 |
Habranthus robustus |
 |
| | Growing in our Texas garden, surrounded by partridge peas |
|
| | Our Pennsylvania potted specimen |
| Synonym(s) |
Zephyranthes robusta |
| Common name |
Argentine rain lily |
| Family |
amaryllidaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z8-10) |
| Flowers |
pink (summer) |
| Size |
8-10" |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
From seed  |
germinate at room temperature; self-seeds sparingly in our garden
detailed seed-starting info below
|
In Pennsylvania, I didn't fuss much with tender bulbs, but I made an exception for this one, to see if it would live up to the raves. Grown from seed one year, it overwintered in a pot in our garage, and didn't pose too much trouble. Probably due to its cramped quarters, combined with lack of fertilizing, it didn't make a magnificent display, but I was pleased to see its soft-pink flower appear suddenly one day in early July.
Fast forward a good number of years, and we find ourselves transplanted from Pennsylvania to Texas, where these bulbs are perfectly hardy. I grew a new batch from seed, and was rewarded in the years following with a good number of sturdy plants (they multiply, too). The flowers are somewhat different in form from the ones I'd seen in Pennsylvania, with a floppier (handkerchief-like) habit and pointier petals. Looking at internet photos, there does seem to be a good bit of variability in flower form. They start blooming a little later than many other rain lilies in our garden, but make a nice splash when they're finally ready, typically sometime in May – after which they flower sporadically throughout the warm season. I appreciate the many flowers they throw at me.
|
| | Happily living in the rock garden |
| 
| | A few flowers among many seedheads |
|
| | In full bloom in late May, first flush of the season |
|
| | Four days later, the show is over. The aftermath has its own charm. |
|
| | Five days later: plump seedheads |
| 
| | Two weeks later: ripened seedheads spilling their contents |
|
| | Each seed pod splays open to reveal rows of tightly packed flat black seeds |
|
In our garden, this plant grows in the following areas: back fence border, Houston rock garden, foundation border, houston front yard About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Habranthus robustus
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Jim | Jul 10, 2008 | This one happily survives year round in the ground here in zone 7b - it just needs lots of sun. |
| Carlota | Aug 20, 2013 | Do deer eat them?
I don't know – maybe somebody else will chime in. |
- Seed from HPS/MAG '05/'06 exchange. Baggy 70F (100%G, 7-12d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 65F (60%G, 6-14d)
- Seed from NARGS '17/'18 exchange. Baggy 70F (88%G, 4-10d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 70F (71%G, 5-14d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 70F (55%G, 5-10d)
- Seed from '20 garden. Baggy 70F (100%G, 9-12d)
- Same seed as above. Baggy 70F (72%G, 8-13d)
I welcome comments about my web pages; feel free to use the form below to
leave feedback about this particular page. For the benefit of other visitors
to these pages, I will list any relevant comments you leave, and if
appropriate, I will update my page to correct mis-information. Faced with an
ever-increasing onslaught of spam, I'm forced to discard any comments including
html markups. Please submit your comment as plain text. If you have a
comment about the website as a whole, please leave it in my
guestbook. If you
have a question that needs a personal response, please
e-mail me.
Last modified:
January 06, 2023
Contact me
|