Hi Jessie,

Toad Lilies, while in the lily family, are not considered "true" lilies, meaning they are not in the lilium genius - one of more available types is Tricyrtis formsana, but there are others.
Checkout the link below, it has some good info on toad lilies. I have a couple that I planted new this year, and I am hoping they bloom this fall - am really looking forward to them brightening up my shade garden !

Here is a link that might be useful: toad lily info

Hi philomena,

I had a feeling... sorry for posting in the wrong place!

Thanks so much for the link. I will definitely be checking it out!

Do you feed your toady lilies at all?

Thanks again,

Jessie

No, I haven't really fed them much - I planted the bulbs in early spring, and beyond just digging in the decomposed leaves and mulch from last year, and a small bit of general purpose organic fertilizer in the spring, I don't do any major fertilization of my shade gardens. If I am putting in a new bed, then I add some amendments, but after that, I need those gardens to fend for themselves!

I went outside and checked just now, and I am pretty sure I do finally see some teeny flower buds starting to form, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed !

I am curious about them: what forum would cover them? Just bulbs? I can always use a fall bloomer.

They are just your typical perennial - fleshy rooted and herbaceous - much like many other plants that are commonly referred to as lilies but produce no bulb and are not true lilies: daylilies(Hemerocallis), blackberry lilies (Belamcanda), lily of the Nile (Agapanthus), lily of the valley (Convallaria).....etc.

Yes, Tricyrtis aren't true lilies, but they are a bulb-based plant. The ones I have this fall I got from Brent&Becky's in the spring.

I'd have to disagree with that :-) Tricyrtis have rhizomatous fleshy roots much like daylilies or bearded or Siberian iris do, not bulbs, corms or tubers. You will sometimes find them for sale by bulb suppliers but then there's a lot of non-bulb plants that are sold by these vendors. Tricyrtis are most often sold "in the green" (started plants) by retail garden centers and mail order nurseries rather than by bulb suppliers.

That's what I had thought, but I received a pack of 10 small bulbs, similar in size to muscari bulbs, not rhizomes or tubers - so who knows, maybe B&B sold me something else ! I guess I'll see when it blooms :-)

I have several kinds of toad lilies and I've never seen any kind of bulb at all. Its a fleshy rooted clumping perennnial. The Tojen will make a wonderful mass that lays down and just keeps creeping farther. Shirohotogisu is a clumping form that has arching sprays. Miyazaki is completely upright with upward facing flowers.

They all look great with fall anenomes, Chelone and Aconitum.