Crimson River lily is a clump forming, rhizomatous, flowering perennial native to South Africa in the Iridaceae (iris family). The genus name is derived from the Greek word hesperos , which means "evening", and anthos , meaning "flower" as it blooms at night. The species name coccinea means "scarlet" refering to the striking red color of the flowers. In the wild, Crimson River lily is found in wet areas and beside streams, thus, it will tolerate poorly drained soils. The common name, Scarlet River lily comes from the fact that it is never found away from a wet or moist environment with a stream often running over and through the plants. Plant in full sun or light shade in consistently moist loamy sand soils in a protected location sheltered from wind. Do not allow the soil to dry out while the plant is active, but moisture can be reduced when the plant is dormant in the winter. It may struggle in the heat and humidity of southern summers. If rhizomes are kept in the ground overwinter, provide mulch to protect them from winter temperatures. Clumps will grow 1 to 2 feet tall and 1/2 to 1 1/2 feet wide. Unlike most species in this genus that are grown from corms, the Crimson River lily spread from rhizomes. However, propagation by division can be done in the spring. Crimson River lily is sometimes grown in pots that are brought indoors before first fall frost or you can dig the rhizomes up in fall and store them in a cool basement in peat moss that has only a touch of moisture. Crimson River lily makes an excellent, unusual, long-lasting cut flower. In a perennial border, it adds an exciting touch of red color in October and looks good combined with yellow goldenrods and blue asters. Use in a meadow planting or naturalized area or tuck into a small space in the landscape. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems. More information on Hesperantha .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Moist | Occasionally Wet
Available space
Less than 12 inches; 12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. | Width: 0 ft. 9 in. - 1 ft. 6 in.
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Rosulate
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
> 6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Clumping grass like basal green leaves reach 18" in length and can remain evergreen in mild winters.
Flower color
Pink; Red/Burgundy
Flower value
Good Cut; Showy
Flower form
Spike
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Showy scarlet red cup shaped flowers with 6 petals appear from August to October and are 2 1/2 inches wide on 2 foot tall spikes resembling gladiolus. There are 4 to 14 flowers on each spike.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland
Attracts
Butterflies
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Meadow; Naturalized Area
Landscape theme
Butterfly Garden; Cutting Garden; Rain Garden
Design feature
Accent; Border; Mass Planting
Garden tags
#clumping #red flowers #stream banks #wet soils tolerant #showy flowers #border planting #rhizomatous #naturalized area #flowers late summer #flowers early fall #high maintenance #small spaces #meadow