Aztec lily

Aztec lily: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Bulb about 35 cm tall and 15 cm wide, with an upright, hollow flower stem.

Leaves

Narrow and strap-like, about 30–40 cm long, dark green. They appear with the flower or shortly after.

Flower

One large, velvety red flower of about 10 cm per stem, in June and July. Orchid-like, with a curled lower lip.

Bulb

Round to egg-shaped, about 4–6 cm, with a dark tunic and a short neck. Forms offsets over time.

Rest

The leaves turn yellow in autumn and the bulb rests dry until spring.

Flowering: June–July · Plants: April–May

Why grow it?

• A remarkable velvety red flower that looks like an orchid and draws attention in June and July.
• Ideal in a pot on the patio or against a south-facing wall, where it gets a warm, sunny position.
• Often flowers year after year if you let it rest dry in winter.
• Compact: fits a small space and a trough with other heat-loving plants.
• Little work: watering, feeding in summer and storing dry in autumn.

Aztec lily: where does it grow best?

• Full sun in a warm, sheltered spot, for example against a south-facing wall or on the patio.
• Free-draining, humus-rich loam or sandy soil, neutral to chalky. In a pot: loose compost with some sand.
• Normally moist during growth; never wet, and certainly not during the rest period.
• Allow about 15 cm between bulbs; a 15–20 cm pot takes one bulb, a larger pot a few.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.35 m tall, 0.15 m wide

Hardiness

Frost tender: lift the bulbs or tubers before the frost and store them frost-free

Goes well with

• Agapanthus: Blue flowers in the same sun and warmth, a lovely contrast with the red.
• Pelargonium: A classic for a sunny patio pot, also with red or white flowers.
• Blue sage: Tall blue flower spikes that make the red stand out.
• Ornamental grasses: A low, fine grass such as feather grass gives a light, airy backdrop.

Aztec lily: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May.

1. Plant in April or May in a pot. In the border wait until after mid-May, when frost is no longer expected.
2. Use a pot with drainage holes and a loose, free-draining compost; the pot should be only a few centimetres wider than the bulb.
3. Plant the bulb so that the neck and top stay above the compost. In the border the top of the bulb sits just at the surface.
4. Water very little at planting; only water regularly once the first shoot appears.
5. Stand the pot in a warm, sunny place, preferably above 18 °C.

Care

Water

During growth keep the compost lightly moist without letting it stay wet. Water less from September and then stop.

Feeding

From the moment the bud appears until the end of August, give a liquid fertiliser for flowering plants every two weeks, preferably one rich in potassium.

Spent flowers

Cut off the stem after flowering. Leave the leaves until they yellow by themselves.

Rest period

From October no more water: the bulb rests dry and frost-free until spring.

Repotting

Every 2–3 years in spring in fresh compost. It likes a snug pot.

Tip: In summer stand the pot in a warm, sunny spot and feed every two weeks with a potassium-rich fertiliser until the end of August. From October stop watering and let the bulb rest dry and frost-free.

Aztec lily: when to prune it?

When: Sprekelia is not pruned. You only cut off the spent flower stem after flowering.

How:

• Cut the stem off just above the bulb when the flower is over.
• Leave the leaves until they are yellow and limp, then remove them.
• Remove only dead or damaged parts; green leaves feed the bulb.

Caution: Do not cut off the green leaves: the bulb needs them to flower next year.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Offsets

When repotting in spring, separate the small offsets and plant them on their own. They flower after a few years.

Seed

Sow ripe seed in spring in a warm room. Seedlings take a few years to reach their first flowering.

Aztec lily: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to 2 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Not hardy: it does not tolerate frost and cannot take temperatures below about 2 °C. Never leave it outdoors in the ground.
• Lift the bulb from the border in October or bring the pot indoors as soon as the leaves turn yellow. Keep it dry and frost-free, preferably at 10–15 °C.
• Check the bulbs now and then for rot and start watering again in April.

Diseases and pests

• Bulb rot: The bulb turns soft and rotten, especially in wet soil or during the rest period. Let the bulb rest dry and use free-draining compost.
• Red blotch: Red spots and streaks on the leaves and bulb. Remove affected parts, use fresh compost and avoid wetting the leaves. Throw away badly affected bulbs.
• No flowers: Too little sun, a bulb that is too small, too much nitrogen or no dry rest. Put it in the sun, feed with potassium and let it rest dry.
• Spider mites: Fine webs and yellowing leaves in warm, dry air. Spray the plant with water and make the air a little more humid.

Through the year

• March: Check the bulbs for rot. Start watering lightly.
• April: Pot up or plant in a pot. Place warm and sunny.
• May: Put outdoors after mid-May. Water regularly.
• June: Flowering begins. Feed every two weeks.
• July: Full flower. Water; cut off spent stems.
• August: The leaves keep growing. Last feed.
• September: Water less. The leaves start to yellow.
• October: Bring the pot indoors or lift the bulbs. Store dry and frost-free.
• November: Rest. No water.
• December: Rest. Dry and frost-free.

Edible and useful

Not edible. Belladonna lily, crinum, nerine, Aztec lily (sprekelia) and winter daffodil (sternbergia) belong to the daffodil family and, like daffodils, are poisonous in all their parts, especially the bulbs: they contain alkaloids such as lycorine, which cause vomiting, drooling, stomach ache and diarrhoea, in children as well as in dogs, cats and grazing animals. The bulbs look like onions or shallots but do not smell of onion when cut: never store them with the kitchen onions, not even the bulbs you keep dry over winter, such as sprekelia, and label them. The sap can irritate the skin: wear gloves when planting, dividing and cutting flower stems, and wash your hands afterwards. Keep a vase of nerines or belladonna lilies out of reach of cats, and call your vet if your dog or cat has chewed a bulb. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Did you know?

• In French it is called ‘lis de Saint-Jacques’ (St James’s lily): the red flower recalls the red cross of the Order of Santiago.
• The species name formosissima means ‘most beautiful’. It is the only species in the genus Sprekelia.
• Despite its orchid-like flower it is related to the amaryllis and the daffodil: it belongs to the same plant family.