Sitting in our greenhouse are rows of small Scarlet River Lily plants waiting to flower next year. They grow really well here in Cornwall but are also suitable for a sunny position in a wide range of damper soils.
Scarlet River Lilies are now known Hesperantha coccinea. Most gardeners will know them as Schizostylis. Their natural habitat is alongside streams and damp areas in the eastern side of Southern Africa. They are well adapted to growing in the UK, but flower much later here from autumn into mid winter, where they flower in mid summer in Southern Africa I suspect this is because they prefer to grow in damper soils and live in summer rainfall areas, so when the rains arrive in the UK in the autumn this prompts them into flower. Although they prefer to live in damp soils, our clumps live in hot south and west facing borders and are surviving and spreading really well. We do have a high water table here, which may help.
These plants are no problem to sow from seed, although they take a little time to get going, typically 1-2 months to germinate, at 10-20 degrees Celcius. Start them early in spring to allow plenty of growing time in the summer. Starting later is fine, particularly if you have a greenhouse to keep them in over the first winter, but they may take a little longer to flower, typically two to three seasons of growth. Plants grown from seed generally flower in red, but you will also see some in pink and white. If you wish to grow more of the pink and white forms, grow the desired plants to mature size and then divide them in autumn/winter after the plants have flowered. They have fleshy roots and are easy to divide.
  
Seeds................................................................................Seedlings........................................................................Plants in full flower!
Plants look great if encouraged to form large clumps over time, with a stunning display of colour in late summer and early winter. Ours are still flowering In Cornwall in December as I write this. They are good cut flowers.
More here on buying and growing Scarlet River Lilies from seed.
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