I have some pink ones that have just bloomed and I can gather some seeds for you. Not sure how long it take them to dry....

Tina,

Thank you so much! That would be wonderful! It takes about thirty days for amaryllis to go from flower to seed, but my white rain lilies (which are in the same family) seemed much shorter than that. However, I didn't pay attention to the exact number of days. Next time I will. Couldn't find the answer with a quick search on the internet.

Carol

Tina,

Mine were a pass-along gift, so I'm not 100% sure of the name, but I think mine are 'Zephyranthes drummondii', the common rainlily with white petals. See link below to Google Images.

Not that it matters - because I would love to have either - but are yours light pink or bright pink?

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Google Images - Zephyranthes drummondii

Carol if you have any left I would love to trade for some of your white rain lily. I have a lovely pale pink, the center is so pale it is almost white and it gets darker pink on the edges. It isn't named as it is just a passalong plant I have had for years. I have lots of seeds as it has been blooming for a while now.

Keike,

Yes, that would be great! I have enough seeds. I just sent you an email.

Carol

Carol, I have loads of pink rain lilly seed from last summer's harvest. Ready to go in ground now. And white rain lily would be a nice addition if you have any left.
Cora in jax

Cora - yes, I have enough to trade. I will send you an email.

Carol

Hi Carol,

Here is a photo of my flowers - taken in full sun so a little washed out by harsh light.

Looks like I'm late to the party, I probably have the same ones Tina does if she got them from Kara. I just collected seeds last week, probably have a couple hundred, wish I'd known you wanted these a few weeks back Carol, I would have sent some with the tomato seeds. These are 12-15" tall, how tall are your white ones? When we lived farther south we had a white variety that was only about 6" tall, if you have plenty of seeds I'd like some white too.

Tom

FYI everyone, in reading up on this it appears that the seeds are viable only for a very short period of time after being picked....

Tom

Tom I got mine from a friend in St. Pete. The petals of mine are different at the bottom. Yours overlap and have one petal at the bottom that is slightly smaller. I think they may also be a slightly darker pink.

Tina and Tom, both of your flowers are beautiful! I would love to trade seeds with both of you.

Tom, I read the same thing you did about a short period of viability - these seeds were harvested just last week and I have more pods just about ready to pop in the yard. I will check the garden again tomorrow and send you the freshest I have. Thanks so much for joining the party!

Carol

Carol

Hi Carol - I'll pack these seeds up tonight and they will go out tomorrow, just send me a few since four of us have requested seeds.

Tina - if you want to swap seeds let me know, I'll have more pods shortly too.

R - mine has a yellow center, came from Kara...sounds like we all may have different variations.

Tom

If anyone needs more seeds just let me know as I have a lot of rain lilies scattered throughout the garden and they are all already sending up flowers from the rain we've had this weekend. It doesn't take long at all for the seeds to grow and then split the seed pods.

Kara

All Seed-Swappers,

Seeds will go in the mail tomorrow. It is just too wet to put them in the mailbox today. (And we are cheering!)

No doubt, after this, my rain lilies here will bloom again in a couple days. I will take some photos and post them here so you can drool over my white ones in the same way that I drool over your pinks.

Carol

Tom, sorry I missed your question earlier. I think mine are about the same height: 12-15 inches.

Carol

There is a nice table of rain lily species and selections at the bottom of the UF IFAS Extension article linked below. Scroll to the bottom for the table.

There area also good pictures at this link:
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Zephyranthes

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Rainlily, Zephyranthes and Habranthus spp. - Low Maintenance Flowering Bulbs for Florida Gardens

Weather dried out enough that all seeds are going out today! Just put them in the mailbox.

Carol

I didnt mail today as I had hoped Carol. They will be in the mail tomorrow.

Tom, want to trade? If so shoot me an email, I have plenty to share. If you let me know early eough I could put it in Wednesday's mai.

Anyone have dark pink? I love pink flowers!

Keiki, I love pink flowers, too, and the large, dark pink ones seem especially appealing to me.

