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Products > Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant'
 
Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant' - Giant Spider Lily

Note: This plant is no longer in stock. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant'
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Bulb/Tuber/Rhizome etc.
Family: Amaryllidaceae (Onions)
Origin: Caribbean (North America)
Flower Color: White
Bloomtime: Summer
Synonyms: [H. caribbea 'Tropical Giant']
Parentage: (H. caymanensis?)
Height: 2-3 feet
Width: 3-5 feet
Exposure: Full Sun
Irrigation (H2O Info): High Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 0-10° F
Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant' (Giant Spider Lily) - A bold evergreen plant with 2- to 3-foot-tall clumps of lush glossy lime green strap shaped leaves. In mid-summer appear the scape bearing sweetly fragrant white cupped shaped flowers that have 6 long trailing narrow extensions dangling beneath, creating the allusion to a spider.

Plant in full sun and irrigate regularly - multiplies best if kept in wet or even boggy soils but is not finicky of soil type. Evergreen in frost free gardens and root hardy to USDA Zone 7 (0-10°F) where it benefits from protective mulch. This old garden hybrid spider lily probably came from somewhere in the Caribbean's but now inhabits many landscapes and even persists in old, abandoned home sites throughout the South. It is one of the most reliable of the spider lilies and the name "Everyman's Hymenocallis" was coined by Thad Howard in his book "Bulbs for Warms Climates". Howard also notes that the name "Tropical Giant" was a nickname that was given to the plant by Cecil Houdyshel, a Herbert medal winner (1938), and friend and contemporary of Luther Burbank. Most now consider the plant to be a nice form of Hymenocallis carribea.

We first acquired plants of this cultivar from Steve Lowe of the San Antonio Botanic Garden in 2005 and later that year acquired our stock for our crops from the micropropagation laboratory (tissue culture) at the now closed Shady Oaks Nursery sold this plant from 2006 to 2007 but discontinued growing such plants that were part of our as part of our Aquatic Plants Program as we transitioned away from such thirsty plants. 

The information displayed on this page about Hymenocallis 'Tropical Giant' is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
We closed for regular business at the end of 2025 in order for the property to be developed for affordable housing.
Our gates remain closed but we will open them by appointment to interested parties through August 21st to liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment.
The plants remaining in the field are listed on our
Live Inventory Page.
 
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