How to Grow Eremurus Plants in your Garden
Gardener's HQ Guide to Growing Desert Candle, Foxtail Lily & King’s Spear
Eremurus plants are hardy perennials that bear 60 cm to 1.8 m (2 to six feet) long stalks from strappy narrow leaves. Atop the stalks sit minute flowers of white, pink, or even yellow.
Their height makes them great for use in borders.
Some of the common names for Eremurus include King's spear, Desert Candle, and Foxtail Lily.
Eremurus by wallygrom.
Eremurus Growing and Care Guide
Common Names: Desert Candle, Foxtail Lily, King’s Spear.
Life Cycle: Hardy perennial.
Height: 24 to 120 inches (60 to 300 cm).
Native: Central and west Asia.
Family: Asphodelaceae.
Flowers: Species dependent: Late spring through to early summer.
Flower Details: White, copper, orange, pink, yellow. Tiny. Raceme. Bottlebrush inflorescence with up to 800 flowers.
Foliage: Strap-like. Green. Blue-green.
Cover seed. Autumn. Seeds should first be sown into flats. Next sink the flat into the ground in an area that offers shade, preferably close to a wall that faces north. Provide a glass/plastic covering. Keep an eye on the flats to ensure that the soil remains moist and to check if seedlings have emerged. Once seedlings have emerged remove the covering. Spacing: Small 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm); Large 36 inches (90 cm).
Sow Inside: Germination time: one month to one year. Temperature: 55 to 65°F (13 to 16°C). End of winter and early spring. Use peat pots. Place in a freezer bag, and then stratify by refrigeration for three weeks.
Transplanting: Dig a hole about 18 inches (45 cm) deep. Add a mix of 1:1:1 Soil:Peat:Rotted cow manure. Transplant in autumn.
How to grow King's spear and other Eremurus Plants in the Garden
Eremurus can be planted outdoors from roots or seeds. The roots should be buried at a depth of about 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches)
Seeds should be lightly covered, and planted in flats beneath glass.
Both seeds and roots should be sown or planted in the autumn.
They prefer to grow in a sunny location of the garden, and thrive in a well manured peaty soil.
If you plan to start Eremurus plant species such as King's spear and Desert Candle indoors first, then they should be planted into a flat within a black bag, then placed in the fridge for three weeks.
Seeds should then be grown at a temperature of 12 to 15 Celsius (54 to 59°F). They normally take from one to twelve months to germinate.
The flats should then be placed outdoors, North facing, once seedlings emerge remove the glass, and transplant to their final location in the Autumn.
Propagate further plants through division.
I hope that you found this guide on how to grow Eremurus plants in your garden. You may also enjoy my gardening guides on how to grow Aloe vera, Phormium plant, and Bulbinella plants.
If you enjoy the information on this site, then you'll love my book: The Gardener's HQ Plant Growing Guide. Available for Kindle (MOBI), iPad (ePub) and as a PDF.
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