Gloriosa Lily Bulb Garden Care Information

The gloriosa lily--exotic red blooms with streaks of yellow on a climbing vine--will add a splash of life to any garden. This climbing lily is easier than you might think to grow.
Refer to commerical gloriosa lily production guide if you are a commercial grower.

Gloriosa lily tubers, otherwise known as the climbing lily or flame lily, are high fashion flowers. Gloriosa lily bulbs are difficult to find and Oregon Coastal Flowers supplements their own production with gloriosa lily tubers from the world’s best bulb growers.

Although this specialty flower bulb is a mystery to many, gloriosa lily bulbs have been grown and sold by ZCallas since 1998. Gloriosa lily bulbs have been distributed to gardens across America with astonishing success.

Gloriosa lily bulbs are hardy in zones eight and nine. In cooler climates the bulbs will need to be dug up in fall after full senescence and stored in moist peat moss over the winter. Gloriosa lily bulbs require at least 6-8 weeks rest period, so it is important they do not dry out during storage. Gloriosa lily bulbs cannot handle a freeze, either in storage or down to bulb depth during their growing cycle. In the northern hemisphere store through the winter and plant again in the spring with warmer temperatures.

Gloriosa lily tubers are a relative to the lily family and therefore require high light levels and warm temperatures to germinate, flower, and bulk up for the following season. It is important to have well draining soil media as tubers will not survive wet, water-logged soils.

Tubers should be planted horizontally (laying flat) with the growing tip 2-3 inches below the surface. Because gloriosa lilies are a vine they require something to climb or attach to. In the garden, this can include a tree, fence, or arbor. The larger the tuber planted, the taller the flower stem as well as an increase in flowers produced. The larger the tuber the more flowers.

Gloriosa lily bulbs are a fork tuber with two legs, however, they are generally sold as a single leg. At the tip of the leg is the growth tip. The tip produces a wiry vine that on the plant can be in flower from 6 to 8 weeks. The bottom flowers open first and continue developing as the buds open up to the top.

As a cut flower, gloriosa lily flowers can last up to 4 weeks, however, by cutting the flower from the plant, the bulb will be smaller than what you started with. By not cutting the flower, the bulb will be much larger than what you started with.

After flowering, the growth tip produces another fork tuber. So each mother gloriosa bulb (fork tuber) produces 2 additional daughter gloriosa lily bulbs. In other words, gloriosa lily bulbs will double in numbers each year.