Want to add some wow to your garden? These special garden beauties make a San Antonio statement with vibrant blooms and striking shapes that not only add interest and excitement, but are tough-as-nails for our climate.
‘Moy Grande’ Hibiscus
Hibiscus x ‘Moy Grande’
This is a local favorite because it was bred here at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens by Dr. Ying Doon Moy. Have plenty of space for the ‘Moy Grande’ because it will get big. The plant grows to 5 feet tall and wide. The spectacular part of this plant are the flowers- the largest perennial rose mallows in existence! Each flower lasts one day, but new ones open each morning from June through September. They are so big that people ask “Is that real?” The blooms are especially fun to share with friends because they look fresh without water for many hours. Place blooms on a desk or countertop and enjoy!
Spider Lily
Hymenocallis
The large, glossy leaves of spider lily will look beautiful during all but the coldest months of the year. Sometime during the summer the bulbs will send up flower shoots on large stalks. The large, white flowers are dramatic and spider-like. Pests rarely bother spider lily and they thrive in shade or partial sun with very little water.
Spider lilies are an old fashioned flower with white blossoms that appear during mid-summer. Glossy leaves grow in attractive clumps generally up to 2 feet long. They thrive in semi-shady areas. This is a tough plant, but the foliage will melt if not protected during cold snaps.
Crinum Lily
Crinum sp. and hybrids
The crinum leaves are not quite as pretty as the spider lily, but can be dramatic and large. They are among the largest true bulbs with very old specimens weighing up to forty pounds. Species are found with flower colors of white, pink, rose or even striped. Flowers appear during summer months. The bulbs will prosper in difficult soil conditions in sun or shade so long as they have good drainage. The leaves recover from hard freezes.
A tough-as-nails, crinum lily is an old fashioned favorite with cascading mounds of evergreen foliage.
Oxblood Lily
Rhodophiala bifida
The delicate leaves of Oxblood Lily are hardly noticeable in shady gardens. But, after a late summer rainstorm, there will be a sudden profusion of small, deep red flowers. For more information, read Garden Bulbs for the South by Scott Ogden.
Oxblood Lily is also known as the ‘Schoolhouse Lily’ because of its coincidental bloom time.
