Progress Plant II: The Fiery Beauty

When I was home last April, I brought a couple of Fireball Lily (Scadoxus multiflorus) bulbs back with me. I planted them in a pot but had no idea how long they would take to grow and bloom. Although I have seen them bloom back home all the time, this was the first time I was raising a couple of them on my own. Towards May end, one of them finally started to shoot up. I was very excited. And now they are in full bloom and are the pride of my little balcony garden. Here are a few glimpses of their pretty journey:


June 4, 2012: It was already their blooming time. So it was the flower bud which came up first


June 5, 2012: The second one is now awake


June 6, 2012: Boosted growth overnight


June 7, 2012: Fire Ball


June 8, 2012: The second one is trying to catch up fast


June 9, 2012: Full bloom


June 10, 2012: The twin blazes easily charms the eye


June 11, 2012: Basking in their own warmth


June 12, 2012: The first one is drooping now. But the tender leaves are now on their way to glory.
Fireball lilies are also called Blood lilies and as seen above, they have multiple tiny fiery red blooms growing in a spherical array. This is essentially a summer flower and blooms through June, July and August. They should to be planted ideally in early spring. In early autumn, when the flowers begin to die, the bulbs can be taken out and kept in a dry place, to be re-planted in the coming year. Else, the they can be left on with the leaves in the soil throughout the year and the flowers will again bloom in their time.


Though very attractive and gorgeous, the flowers of the fireball lilies are highly toxic if ingested. So children should be prevented from plucking them to avoid  ingestion.

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