Red spider lilies are commonly called surprise lilies.  The stem and flower buds quickly emerge reaching their height in about a week.  It is a surprise when all of the flowers open at the same time.  Red spider lily flowers usually grow unnoticed until they bloom, unless you have to mow around them.  No foliage is present during this time.

In late summer, most often during September, red spider lilies will begin to sprout and bloom.  They will produce a stem about eighteen inches tall.  At the top a each stem is where the flowers bloom.  Red spider lilies have six to eight red flowers that grow outwards and bloom at the same time.  The individual flowers combined create an illusion of being one large flower that is over seven inches in diameter.  The stamen of red spider lilies is also red.  They reach out far beyond the petals like red eye lashes.   

The foliage of red spider lilies emerges from the tops of the flower bulbs.  Once established, the leaves form a thick mound, growing about eight to twelve inches long, and are less than a half-inch wide.  A red spider lily leaf is green with a cream-colored stripe along the center of its length.  The foliage appears in October, then dies back at beginning of summer the following year.  After the leaves yellow they can be cut or mowed.

Red spider lily bulbs are covered with a thin, protective papery skin. When the bulbs reproduce, they will multiply inside this skin, similar to a garlic or shallot bulb.  If conditions are favorable, in about four to five years, each mature flower bulb will have produced about twenty new bulbs.  The bulbs will often be pushed to the top of the ground due to crowding, signaling that it is time to do some transplanting.

Like other bulbs, red spider lilies are planted with the pointed side up.  The bulbs are adaptable to most types of soil.  They should be planted about four inches deep and about eight inches apart.  Red spider lilies will grow in zones three through ten in well-drained soil.  Protect the flower bulbs in zones where the temperatures drop into the twenties or below.  

Red Spider lilies are listed as an herb; however, we do not recommend eating them.  According to this report and other sources, red spider lilies are poisonous when ingested.