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Naked Lady Wikimedia Commons
Amaryllidaceae

Naked Lady

Amaryllis belladonna

Pride, splendid beauty, determination.

Family
Amaryllidaceae
Genus
Amaryllis
Native to
Western Cape, South Africa
Bloom season
Summer, Fall
Type
Perennial bulb
Height
45–75 cm
Sunlight
Full sun
Soil
Well-drained, sandy
Water
Low; drought-tolerant
Hardiness
7–10
Lifespan
Long-lived bulb; clumps for generations

Did you know

  • Called 'naked ladies' because they bloom on bare, leafless stems — the strappy foliage appears months later, in winter.
  • This is the true Amaryllis — the showy 'amaryllis' bulbs sold at Christmas are actually Hippeastrum, a related but separate genus.
  • It evolved in fynbos shrubland that burns regularly, and its flowers often appear most prolifically the year after a wildfire.
  • A single bulb can produce 6–12 sweetly fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers on each stem.
  • Clumps left undisturbed for decades have been known to produce hundreds of blooms in a single late-summer flush.

Color meanings

Pink

Quiet confidence

Uses

  • Mediterranean gardens
  • Naturalizing
  • Cut flowers
  • Xeriscaping