I tried growing them twice, but they never came up. The roots looked healthy enough when I planted it. Might give it another try next year. My rule of thumb is to give something at least three chances, then I give up and figure it was not meant to be.

Now Eucomis grows well in my garden.

It may be that they need a cold period?
Just noting that we in Canada are successful with them?

I have successfully grown Eremurus! I bought roots. probably from Brent and Becky's and planted in a new bed (slightly raised, fresh topsoil and compost) probably in the Fall, in the sun, by the sidewalk where I never water. I live in zone 7 where we get a good amount of rain in the Spring, Winter and Fall but have very dry summers. Last year we went over 2 months without rain. By then, of course, the Eremurus was shriveled and done. The only complaint I have about Eremurus is the ugly shriveled leaves. I stupidly planted it towards the front of the bed, not in the middle where other plants would hide the leaves.

This plant turns heads. Last year a couple who walks by our house weekly would stop and stare every week as it progressed and finally asked my husband what in the world this otherworldly plant was. But he had no idea.

Many years ago I bought one potted up in gravel and planted it where it turned out to be underlying clay soil (new to me garden) and it sent out puny flower spikes for a couple of years and then bit the dust.

I came to this forum looking to see if anyone has successfully transplanted it. I want to move it just 3 feet, so the leaves won;t show so.

This is my first post and I chose GreenGoddess as my name because that is what is blooming just outside my window now.

GreenGoddess
I have no experience with this plant, but hope someone here will be able to answer your questions about transplanting.

Welcome to the site.
I've grown foxtails before but never attempted to transplant.

Leaves are ugly and subject to slug damage, as I recall from years ago. The plant takes a lot of space for a relatively short bloom period.

I do grow foxtail lilies, but I have not moved any once they establish.
Since they are usually planted in the fall----I would think that is the best time to try and move one.

Mine did not come out...

I just got the new John Scheepers catalog in today. I intend to order more in the fall. I have 2 bungeii in the ground, but foliage is only 6 inches high.

I've successfully transplanted and divided Eremurus. I dug them just as they were going dormant. The roots really spread out, so it's a good idea to dig about 18" from the crown to keep from damaging the roots. I re-planted them right away and they emerged the following spring with no problem.

Kabby, the foliage of mine never gets taller than 10" and some remain shorter. I've only grown the Spring Valley hybrids from Brent and Becky's, but I've read that other varieties sometimes take a year to settle in the garden before they start blooming.

I might have missed it, but I don't see it mentioned anywhere in the thread that the bulb should be planted very close to the surface. If I remember correctly the growing point should be at soil level, or even poking out a little. Or do I have that wrong?

Back in Wisconsin there was a house near us that had a bed of the yellow bungeis, and it was stunning! There must have been about 20 all blooming close together. Wish I knew their secret!

I planted them and no sign.

Mine are not doing anything this year.
I did bury them so tip was maybe one or two inches below soil level.
Another year I will plant them so tip is just at soil level.
One did show up, but seemed to wither with warmer weather.
Maybe needs more water?

Susan, you're correct, they do prefer shallow planting- I cover them with about 1 1/2" of soil and they seem happy. Good to see you posting! Haven't "run into you" for a long time

Caroline, I've usually had a few that won't bloom the first year that typically will bulk up and start blooming the following year. Here they go dormant soon after blooming (they start with late blooming peonies here and bloom for a few weeks afterword). I think that may be the withering you're seeing. Be sure to mark the spot well- I'm terrible about forgetting their exact location and digging into them. They seem to like dryer conditions, especially when dormant, so I wouldn't recommend additional water.

Thanks for the tips---I was feeling bad that perhaps I had not watered them enough!

