Blood lily: care, location & flowering time
The blood lily is a special potted plant for the garden or living room. Discover here how to plant and care for them.
Few have a blood lily at home, although the striking scarlet flower is a real beauty. In this article, you will learn how to properly care for the tropical plant and in what places it grows well.
Contents
Blood lily: flowering time, appearance and characteristics
An exceptional beauty for your garden is the Scadoxus multiflorus, also called blood lily or fireball lily. Until the late 20th century, the blood lily still belonged to the genus of blood lilies (Haemanthus) and was called Haemanthus multiflorus. However, by an adaptation of the names, from today’s, botanical point of view, it is classified as a Scadoxus and belongs to the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). The genus name ‘blood lily’ and the trivial plant name ‘blood lily’ can easily be confused.
Originally, the perennial herbaceous plant comes from the tropical areas of Africa and the humid parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Typically, it is found in the shade of large trees or on riverbanks. The blood lily thrives both in the lowlands and on mountain slopes. It grows on forest edges, in closed tropical forests or rarely in open areas.
The survival organ of the blood lily is a bulb. In the spring, it begins to form single, wavy leaves about 40 cm long. These converge in a purple spotted false stem formed by the leaf sheaths. The development of the 60 to 90 cm long flowerhead lasts until flowering in July or late August but can vary from year to year. Most often, the blood lily blooms before the leaves are fully developed. The showy, pink to scarlet flower is hermaphroditic and forms an umbel. Their stamens are conspicuously protruding.
The most beautiful varieties
There are three subspecies of blood lily, which are very popular for the home garden:
- ‘Scadoxus multiflorus subsp. katharinae‘: This is the most commonly cultivated variety of the blood lily. It originates from the south of Africa, grows up to 120 cm tall, bears orange-red flowers only in late summer, and its pseudo stem is often spotted purple.
- ‘Scadoxus multiflorus subsp. longitubus‘: Native to the deep tropical forests of West Africa, flowering only in late summer, rarely cultivated.
- ‘Scadoxus multiflorus subsp. multiflorus‘: Native to the southern tropics of Africa and the tropical parts of the Arabian Peninsula, fiery red flowers.
The three subspecies differ slightly visually in the structure of the flower.
Planting in a pot: location, substrate and more
Blood lilies are ideal for growing in pots. In summer it needs a semi-sunny, but bright location. Outside temperatures of at least 15 °C are a must because of its tropical origin. Those who want to keep the blood lily as a houseplant should place it near a window at a sufficient distance from heaters. Prolonged direct sunlight should be avoided, otherwise the leaves may be burned. If the location is too dark, the blood lily will form elongated, light green shoots to reach light and photosynthesize. This is known as phototropism. In summer, the blood lily also likes to soak up the sun outdoors, an off-sun location without direct midday sun is well suited. Since the plant requires warm temperatures, it should not be moved from its winter quarters to the outdoors too early.
A potting soil mixed with sand and gravel in the ratio 2:1:1 makes a suitable substrate. Thus, a mixture should be used that retains nutrients and water well but is at the same time permeable to water and well aerated. This creates a permanently moist, but never wet, root zone. A very slightly acidic potting soil such as our Plantura Organic Flower Compost is suitable for this purpose. By using compost instead of peat, it is more sustainable and is also particularly good at retaining water and providing nutrients. This creates an ideal habitat for the blood lily.
Plant bulbs should be inserted to a depth to ensure that the upper part still protrudes about a finger’s width and is not covered with soil. Then the bulbs should be lightly pressed, briefly watered and moved to their warm location out of the sun. Root formation and leaf growth begins after a few days.
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Summary: location, substrate and planting blood lily
- Semi-sunny, bright location with temperatures above 15 °C and without direct sunlight.
- Substrate mixture of potting soil, sand and gravel in a ratio of 2:1:1 to retain water well and avoid waterlogging.
- Let planting bulbs protrude about a finger’s width from the soil, press down lightly and water to encourage root development.
Caring for blood lily
Blood lily requires little care, provided that its annual rhythm is observed. In summer, fertilise and water differently than during the cool overwintering period. The change of care is also a prerequisite for reliable flowering.
Watering and fertilising
During the warm season, the root ball of the blood lily should be watered regularly. It may become dry but should not completely dry out. If the soil surface in the pot is dry, it is time for fresh water. During the foliage-free phase in the winter quarters, the root ball should be watered from time to time so that it does not dry out. A finger test to see if the soil is still moist is a good check.
In addition to regular watering, blood lilies should be fertilised every one to two weeks during the growing season. A liquid ornamental plant fertiliser such as our Plantura Liquid Flower Food is ideal for this purpose. It quickly provides the plant with all the essential nutrients and ensures healthy growth. When repotting, however, a fertiliser in granular form should be used to provide a basic fertiliser with a long-term effect. Flower fertilisers such as our Plantura Flower Food are rich in phosphorus. This is not only absolutely necessary for flower formation but is also an important part of the plant’s energy balance, for example.
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Repotting blood lily
The blood lily is sensitive to being disturbed, which is why it should be repotted only every two to three years. However, narrow planting containers and only limited space for the roots are not a problem – as long as the nutrient supply is right, the blood lily will still thrive in full splendour. The best time for repotting is spring – between February and April – when vegetation is still dormant. To do this, simply remove the root ball from the old container. Excess soil should be removed before placing the plant in the new pot. Then the pot can be filled again with a loose potting soil-sand-gravel mixture (ratio of 2:1:1), so that the upper part of the bulb protrudes from the soil by the width of a finger.
Why does my blood lily not bloom?
If the blood lily does not form flowers, the reason is usually stress during the phase of flower induction, i.e., preparation for flowering. Flowering is induced only when the plant was able to collect enough energy in its bulb after flowering and it is sufficiently cool and humid in the wintering period. If this is not the case, the flowering of the blood lily is not stimulated to protect its reserves, and only green leaves will appear in the following year, simply to ensure the survival of the plant. So, it is absolutely necessary to properly overwinter the blood lily.
Overwintering blood lily
For overwintering, rooms with cool temperatures between 10 to 15 °C maximum are suitable. If the leaves begin to turn yellow, it is time to stop watering. Since the blood lily loses all its leaves, it tolerates being overwintered in completely dark rooms, such as the basement. The bulbs are kept in the dry to slightly moist soil. During winter dormancy blood lily should be watered only sparingly to prevent the soil from drying out. Attention: It must not get too wet. Yellow discoloured leaves can be cut off, but after winter they will also fall off naturally. At the beginning of the new growing season in the spring, the plant should be slowly accustomed to the warmer temperatures, so that it is not stressed. A slightly warmer room works well for this. After a few days, it can then be returned to its normal location.
If the blood lily is cultivated in a pot outdoors, it should move to the winter quarters already from September, as it does not tolerate frost.
Is the blood lily poisonous?
The bulbs of the blood lily are poisonous. They contain alkaloids, especially lycorine, in quite large quantities. If consumed, this can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, and in higher doses can even lead to paralysis and circulatory failure.
