Geoff Nichols (2002) warns that these are forest lilies and must be grown in dappled shade as full sun will burn the leaves yellow. The plants should be in light broken shade when leaf production starts at the end of winter.

At the Botanical Gardens in Pietermaritzburg we have found that full sun not only damages the leaves but also burns the flowers. We grow them successfully in semi-shade in areas such as on the sides of our century-old plane tree avenue where they grow happily with Plectranthus shrubs and the lower-growing hens-and-chickens, Chlorophytum comosum.

Our plants are grown both from bulbs and from the peanut-sized seed. Seed should be sown fresh either where they are to grow or in trays immediately after harvesting, as the seed does not keep well. Bulbs sown from seed will take three to four growing seasons before flowering. Older bulbs being planted out should be well spaced to prevent overcrowding, as they continue to produce new bulbs. The bulbs are dormant in winter, the leaves dying off after flowering.

The bulb needs good natural compost or fertilizer, and it needs to be well watered in spring and summer.

In the coastal KwaZulu-Natal garden the plants, particularly the leaves, are susceptible to damage by the introduced Amaryllis moth caterpillar (Brithys crini). Regular spraying with a pyrethrum-based insecticide controls this problem. The herbivorous mole rat also damages the bulbs.