Serene nerines
They hit the limelight 137 years ago, but t these striking blooms are still autumn must-haves
WHEN 24-year-old Lillie Langtry sat for a portrait by John Everett Millais in 1878, she was captured holding a Guernsey lily. The portrait caused a stir when it was exhibited, leading to the beautiful young woman and these striking flowers hitting the height of fashion.
Lillie’s good looks led to requests to pose for other leading artists and she quickly became a fixture in high society. Oscar Wilde, William Gladstone and George Bernard Shaw were among Lillie’s friends, and she embarked on a high-profile affair with the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.
As a result of her colourful lifestyle, newspapers reported Lillie’s every move. Her clothes, hairstyles, jewellery and just about anything she touched set trends, which explains how Guernsey lilies (Nerine sarniensis) became a must-have flower at the tail end of the 19th Century.
Fortunately, nerines no longer need to be thrust into the limelight – canny gardeners know that there are no better flowers to brighten up autumn. This tribe of bulbs positively ooze glamour, producing a succession of stems carrying five to ten trumpetshaped flowers in shades of white, pink, red and orange. These appear from June to December, depending on variety, with most at their best between September and November.
Sometimes described as lilies in plant catalogues, nerines are completely unrelated to these summer flowers. They are actually members of the amaryllis family, along with snowdrops, daffodils and Amaryllis belladonna, another superb autumnflowering bulb.
Only 30 species are found in the wild, but plant breeding has left gardeners with more than 1,000 different species with much larger, vibrant flowers to choose from. Some are completely hardy, while others are more tender and will survive outdoors only in warm, frost-free places. All are suitable for containers.
Perhaps the most widely grown is Nerine bowdenii, a tall species with 20in candy-pink flowers that appear from September to early November. Sent to Britain by Athelstan Hall Cornish-Bowden in 1899, this South African beauty produces a cluster of strap-shaped leaves after flowers fade that add a verdant touch over winter. Commonly known as Bowden Cornish lily or Cape flower, it’s capa- ble of putting up with temperatures down to -15C. This trait has been passed on to its progeny, such as white N. bowdenii ‘Alba’ and N. bowdenii ‘Quinton Wells’, which boasts pink flowers with crimped petals on 2ft-tall stems. Most are grown solely for their exotic flowers, yet fuchsiapink N. bowdenii ‘Mollie Cowlie’ has an added extra – two-tone foliage. Unlike some plants, the variegation is modest, with thin white edges to the dark green leaves, although broader stripes sometimes appear.
Nerine sarniensis, or Guernsey lily, will just about cope with temperatures that drop to 0C for short periods. Don’t let that put you off growing it. If you don’t live in a mild part of the country, raise it in pots – its 18in-tall stems carry reddish-orange flowers from midsummer to November. The swept-back, wavy petals are marked with crystalline golden flecks that sparkle in sunshine.
Botanists used to think N. sarniensis was indigenous to Guernsey, as it thrives in many different habitats across the island. Sadly, they were completely wrong, as it actually comes from South Africa. Nobody really knows how they turned up on the Channel Island, but a local legend suggests that boxes of bulbs en route to Holland from the Cape of Good Hope were washed ashore from a shipwreck in the 17th Century.
For my money, the best for flower power is Nerine ‘Zeal Giant’, with its large reddish-pink blooms. Each 18in stem carries up to 12 trumpet-shaped flowers between September and October. It’s hardy to about -5C.
Good nurseries will offer a small range of pot-grown nerines at this time of year, but for a greater choice of varieties, you’ll need to order bulbs for planting later this autumn or in early winter, spacing them 6in apart in the ground.
Hardy nerines prefer a warm, sunny, sheltered place with really well-drained soil – a good spot is in a border at the foot of a south-facing wall. Nerines will sulk if they don’t have elbow room, so avoid planting them close to perennials or other vigorous bulbs.
Those who want to grow tender types should raise them in pots filled with equal multi-purpose and John Innes No 2 compost. Plant a single bulb in a small pot or several in a larger container. The tip of the bulb should be just beneath the surface. Keep containers in a frost-free place over winter, then put in a sunny spot outdoors over summer.
Move them to a sunny windowsill indoors to enjoy the flowers in autumn.