I know I'm farther south than the two of you, but L. squamigera should be hardy for you. They do sometimes take a few years to settle in before blooming, and every bulb won't bloom every year, even after that. Mine are in heavy clay, and they do fine once established. Jodi, the leaf growth cycle you describe is natural - they will leaf out early in spring, then die down before summer. It wouldn't hurt to hit them with some balanced fertilizer when the leaves are in full growth, but other than that you can leave 'em alone. "Naked ("nekked" in these parts) Ladies" need as much sun as they can get while in leaf, but can handle deep shade after that (they don't need shade, but it helps the blooms last longer in the heat of summer), so siting them under deciduous trees works well. Nothing should be eating the bulbs, since, as amaryllids, they're at least unpalatable, and possibly toxic, to gnawing critters. I guess what I'm trying to say is that these Lycoris are pretty easy, but require lots of patience; hang in there!

I guess it's L. radiata I'm looking for....

Hi pdsavage, I'd suggest you start a new thread for these, since your line reads WANTED: For Trade Lycoris aka naked ladies. It 'could' be confusing folks and they might think you are looking for them. Also...not everyone would be as familiar with Lycoris aka naked ladies as they maybe would be with "Surprise Lilies'. I'd suggest on the new posting to check the box next to Have to Trade and maybe make the line read Hardy Surprise Lilies...and then make your trade suggestions and link to a pic of them. Whenever they are mentioned on the Bulb Forum, from what I can remember, members just go ape over them, Happy Trading! Sue

I have hostas and hardy ferns to trade for your Lycoris radiata. Email me if interested.