Beach Spider Lily

Beach Spider Lily (Hymenocallis littoralis) is the plant to reach for when a poolside or coastal bed needs to look lush without becoming a chore. It forms a clump of broad, strap like leaves to about 70cm tall and 80cm across, and through the warm months it throws up fragrant white flowers with long, spidery petals. Salt tolerant, humidity tolerant, heat tolerant and untroubled by wet feet, which is a rare combination.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers you can smell. The white spider flowers carry a real evening perfume, so a clump beside a path or a seating area earns its position twice.
• Tough where most plants fail. Salt and wet feet tolerant, so it copes with sea spray on an exposed block and with a low, slow draining corner.
• Evergreen structure. Even out of flower the broad glossy leaves give an architectural look that holds the bed together year round.
• Low maintenance by nature. No staking, no annual lifting and nothing to deadhead beyond spent stems. Clumps simply thicken over time.
• Neat scale. At around 70cm it reads as a substantial planting without blocking a view.

Where it works best

Poolside planting. The leaves are broad and clean rather than fine and shedding, so there is far less to skim out of the water than with grasses or palms. Plant 50cm apart for a continuous band.

Mass planting and edging. At 50cm spacing a drift closes into a solid green ribbon within a season or two, along a driveway, a fence line or the front of a bed.

Coastal gardens, pots and damp corners. Reliable in front line beach gardens, good in a large container, and unlike most bulbs it accepts moist ground.

Growing Beach Spider Lily in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade, in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It is frost tender, so in cool temperate and frosty districts grow it in a pot that can be moved to shelter.

Soil and planting depth. Sandy coastal soil is fine and so is heavier ground. Improve poor sand with compost and mulch 50mm deep. Set the bulb with its neck at or just above soil level, because burying the neck is the most common reason a clump refuses to flower.

Water and feed. Water regularly through the growing season, especially in pots and sand. A controlled release fertiliser in early spring and midsummer keeps the leaves large and the flowering generous.

Maintenance. Cut spent flower stems at the base and remove tired outer leaves. Lift and divide a congested clump in spring every three or four years, the easiest way to spread it. The bulbs are toxic if eaten, so avoid it in a garden where dogs dig.

What to expect when it arrives

It is supplied in tube, 140mm and 200mm sizes, with the smaller sizes sold in packs, which is the sensible way to buy for mass planting. Young plants arrive in leaf and are not usually in flower. That is normal: they flower in their first or second warm season once the clump has bulked up.

Plants are packed to travel upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect a fortnight of settling, then new leaves within four to six weeks in warm weather, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full tropical plant range
• Compare low maintenance plants
• How to prepare a garden bed before planting

Common questions

How far apart should I plant them?

50cm apart for a lush mass planting or a continuous border. Closer spacing crowds the clumps as they thicken and makes dividing them harder later.

Will it grow in Perth, Adelaide or Melbourne?

It suits warm temperate gardens, so coastal Perth and Adelaide and mild Melbourne positions work. In a frost prone garden keep it in a pot and shelter it over winter.

Why is my plant all leaves and no flowers?

Usually too much shade, or a bulb planted too deep. Move it into more sun and check that the neck sits at soil level rather than buried.