Rain Lily Bulbs — Mixed Colours

Buy rain lily bulbs online in Pakistan — the easiest flowering bulb we sell, and the only one that improves on its own year after year. Known here as gul-e-barsat, Zephyranthes throws up a flush of star-shaped blooms two or three days after every good rain shower, right through the monsoon. Plant them once and they multiply quietly underground, returning larger every season with no lifting, no storing and almost no attention.

Colours in This Mix

White, cream, yellow, apricot, peach, rose pink, magenta, orange and scarlet.

Bulbs are supplied as a mixed selection, so every pack gives you a spread of colours rather than one shade.

Growing Guide for Pakistan

• Plant: February to March, or at the start of the monsoon. Unlike the winter bulbs in this range, rain lilies are a warm-season flower.
• Depth and spacing: 5 cm deep, 10 cm apart, in clumps rather than singly.
• Flowers: June to September, in flushes two to three days after rain.
• Height and sun: 15–25 cm. Full sun to part shade — one of the few bulbs that tolerates some shade here.
• Water: Moderate. They are naturally adapted to a dry spell followed by heavy rain, which is exactly what triggers flowering.
• Lifting: Not needed. Leave them in the ground and divide the clump every three or four years.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why are they called rain lilies? Because they flower in response to rain. A dry spell followed by a soaking is what sets the buds, so they bloom within days of the monsoon breaking.
• Do they flower in winter? No. These are a summer and monsoon flower, which makes them a useful partner to the winter bulbs rather than a substitute.
• Are they really perennial? Yes. They stay in the ground, come back every year and multiply. A single planting will fill its space within two or three seasons.
• Will they grow in pots? Very well. They actually flower more freely when slightly crowded, so a pot packed with bulbs is ideal.
• Do they need much care? Almost none. Full sun, soil that drains, and rain. This is the bulb to start with if you have never grown one.
• Are these bulbs or seeds? These are living bulbs, corms or tubers — not seed. They flower in their first season, months sooner than the same plant grown from seed.
• How should I store them before planting? Somewhere cool, dry and dark with air around them. A paper bag in a cupboard is ideal; a sealed plastic bag is not, because trapped moisture causes rot.

New to bulbs? Read what to sow in September in Pakistan, or browse the full winter flowering collection.

Sourced and graded by hand in Lahore before shipping. The Garden by Chanan Din, serving Pakistani gardeners since 1932.