Gloriosa superba, commonly called gloriosa lily or climbing lily, is a tropical vine which grows to 6’. Climbs by tendrils at the leaf tips. Lily-like flowers with 6 showy petal-like segments of bright red edged with bright yellow. Blooms summer to fall. When in bud, the flower faces downward but when in bloom, the petals are strongly reflexed backwards. The flowers are 4 to 5 in. wide with wavy-edged petals that are ruby red with yellow bases and edges and large, bright green stamens and pistils that spread out below the petals. It will quickly grow up a trellis using the tendrils formed at the tips of the leaves, growing from 5 to 6 ft. tall and 1 to 3 ft. wide. It is also known as Gloriosa rothschildiana.
Growing Instructions
1. Scarify the seeds by nicking or sanding the seed coat.
2. Soak the seed in water for 24 hours.
3. The seeds like moist, well-drained soil. Prepare a mixture of half potting soil and half sand, perlite or vermiculite. Put the soil in a pot. Water the mixture so that it is moist but not wet.
4. Put the seeds on the soil.
5. Cover the seeds with a layer of soil that is 1 inch thick.
6. Water the seeds.
7. Place the pots in an area with warm temperatures in full sun or part shade.
8. When the seedlings are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.