How to grow nerines

Choosing a nerine

Choosing nerines depends on whether you want to leave them growing in the garden all year round – the hardy ones - or whether you have a frost-free greenhouse to overwinter the tender types.

• If you have a sunny, warm spot and well-drained soil in your garden, the hardy Nerine bowdenii will grow and flower well in these conditions as temperatures drop in mid September to late October. This species and its cultivars are the most commonly sold nerines.
• Consider growing Nerine undulata Flexuosa Group outdoors too, but as it flowers in November to December, it's more at risk from weather damage, so it's best suited to warmer gardens (such as those in cities) or grown in pots and overwintered in a greenhouse or conservatory
• Tender nerines such as the scarlet-flowered Nerine sarniensis(the Guernsey lily) and its cultivars, are ideal for cool greenhouse display, flowering in late autumn. But as a species that hails from the mountainous region of the Cape, it doesn't want to bake in summer above around 30^oC ideally.

Buying nerines

Nerine bowdenii is on sale in garden centres as dry bulbs

These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes. from late summer and as potted, flowering plants in autumn. Nerine bulbs are also available by mail-order from bulb specialists in spring and autumn.

More in–depth information

If you're interested in specialist growing then follow this link to a report of a Nerine and Amaryllid Society study day with tips on growing and morphology.

When to plant nerines

Plant nerine bulbs

These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes. as soon as possible after purchase.
The same applies to hardy Nerine bowdenii that have been potted and can be planted out in the garden even if they are in growth (have leaves or flower).

Where to plant nerine

• For hardy nerine such as Nerine bowdenii, pick a warm, sheltered spot such as a bed near a sunny wall in well-draining soil that retains moisture.
• Grow frost-tender nerines such as Nerine sarniensis (Guernsey lily) in pots as these will need to be moved inside for winter and outside for summer or shaded to reduce scorching temperatures

How to plant nerine

Plant bulbs of Nerine bowdenii 10cm (4in) apart and with the neck of the bulb showing above ground. Mulch

Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb). It is used to provide frost protection, improve plant growth by adding nutrients or increasing organic matter content, reducing water loss from the soil, for decorative purposes and suppressing weeds. Examples include well-rotted garden compost and manure, chipped bark, gravel, grit and slate chippings. around them with a layer of grit. They like to be planted on their own in clumps rather than mixed in with perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs. plants.

When growing in containers, use an open, free-draining growing medium ( compost

Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own. ) made of equal amounts of peat-free John Innes No. 3, peat-free multipurpose compost and gritty sand. A 10cm (4in) pot is suitable for a single bulb. When planting several bulbs together, choose a container size in which the bulbs will be close together, but not touching. Plant with the neck of the bulb just exposed. Tender nerines, Nerine sarniensis and N. undulata, will need additional care over winter (see below).
While you can grow the hardier N. bowdenii in pots, these do not want to be indoors all year round as they need that drop in temperature in late summer to flower.

Bulbs

These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes. in pots will need repotting when dormant

Dormancy refers to a period of inactivity in plants, during which they slow down or stop their growth, conserving energy and resources. This is a natural process that helps them survive harsh conditions, such as winter or drought. Dormancy in seeds is a mechanism that prevents them germinating until environmental conditions are favourable for growth. in summer every two to three years. They often don’t need a bigger pot, just a fresh compost

Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own. mix to support good growth and flowering.

Watering

Water is important for nerine bulbs to grow and produce flowers, even though the popular misconception is that they like baking in summer.

In the garden (hardy species and their cultivars)

If you plant Nerine bowdenii at the base of a wall, they can be shielded from rain and become overly dry, so watering once a week during dry weather through the growing season (April to July). The best indicator to stop watering is when the foliage naturally dies back in summer.

Pot-grown nerines (tender species and their cultivars)

Begin watering pot-grown nerine as soon as their flower spikes emerge in autumn. Increase frequency as the flowers and then the foliage develop, but allow the surface to dry between waterings. Check regularly as the surface can become dry quickly during warm weather. You can stop watering your nerines in pots when the leaves turn yellow and begin die down in late summer.

Feeding

Feeding bulbs grown in containers can help them reach a good size and improve flowering. From January to April feed them every two weeks with a phosphorous and potassium-rich liquid feed, such as a tomato fertiliser, diluted to half strength (i.e. half what it says on the label for bulbs or containers) to stimulate flower production.

Deadheading

Unless you fancy raising some new plants from seed, deadhead

Deadheading is the process of removing spent flowers from plants to encourage more blooms and prevent seed production. This helps to redirect the plant's energy into producing more flowers rather than producing seeds. the flowers after they have finished, so that the nerine’s energy is used to build the bulb for next year’s flowering, rather than for seed production.

Overwintering

Nerine bowdenii planted in the garden require no special treatment overwinter.
For tender species such as Nerine sarniensis (Guernsey lily), once nights get colder in autumn, move pots of into a cool greenhouse for the winter. They will need a minimum temperature of 7°C (45°F) as the bulbs rot away at lower temperatures.

Nerines don’t really need pruning. Just pull away leaves after they have died back in late summer, and cut off spent flower stems at the base in the autumn.

You can increase your stock of nerines by dividing them, sowing seed or chipping. Learn more about these techniques on our propagating bulbs page.

Division

Repotting is a good time to divide pot-grown, tender species. Hardier types, (N. bowdenii cvs) are happy to grow in congested clumps and are best left undisturbed, but when you do want to split them, do this in early summer. Carefully divide into smaller sections and replant.

Seed

Growing from seed is fun, but the resulting seedlings

A seedling is a young plant grown from seed. will take three to five years to reach flowering size. Sow nerine seed as soon as it is ripe – nerine seed is fleshy and easily detached from the old flower spike when ripe. Use a well-drained mix of peat-free John Innes seed compost

Seed compost is a free-draining compost formulated for germinating seed. It often contains a mix of fine materials including sterilised loam, coir, coarse sand or grit. It contains low levels of nutrients, as high levels could damage seedlings. with about 25 per cent added grit. Sow thinly with just the lightest covering of compost

Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own. – just enough to make the seed disappear from view. Water and keep at a temperature of 10-13°C (50-55°F) until the seeds germinate.

Seedling bulbs

These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes. will remain in growth during the whole of the first year if kept frost-free and watered, after which they can be potted individually into 5-7.5cm (2-3in) pots.

Chipping

Large bulbs can also be chipped.
Further details on propagating nerine can be found on the Pacific Bulb Society website.

Nerine sometimes fail to flower in the first year or two after planting as they adjust to their new growing environment. The flower buds

A bud is a small, undeveloped shoot that contains the potential for new growth. Buds are typically found on stems, where they can be apical (found at the tip) or axillary (found between leaf axils) and may develop into leaves, shoots or flowers. in N. bowdenii are initiated in mid to late summer, so adverse conditions at this time of year ( such as very hot and dry conditions) mean they fail to develop. Curiously, in both N. bowdenii and N.sarniensis, inside a bulb at any one time are two flower initials (buds) of differing ages. So in N. bowdenii, a flower initial that starts in late summer one year will develop and then bloom, not the next year, but the year after.

Pests and diseases rarely bother nerines, although mealybug can be a problem if you grow them under glass. Slugs and snails can damage flowers
Virus diseases can cause striped, mottled and/or distorted foliage and flowers, so if you spot this, get rid of the plant to spot the virus spreading.