I used to grow a couple of dozen varieties, many pink and white hybrids unlike any to be found now that I am out of biz.
I grew them where it rained at least 9 months out of the year in flat sandy loam (raise your bed if not coarse soil) barely covered and we were dry for at least 2 months during the summer, usually longer. They need a chilling for the winter, and yes are much more cold hardy than advertised. Cold wet soil is not a problem, but summer watering is usually a no-no, unless you are in the desert. Keep the crowns at or just below soil surface. We dug and planted with a scoop shovel, the roots go out about 3 feet from the crown and radiate outward shallowly. They can have the tips cut off but I sold and shipped with as much roots as possible, nobody came close to my size of crown. Fall planting is best as there are not many places like I was where the outdoor temps and conditions were perfect for storing these until spring. Most spring sold plants are DOA, if not they won't be as vigorous as fall planted. We once left a stack of robustus out in the field all winter and did not find it until we went out in late spring to replant, they were fine. All replanting had to be done in the late spring when it was dry enough to do it including daffodils. There was no time for fall planting and too wet for it all winter.
To move them do it after they have gone dormant in late summer or fall, just remember to start way out from the crown to keep as much of the root mass as possible, try to use a good flat shovel and under cut with that up to the crown, all the way around before trying to lift them to keep from ripping the roots off the crown.
If you get dry crowns soak them in water to make them more pliable, if you are unsure that they are alive soak and place them in moist soil mix and keep cool, wait to see if small roots sprout on the main ones.
You can also plant them within the root systems of nasty, invasive and water sucking trees (like maples) as long as they are on the sunny side and get enough sun. They deal with that kind of competition very well.

I shall come back to your post.
Thank you for posting your experience with Eremurus plants.

I have had great success growing eremerus apparently by doing just about everything wrong. I live in western Washington zone 8a. (When I lived in Ohio I thought zones 8 and above were sunny and warm with very mild winters. This is not true of the PNW. We usually have cool, dry, overcast summers with the occasional high of 100°, winters are extremely wet and can get down in the teens.)

My first eremerus bulbs came from Walmart in March of 2013 and were small with broken roots and completely dried out. I bought them anyway because I suffer from the "They look terrible but I've always wanted them and here they are and so am I so it was obviously meant to be" syndrome. Since the winter rains would not be abating anytime soon, I started them in an unheated greenhouse. I used aluminum pie plates - from the 10" Costco yummy pumpkin pies - and punched holes in the bottom. I covered the bottom of the plates with potting soil, set the dried out starfish looking roots in and filled to the top with barely moist potting soil. They stayed in the unheated greenhouse where I could monitor the moisture until I planted them in May.

My property is in a 100-year-flood-plain. My soil is clay. Not yellow potter's clay like Ohio, but clay nonetheless. My garden is on a low spot on the property where there is full sun and full exposure to the northeasters that are common here. Are you starting to see a flashing red neon sign shouting "Do not plant eremerus here. Certain and swift death to all foxtail lilies"? This is where my gardener's disease sets in and determined illusion overtakes all common sense. Did I raise the bed? No. Did I amend the soil? I added a little compost. Did I put in a bottom layer of sand and grit to aid drainage? I most certainly did not. Did my foxtail lilies grow? They did indeed, to 7 feet. They are thriving and multiplying. Does this make any sense? It most certainly does not. But it is proof of something I can't explain but have frequently encountered in my 50+ years of gardening: Sometimes you can do everything right and your precious plant will absolutely refuse to grow and sometimes you can do everything wrong and the plant grows and thrives and multiplies and sings "Hallelujah, life is grand." Go figure.

My eremerus never go completely dormant in summer but they do lose a lot of their leaves. July through October tend to be very dry here. I do some supplemental watering in summer but not a lot. In fact, the eremerus share a bed with Japanese iris. Now this is all wrong. The Japanese iris don't get the moisture they need in the summer and the eremerus are practically submerged all winter, yet everyone is thriving.

This year I bought several more eremerus bulbs at the PNW Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. These bulbs were much healthier looking. Instead of using pie tins, I set a mesh-bottomed flat inside a solid (no drainage) flat and grew them in that. Two of the three bulbs sprouted withing a month. The third bulb did not sprout; not in March or in April or May or June. I had made up my mind to throw it out but got busy with other things and suddenly, in July, up it came healthy and happy and eager to grow. I planted all these bulbs in a bed that has better drainage, is slightly raised and is somewhat protected from the wind. Who knows what will come of it?

My only complaint with the eremerus is that as the blooms continue opening up the stalk, the bottom blooms turn an ugly dark brown. It isn't attractive and I have never seen it occur in the pictures I have seen. Has anybody else experienced this?

In conclusion, I would like to say that if you really want to grow a plant and don't seem to have the proper conditions, give it a try anyway. You might just be surprised.

Last but not least, I have learned that, with those expensive plants with failure-to-thrive syndrome, after coddling and babying and worrying and coddling some more, a sincere and heartfelt warning that they have exactly 7 days before they will be moved to the compost pile can work wonders.

Beautiful garden!