Spider Lilies and Crinums

How to choose a spider lily

Beach Spider Lily is the tough one: an evergreen clump to about 70cm with pure white spider flowers through summer, growing on dunes, beside ponds and in the ordinary garden bed with equal ease. Peruvian Daffodil has larger white flowers with a green throat on a 60cm plant and is the choice for a pot or a feature position near a path where the scent is noticed. Eucharis Spider Lily is the compact form, about 50cm, for a small bed or a container. Wine Time is a crinum with deep burgundy leaves and pink trumpet flowers, the one for foliage contrast between flowerings.

The trade-off is toughness against size of flower: the beach spider lily takes the hardest conditions, the Peruvian daffodil gives the biggest bloom.

Where spider lilies work

These are plants for warm temperate, subtropical and tropical gardens, in full sun to part shade and in any soil from sand to clay; the beach spider lily and the crinum also grow in damp ground at the edge of a pond or in a low spot that floods after rain. They are frost tender, so in cool districts grow them in pots moved under cover in winter or in a sheltered north facing bed under a thick mulch. Use them in drifts under palms and frangipanis, along a path for the scent, around a water feature, or in large pots on a warm terrace. Companions for a beach garden are in the plants for coastal areas.

Planting and spacing

Space clumps 40cm to 60cm apart. Plant with the neck of the bulb at or just above the soil surface, never buried deep, into ground improved with compost. Water in and mulch. In pots use a quality potting mix in a container at least 30cm across and expect the clump to fill it in two years.

Care basics

Water regularly through spring and summer while the plants grow and flower, and keep them drier in winter. Feed in spring with a slow release fertiliser. Cut spent flower stems at the base and remove old outer leaves as they yellow. Lift and divide crowded clumps every four or five years after flowering. The pest to watch for is the lily caterpillar, a black and yellow striped grub that eats into the crown in summer; check the leaves weekly in warm weather and remove them by hand. Our beach spider lily growing guide covers division and pot culture in more detail.

Common questions

When do spider lilies flower?

Summer, from December to March in most warm districts, with repeat flushes after rain.

Are spider lilies frost tolerant?

No. They are warm climate bulbs. In cool districts grow them in pots or under a thick mulch in a sheltered spot.

Can spider lilies grow near a pond?

Yes. The beach spider lily and the crinums grow happily in damp soil at the water's edge.

What is eating the leaves of my crinum?

Almost certainly lily caterpillar. Remove the striped grubs by hand and cut away damaged leaves; the plant recovers.