Greetings, fellow sun-gatherer. We are the Nerine, a genus of bulbs known to you as Guernsey or Spider Lilies. To see us thrive, to coax our brilliant, shimmering blooms from the earth each autumn, you must understand our world from our perspective. We speak not of your calendars, but of light, of dormancy, of the perfect moment to surge forth. Listen, and learn our ways.
Our most sacred need is brilliant, unfiltered sunlight. We are children of the southern African sun, and we demand a full day's bask to manufacture the strength for our spectacular floral display. Plant our bulbs in a location that receives a minimum of six hours of direct sun. More is always better. Equally vital is our disdain for wet feet. Our bulbs are prone to rot if left in soggy, waterlogged soil. You must provide us with exceptionally well-draining soil. Amend heavy clay with generous amounts of gravel, grit, or coarse sand. Think of our ideal home as a sunny, sloping bank where water never pools. Finally, we prefer to be a bit crowded. Do not plant us too deep or too far apart; a depth of about 3-4 inches with the neck just above the soil line and a spacing of 5-7 inches is perfect. This tight community encourages us to flourish and bloom reliably.
Our life cycle may seem counterintuitive, but it is our nature. We send up our strappy, green leaves in the spring. These leaves gather your sun's energy throughout the season, storing it in our bulb for the grand event to come. As summer heat peaks and daylight begins to wane, our leaves will yellow and die back. Do not be alarmed; this is our signal to enter a brief period of dormancy. This rest is crucial. Then, as the air cools in early to mid-autumn, we surge forth again—not with leaves, but with naked flower stalks (scapes) that bear clusters of exquisite, intricately shaped flowers in brilliant shades of pink, red, and white. After flowering, we may produce a few winter leaves to continue gathering energy before repeating the cycle.
We are not heavy feeders, but a thoughtful offering of nourishment aids our vigor. As our flower stalks emerge in late summer or early autumn, provide a light application of a balanced, low-nitrogen fertilizer or a formula designed specifically for bulbs. This supports the massive effort of blooming. Water us during active growth in spring and autumn if conditions are dry, but withhold water almost entirely during our summer dormancy. As we mature and become happily crowded, we will produce offsets, forming large clumps. You can lift and divide these clumps every four to five years, immediately after the flowers fade or as the foliage dies down in late spring. This reinvigorates us and allows you to spread our beauty to new parts of your garden.
We are best suited to your USDA hardiness zones 7-10. In zones 7 and 8, a thick winter mulch applied after the ground freezes is appreciated to protect our necks from severe freeze-thaw cycles. In zones 9 and 10, we are perfectly content with minimal winter care. In colder zones (6 and below), you must treat us as tender bulbs. Lift us after our foliage dies down in late spring, store us in a dry, cool place for the summer, and replant us in the autumn. For gardeners in exceptionally hot and humid summer regions (like the Deep South), ensure our critical summer dormancy is spent in a dry, baked soil. Do not irrigate our planting bed during this time.
