricane Lily is native to Argentina where it is commonly named The Hurricane Lily, producing pink vibrant color of the flower petals. In rich soils the flower stem topped with several flowers of deep red, rarely pink, with a trumpet shape and a yellow throat, and the flower grows about one foot tall. The blossoms of the Hurricane Lily appear to rise out of the ground overnight when the hurricane season begins, and the September rains begin to fall after storms. The Hurricane Lily is more cold hardy than other members of the Amaryllis family and will survive cold snaps as far North as Maryland if planted outside for protection next to a wall or near the base of a tree.