Renga Renga and Arthropodium Lilies

How to choose a renga renga lily

The New Zealand Rock Lily is the species: broad, arching leaves sixty to seventy centimetres long and tall sprays of white star flowers with purple and yellow stamens, to about ninety centimetres, in late spring and early summer. The Matapouri Bay Renga Renga Lily is a well known broad leaved selection for bold mass planting. The Te Puna Renga Renga Lily is more compact, forty to fifty centimetres high and wide, with narrower leaves and shorter flower sprays, so it suits edging, small gardens and pots.

Two Australian natives belong to the same genus. The Pale Vanilla Lily has grass like, blue green leaves and branched stems to a metre carrying many small, nodding, pale lilac to white flowers with a vanilla scent. The Chocolate Lily carries mauve flowers in spring with a scent of chocolate. Both grow from tubers and suit native meadow and grassland plantings.

Where renga renga lilies grow

Renga renga lilies are plants for shade and part shade. They take morning sun, but the soft leaves scorch in hot afternoon sun. Once established they cope with dry shade under trees, where few other plants look as lush, and they tolerate coastal conditions. They handle light frost only, so in cold districts plant them under the cover of trees or eaves.

The native vanilla and chocolate lilies are different. They grow in sun or part shade in well drained soil and are frost hardy. For companions, see our plants for full shade, the grasses and strappy leaf plants and clivias, which enjoy the same conditions.

Planting and spacing

Mass plant the New Zealand rock lily and Matapouri Bay fifty to sixty centimetres apart, and Te Puna about forty centimetres apart. Dig compost into the soil before planting, particularly under established trees, and mulch well. Plant the native lilies in drifts, twenty to thirty centimetres apart, among native grasses and wildflowers.

Care basics

Water regularly through the first summer. After that, renga renga lilies need only occasional deep watering in dry spells. Feed in spring with a slow release fertiliser, cut off the spent flower stems, and pull away tired outer leaves. Divide large clumps in autumn.

Snails and slugs love the leaves. Check after rain, and protect young plants in particular, because chewed foliage is the one thing that spoils an otherwise easy plant.

The vanilla and chocolate lilies die back to their tubers after flowering and seeding, then reshoot with autumn rain. Mark where they are and leave them undisturbed while they rest. The renga renga lily growing guide covers planting under trees and snail control in full.

Common questions

Can renga renga lily grow in full sun?

It prefers shade or morning sun. In hot afternoon sun the leaves scorch and yellow.

What is eating holes in the leaves?

Almost always snails and slugs. Control them after rain and the new leaves come through clean.

My vanilla lily has disappeared. Is it dead?

No. It dies back to tubers after seeding and reshoots with autumn rain.

Does renga renga lily tolerate frost?

Light frost only. Under trees or eaves it comes through most winters unmarked.