Naked Ladies are easy to love

Naked Ladies in their regular summer performance. (Photos: Debbie Arrington) 

Out of nowhere, Amaryllis belladonna puts on a summer show

By Debbie Arrington

Consider this flower a midsummer miracle.

Seemingly out of nowhere in the heat of late July and August, it sends up fast-growing fat stems that look like purple-red snakes poking out of the flower beds. Then, almost magically at the end of those 2-foot stems, large clusters of baby pink blooms open into instant bouquets.

That’s why I love Naked Ladies.

That’s the common name of Amaryllis belladonna, a South African native that has made itself very much at home in Sacramento gardens. It got that evocative nickname because this bulb blooms on “bare” stems.

Nearly ready to bloom
on that long, leafless stem.

Perfect for Mediterranean climates, Naked Ladies produce strappy green foliage in late fall and winter, our wet seasons. The leaves emerge when the rain comes.  It stays lush for months, then dies back by early summer.

About six weeks later, the flower shoots start to appear, coming right out of the ground (or the top of the exposed bulb).  The smooth stems can reach 3 feet tall, crowned with 6-inch fragrant blooms.

Since it “disappears” before blooming, this easy-care amaryllis is easy to forget about and readily naturalizes with little irrigation. (It’s deer-resistant, too.) Bulbs can live, multiply and keep flowering for decades.

In my garden are Naked Ladies that date back generations. They originally came from my grandparents' farm in what’s now Cerritos (formerly Dairy Valley) near Long Beach.

At her farm, my grandmother grew a huge bed – 10 feet wide and easily 60 feet across – of amaryllis topped by Mexican evening primrose. It was a whimsical pairing of Naked Ladies and Pinkladies.

My grandmother grew so many amaryllis for a specific reason: She regularly provided flowers for her church. These bulbs would produce bountiful blooms each July and August, enough to cover the altar on several Sundays.

Those pink bouquets became an annual summer spectacle. And my grandmother loved telling other members of her congregation that she was going to “bring a bunch of Naked Ladies to church on Sunday.”

That always improved attendance.