I wouldn't wash them, just lay them out and plant as soon as it warms up enough for you to get out. Very doubtful you will get bloom this year, but it is very hard to kill naked lady bulbs. Tulips, as noted before, are a different story. I planted tulips years ago, but when I found out that they don't rebloom after a couple of years, I didn't purchase more. The greenery comes up, & if they don't bloom, I dig them up, divide & replant. Usually I will get some nice blooms for a couple of years, til they need to be divided again. Really not worth the trouble, but I have a hard time tossing plants :)

Hi gardenman50, Another member just asked about this recently, and the consensus of the members here is that they like to be planted shallowly, with their shoulders at, or just below the soil line. I am assuming this would be right for your area. You might want to add your garden zone and location, to your member profile so it will automatically be shown when you post with questions or answers. Just go to the Member Pages link found in the green banner at the bottom of any page. The zone and location go in the one box provided for garden zone. See I am zone 5/6 S IN Sue...chemocurl Here is a link that might be useful: Will Lycoris grow from purchased, packaged bulbs?

Is there a special method for growing these? Where I grew up in the midwest, they survive for decades. My Dad has a bunch that has been growing in the sme unprotected location for 50 years. The winters there are frigid, down into the negative digits, and the summers are hot and humid. I cant get much out of them here (Vancouver Wa). I've bought the bulbs at Fred Meyer and also by mail order. They send up some leaves in Spring, but havn't bloomed in the 5 years that I have been trying. Most of the bunches have died out. I would like to buy more (I see them in the store again) but they are expensive. Most of my other bulbs and similar plants do fine, - lilies, narcissus, iris, amercrinum, nerine; tulips tend to die off after a few years. But the Lycoris just isnt thriving.

Lycoris don't bloom as reliably after being disturbed, take a longer time to adjust, not as suited for instant gratification (or soon gratification) that so many other bulbs offer. I've had L. squamigera, L. aurea, and L. radiata. The bloom time of those is very short. You could go on vacation for a long week & miss the show. Agree that the others are unlikely to be hardy in your zone, but L. squamigera is said to be hardy to Z5 on most sites, and I found that to be true in central OH. If there are cultivars of it out there, I'm not aware, but have never looked for any.