I've been waiting for someone to answer this question. My only experience with gloriosa lily is as a pot plant (with trellis) on my patio and my zone is much colder than yours. I started mine after frost date here and was sorry that I did not start them in the house. Our season was over just as they were starting to bloom nicely. (Frost date here is mid to late May and it is still cold at night.) I had the first flower by the end of August. They actually bloomed here well into September - after the time I had brought most overwintering plants back inside. I did not try to overwinter them. So 3 months from planting to bloom here, with not as much heat or humidity during that time as zone 8 would have & also mostly lower overnight temps from start to finish. Hope this info helps a little!

You could try a different forum, maybe tropicals? Part of the reason you're not getting much help here is that Gloriosa Lilies aren't actually lilies, but a climbing vine native to tropical areas. It's name isn't Lilium but Gloriosum superba.

Jeanne

Thanks for the info, Jeanne. I didn't know that. It'll certainly point me in the right direction.

Amy