One of the first flowers to spring out of the ground every year are the leaves of the hardy amaryllis, also known as resurrection lily or naked ladies. These perennials start out the year growing tall strap like leaves. Then when you aren’t looking in early summer, the leaves disappear.
Then about county fair time, you see a stalk poking through the ground. This bare stalk grows taller every day with buds on the top. After reaching a height of about 24 inches tall, the beautiful flowers open.
These plants grow from bulbs, just like the amaryllis you find in stores about Thanksgiving time. They prefer full sun and are a fun addition to any garden. They seem to like our winters and last for years and years in the garden.
We have been hearing about the emergence of cicadas this year. What can we expect in Minnesota is the question I’ve been hearing. There are a few kinds of cicadas in the United States.
The species we have in Minnesota is called the dog-day cicada. This cicada is annual, meaning that it completes its life cycle in relatively short order. The cicadas we see this summer will have been laid as eggs in the last few summers.
Every summer, we have a wave of this species emerging and making noise. Cicadas are a small group of insects that look a little like beetles but are more closely related to spittlebugs and leafhoppers . They spend most of their life underground as immature nymphs.
These immature cicadas spend four to eight years underground feeding on the roo.