Autumn crocus, Zephyranthes candida

This tough little bulb flowers in profusion after rain – hence its sometime alias, the storm lily. It has shiny evergreen foliage and the flowers are white and open, like fragile crocuses.

Description: It has shiny thin, dark-green, evergreen foliage and the flowers are white and open, like fragile crocuses.

Size: up to 20cm tall. Bulbs multiply rapidly to form a clump.

Cultivation: zephyranthes will grow in most regions in sun or semi-shade. Protect it from the hot sun in warm climates. It is not fussy about soil, even coping with poorly drained clay soils. It’s a little gem for containers (where a watering can may imitate rain, giving plenty of flowers) and it makes a delightful border in both formal and informal designs.

Special comments: the leaf tips can brown off in hot dry weather. Some people grow it as a border in place of mondo grass.