Tropical Giant spider lily bloom
Tropical Giant spring growth
Tropical Giant row planting
Tropical Giant bloom close-up
Tropical Giant white flowers
Tropical Giant bulb
Tropical Giant foliage
Tropical Giant bloom cluster
Tropical Giant planting depth guide
The Versatile Summer Spider Lily
Around the Southern Bulb Company, they often just call this bulb “the Tropical Giant.” Unlike other varieties of Hymenocallis, this bulb tends to be the most versatile and cold hardy. Often called a spider lily along the Gulf Regions, the foliage is long and strong, with a crisp dark green color. The foliage continues to look nice through the summer, making it a favorite accent plant used by landscapers in public gardens — take a walk along the River Walk in San Antonio and you’ll see plenty of them a short distance from the Alamo.
Summer Blooms
In the summer, around late June and July, spidery white blooms appear in an extremely prolific manner. During the height of their bloom, they appear like solid balls of white from a distance. The foliage reaches 3–4 feet tall and mixes well with other perennials like esperanza, salvia, lantana, fall-blooming asters, and malvaviscus.
Cold Hardy and Dependable
As one of the most cold-hardy varieties of this semi-tropical plant, Tropical Giants are known for multiplying quickly and surviving freezing temperatures. Chris Wiesinger has seen them on the Yucatan Peninsula and across Belize, where they grow with reckless abandon and never go dormant. In Zone 8, where temperatures recently reached 3°F, a little mulch is always a good idea. The foliage will die back with the first frost, but the bulbs are fine.
This is a great opportunity to clean around the beds, cut back your other perennials, and plant plenty of daffodils, snowflakes, and other spring-blooming bulbs that will carry your garden through the winter months.
Garden Texture
Texture is an important part of your garden. We love color, and that is what seems to draw our attention first, but it is the texture that provides the canvas and form. The Tropical Giant is one of our favorites for providing texture to your garden, especially in the 100+ degree temperatures of late summer. The lush foliage is also a great home for anoles — some of our favorite lizard friends.
Planting
Allow the very tip of the bulb to be visible above the dirt. Plant in well-drained soil where the bulb will receive 8+ hours of sun a day. It can absolutely be planted where it will receive full sun. Zones 8–10.
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Starting at $15.00