Hello! I know this post is very old but if someone can reply please do. I live in northern India and rain lilies grow here like crazy. I have rain lilies in many colors as well, but only the yellow one (Zephyranthes citrina) sets seed, why is that so? Anyways, I planted those seeds and they germinated with 3-4 days, its been a year but still the leaves remain thin and the mature, broader leaves and blooms are no where to be seen, can someone help me out? what am I doing wrong in this case? Also if other varieties cannot set seed, can I cross pollinate my pink and white rain lilies with the yellow ones to get some hybrids?

My rain guage shows we got 9/10 of an inch. It seemed like more. That brings the total up to about 3 1/2 inches since January. There's a chance we may get more. I hope it was enough to help bring the level of the aquifer up. A lot of water was flowing down our street due to so many paved areas uphill, but what happens to it? Most of it gathers in creek beds (that's where the water on our street was heading), joins rivers and flows out to the sea. There should be a way to slow down the flow and let it sink in. And there is. Bamburger Ranch has done a lot of hands on research in that area. By clearing out 'cedar' trees and planting native grasses, etc. on overgrazed dry land, creeks flowed that hadn't flowed for 50 or more years. Read about it when you have a few minutes, and go visit if you ever get the chance. Glad you enjoyed our happy/silly pictures :-) Here is a link that might be useful: Bamberger Ranch ... read the first linked article on the site at least ...

Did you ever think about creeping Phlox or that type of groundcover? Creeping phlox grows like crazy and fills in quickly. It also comes in so many different colored blooms! Even types of creeping Thyme could work well. My mother had thyme all over an embankment and it spread like crazy. Both of those plants don't have deep root systems and sort of float on top of the ground, they do not climb at all. Lilies and irises will work well, once they fill in. I have a section of embankment that I'm trying to cover with daylilies, but they still need mulch around them since they are just not filling in fast enough. Now my old fasioned ditch lilies have filled in tremendously, although they do get really tall. Lilies do need cut back at some point. Perriwinkle is a good groundcover too. My parents had that everywhere when I was a kid. It does not climb and can grow just about anywhere. If you ever need to rake dead leaves out of it, its very tolerant to abuse and doesn't get tangled in your rake the way ivies do, and you end up pulling out as much ivy as you do fallen leaves! Research ground covers, there are so many varieties, some evergreen shrub types and some are herbs, like thyme or lambs ear. I'm sure that you'll fine something to suit your situation.

Maryl, it is exciting to see the season start. It is the start of my day, doing an early walk with coffee in one hand and camera in other. And Julia, I am looking forward to your lovely pics. My foliage is always so thick and full that even if daylilies are blooming above the foliage, they are still nothing like yours that stand out so well WAY above the foliage. And alas, when I went "digging" today, my ......Magic lily marker was Linda's Magic and we all know this purple is not Linda's Magic. This marker was well down in the soil so I know it was not one easily moved which makes me wonder now where my real Linda's Magic is and what on earth is this one? Or could this have been a wrong plant sent and I am just now digging for tag? It is not new, have had it five or six years, but is in a spot that is hard to traverse so don't go scrounging for tags often in that area. On the hunt now!!!