Easy-care amaryllis blooms without leaves
Naked Ladies bloom on smooth stems that appear in summer, long after the foliage has died back. Debbie Arrington
This is another installment in our Flowers in My Back Yard series, devoted to blooming plants.
The Naked Ladies are back, all over town!
That’s the common name of Amaryllis belladonna, a South African native that has made itself very much at home in Sacramento gardens. It got that evocative nickname because this bulb blooms on “bare” stems.
They’re also very common in other parts of the country where this adaptable perennial has naturalized. On the East Coast, they’re nicknamed “Jersey lilies.” Plant catalogs usually refer to them as “Belladonna lilies.”
But Naked Ladies is more memorable.
Perfect for Mediterranean climates, Naked Ladies produce strappy green foliage in winter, our wet season. The leaves emerge when the rain comes. It stays lush for months, then dies back by early summer.
About six weeks later, the flower shoots start to appear, coming right out of the ground (or the top of the exposed bulb). The smooth stems can reach 3 feet tall, crowned with 6-inch fragrant blooms. Their spicy floral scent has been used in many perfumes including Dolce & Gabbana Dolce, Lolita Lempicka and Yves St. Laurent Cinema.
Pale pink is the most common color, but hybrid Naked Ladies range from near white to deep magenta.
Naked Ladies usually appear in August, but mine have been popping up in late July the past few years. (I’ve kept track.) The blooms are stimulated by high heat, of which we’ve had plenty. Too much shade can keep Naked Ladies from flowering; they’ll still produce lush foliage but no namesake blooms.
Once they start blooming, they continue their show for three to four weeks. Each stem can have as many as a dozen blooms.
Since it “disappears” before blooming, this easy-care amaryllis is easy to forget about and readily naturalizes with little irrigation. (It’s deer-resistant, too.) Bulbs can live, multiply and keep flowering for decades.
After the blooms die back and the big stem withers, the bulb returns to dormancy until late November when the leaves first appear.
During this early fall dormancy, the bulbs can be dug and divided. Replant them, 8 to 12 inches apart, in a sunny location with good drainage and the top of the bulb exposed, poking out of the surface. (In snowy climates, they’re buried 6 inches deep.)
Newly divided bulbs may not bloom the next summer, but be patient. Once established, they keep putting on their summer show reliably for many years to come.
After dividing, share bulbs with friends. Doesn’t every Sacramento garden need a few Naked Ladies?
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact
Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16
During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.
* Plant potatoes.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.
* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.
* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Add asparagus to your edible garden
Soggy soil and what to do about it
Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
We don't talk (enough) about beets
Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Enhance your food with edible flowers
Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
How to grow summer salad greens
Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
Help pollinators help your garden
Battling early-season tomato pests
Where are the bees when you need them?
How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
Grow culinary herbs in containers
When to plant summer vegetables
Don't be fooled by these garden myths
Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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