When reading about 'Zephyranthes grandiflora', a very large dark pink variety, in the UF article linked above, I noted that it said that the "cultivated form is sterile". So don't pay anyone for seeds!

Keiki, I will be happy to receive the seeds whenever they get here.

Carol

Carol, seeds went out this morning.

Keiki, CYE ;-)

Tom

With all of the recent rain, the rain lilies went blooming nuts and I went out to get some photos. Oh, ya'll. Sigh. I am SO embarrassed! And sooooooo sorry. Take a look:

By now you may already have the seeds. If these are the same as what you already have, please feel free to pass them along. Again, my apologies. Seriously time to get my eyes checked.

Carol in Jax

Oh my gosh!!! That's my exact same lily! LOL! Well I got your seeds today but Nick had a bunch of little boys over and I got distracted and forgot to put the seeds for you in the mailbox so it's just as well. :) Do you happen to still want them?

Tina, I'm so sorry. Please don't bother to mail - save the postage and share your seeds with someone who doesn't have any. I'm a knucklehead.

Carol

I got your seeds today, thank you! While I was expecting pure white those are paler than mine so we will see in person how similar they actually are. Did you get the seeds I sent?

Keiki, I didn't get your seeds yet, but I bet they will be delivered tomorrow. I will plant them right away.

My first rain lily came from Nestor White who is 'bulbsnmore' on eBay. He lives in northeast Florida and I purchased quite a few plants from him back in 2006. I drove to his house to pick them up and that's when I got "Patient Zero"... my first rain lily. So I'm sure that the link below is what I have: 'Habranthus robustus'.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Rain Lily, Habranthus robustus

Carol,

I also think yours is slightly different from mine, or should I say Kara's. Regardless, diversity of variety is always a good thing :-)

Tom

Hi Tom, I did notice that mine have a green throat. I couldn't tell for sure, but it looks like the ones in your photo have a burgundy throat (?) and pinker petals.

Mine are very prolific multipliers, that is, bulb to bulb via offsets. I think I got maybe 1-3 bulbs from Nestor White back in 2006. Now I have hundreds of them.

Tom, your (Kara's) seeds will be planted within the next hour. Thank you so much!

Carol

Hi Carol, my pictures were not the best, I just went down and checked and these have a green throat too but I still think there are variation differences ;-)

Tom

Tom and Keiki, the first seed from each of you has just sprouted! Both sets of seeds were planted (in separate containers) on Saturday, June 2, so it only took five days for the first seeds to germinate.

Cora, I received your seeds and they will get planted today. Thanks!

Carol

Great Carol. With us all wanting more colors I ordered and just received a few bulbs of yellow and white, both supposed to produce seeds so hopefully I'll have seeds to share down the road. Have you floated rain lily seeds? Probably not necessary since they germinate so easily....
BTW, I've noted that the green throat turns to a similar light pink just like the flowers. Do yours stay green?

Keiki, I have not sent you seeds yet as these are now three weeks out of the pod and I have no idea how long they are good. I have 6-7 pods about ready to pick so once they are ready I'll send you some seed.

Tom

Tom I havent sent your seeds either. My computer is down and email is impossible from this tablet. Also my brother had a blood bleed on the brain and had brain surgery. Once I go back to work I can access my email there. I have tons and tons of rainlily plants so I will continue to get seeds and will have fresh seeds.

Looking closer to the photos mine are just like Carols only a little darker.

Keike, I think we all have slight variations of the same variety. I say we just skip the mailings for now and wait until I have seeds for the white and yellow....

Tom

I love this thread. Last weekend, I was gathering seeds of my beloved spiderwort (thanks Katkin!!) for a friend, and one of my rain lilies was in seed nearby, so I gathered some of those for her too. She met me at a native plant sale near her house and gave me the beach sunflower seedling I wanted, but also had an envelope of rain lily seeds, just because hers were in seed too.
I figure we might be helping diversify the gene pool a little for rain lilies, though she and I are both pretty sure we have very similar ones - big pink ones.
I've thought about buying the yellow ones Tom. I've never seen them growing down here, so I'm curious. Please update us with how they do for you. I'll send you some pink seeds that are probably just like yours. :)
Susannah

Tom asked "Have you floated rain lily seeds? Probably not necessary since they germinate so easily....
BTW, I've noted that the green throat turns to a similar light pink just like the flowers. Do yours stay green?"

