Recently my friend Jeremy who works at Juniper Level Botanical Garden posted a phenomenal picture of an explosive bloom of rain lilies. Zephyranthes, also called rain or fairy lilies, is a huge genus of North and South American bulbs in the Amaryllis family. They get the name "rain lily" from the fact that their blooming responds to rain. And when we get a big summer thundersoak, flowers seem to almost instantaneous erupt from the ground as seen in the photo below.
Needless to say, I can't cover all the forms and species. But almost all the ones I've seen offered here in the US will grow and thrive in our sultry hot zone 8 climate. Because of their diminutive size, you obviously need to plant these where they can be appreciated, like in containers, in rock gardens, and along the margins of flower beds.
Other than that, this is an easy, fool-proof flower that will multiply and thrive no matter what nature throws at it. Their incredible resilience and rainbow of colors are what make them one of my favorite must-have bulbs for the southern garden.
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