TORCH LILY

Turn up the excitement in your garden with these bold blooms.

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1 'Corallina' torch lily's eye-catching flower shape and bright color draw visitors along the path to the patio's entry. The sunny spot ensures there are plenty of blooms, and this perennial doesn't mind reflected heat from the stone walkway.

Make a Statement with Torch Lily

Native to South Africa, torch lily takes hot, sunny borders in stride, producing beautiful torchlike blooms that rise on sturdy stems up to 6 feet tall. Species torch lily can be a challenge to find, but there are lots of hybrids available at garden centers and online nurseries.

While bicolor yellow to red-orange is the classic color combination, you'll also come across solid colors and softer hues. The long, narrow leaves can be deciduous or evergreen. Most torch lilies bloom in early to late summer, but a few, such as 'Coral', start flowering in late spring, and 'Yellow Cheer' and 'Alcazar' take off in late summer and go into late fall unless a hard frost comes first.

ATTENTION-GETTING BLOOMS Torch lily's dramatic 4- to 7-inch-long racemes naturally draw attention. Plant one to highlight a seating area you'd like guests to visit, or strategically place a few along a path to encourage them to continue exploring. Intensify the impact with companions that have contrasting flower shapes. The nodding Virginia sweetspire blooms in photo 2 frame the torch lily flowers nicely and provide a lovely counterpoint.

California landscape designer Rebecca Sweet loves to incorporate torch lily into her designs because their tubular nectar-filled blooms seem to attract every hummingbird in the neighborhood. But these aren't the only birds that enjoy torch lily. The plants' sturdy stems make it possible for heavier birds, such as the Bullock's oriole in photo 3, to hang on and feed from the flower-packed inflorescence too.

Designing with Torch Lily