Tom, it took a few days of observation to be able to answer your question. I've been watching and I haven't seen the throat of any of my rain lilies turn to light pink. The throat seems to stay green for the duration of the bloom.

I haven't floated rain lily seeds. I plant them directly into the ground. As fast as I can harvest a ripe seed pod I take it to somewhere else in the yard that I would like rain lilies, open the pod, very lightly cover by brushing a little soil over the top and lightly water. The only rain lilies I have actually planted into containers instead of the ground are the ones from you, Keiki and Cora - and I did it just so I could monitor them, know where they end up being planted and observe for variations.

I know you didn't ask, but I don't like the float method for amaryllis seeds, either - not down here in Florida where we have plenty of heat. (I understand the folks up north using that method.) I plant them directly into seed starter cell-packs. The float method, for me, is just an extra step, an opportunity to damage tender/fragile roots and a chance to lose some. I'm very happy with the direct to soil method.

Have any of the seeds germinated for you? Or did you plant them directly in the ground where it is a bit hard to keep track?

Post some photos of the yellow and white ones when they come around!

Carol

I've thought about buying the yellow ones Tom. I've never seen them growing down here, so I'm curious. Please update us with how they do for you. I'll send you some pink seeds that are probably just like yours. :)
Susannah

Hi Susie, I'll follow up once they grow to some size....

Tom asked "Have you floated rain lily seeds? Probably not necessary since they germinate so easily....
BTW, I've noted that the green throat turns to a similar light pink just like the flowers. Do yours stay green?"

Tom, it took a few days of observation to be able to answer your question. I've been watching and I haven't seen the throat of any of my rain lilies turn to light pink. The throat seems to stay green for the duration of the bloom.

Carol, we definitely have different varieties then, in mine the throat turns from green to a purple tint....

I know you didn't ask, but I don't like the float method for amaryllis seeds, either - not down here in Florida where we have plenty of heat....Have any of the seeds germinated for you? Or did you plant them directly in the ground where it is a bit hard to keep track?

Post some photos of the yellow and white ones when they come around!

I have not done anything with them yet. I get the sense that nobody is wild about floating any of these seeds. I'll sow them in one gallon containers just like the rain lily seeds that have germinated and we'll see how it goes :-)

Tom

Tom, yeah, I'm thinking we have different varieties, too. In your photo, yours look pinker than mine. In my photos, you can see the pink, but in real life, when walking by, they look white. Which is how this thread got started. :)

By the way, I sowed the rain lily seeds in 2" pots with only about 2" of soil. Germinated fine. Trying to cut back on the potting mix usage here - earlier this year, I was going through it like hot cakes.

Carol

Thanks Carol, I'll pot your seeds up and we'll see what happens. Odd that the Big Box sells regular 4" clay pots for $.95 but the 4" clay azalea pots for $.47!!! Guess you know what I'll be starting my seeds in ;-)

Tom

Hey Carol, on a happy note, my yellow rain lilies already have seed pods :-)

On a sad note, the adenium seed pods opened during the storms we've had here this week and I could only find FIVE seeds. Do you still want them?

The two pods on the left are African lily seed pods....

Tom

this is mine a couple of years ago. I do have yellow but have not seed then open since we moved.

Thanks for the yellow seed pod and the bulbs Tom!

Sorry it has taken me awhile to respond - I've been under the weather. Congratulations on your yellow seeds! That is pretty cool! Thank you for remembering and for your kind offer of the adenium seeds, but I will graciously pass. I haven't been much of a gardener the past few weeks - I've fallen way behind in everything.

Carol