Getting Rain Lilies to Bloom
Monica Swartz (Sat, 23 Nov 2013 19:33:11 PST)

Thanks for the floral tube clarification on the Cooperia, Alberto.
You are correct of course, the giant prairie lily has a shorter
floral tube. The wide leaf difference is still likely to work for
most folks growing these rain lilies because the original source for
the plants in cultivation was probably the Austin and San Antonio
area. A surprising number of species now common in horticulture were
collected and distributed from here. I used to think it was a result
of the concentration of plant geeks in Austin for the Universities
(like me). Now I believe that any plant that has evolved to survive
the extreme weather and dreadful alkaline clay soils here could be
planted nearly anywhere and grown by the blackest of thumbs. The area
has been a rich mine for horticulture.
Thanks for the complements, I'm a long-time fan of your botanical wizardry!

Monica Swartz randomly seesawing between the 90sF and freezing and
back again, a typical fall in Austin, TX