Fall traditions: a visit to the kohiganbana

I literally can't wait for the red spider lilies, higanbana in Japanese, so each year I go to visit the same display of kohiganbana. The "ko" of Kohiganbana is the character for small, but the flowers aren't actually smaller than the common red spider lily. They just bloom earlier - much earlier. Usually about three weeks to one month before the "regular" higanbana.

Kohiganbana and higanbana look almost identical. Supposedly the difference (apart from the period of bloom) is that the higanbana are triploids and the kohiganbana are diploids. Furthermore, it is believed that the kohiganbana are the variety that originally came from China and that they metamorphosed into higanbana due to a mutation.  The white spider lilies are a hybrid of kohiganbana and daffodils, so they also bloom earlier in Autumn, sometimes they even start blooming in August.

The Kohiganbana are in bloom right now in Saitama Prefecture. The photo above was taken yesterday, September 5th 2024, in Yoshimi. This bloom period is about average for the kohiganbana of Yoshimi. Last year they were later to bloom and in 2021 they actually reached full bloom by the end of August. I am just so relieved when they bloom because, to me, they really mark the start of Autumn, more so than begonia which are believed to be a harbinger of Autumn. 

Even though I have visited this display annually for six years, I never tire of it. For the record, last year was a particularly good year for them, but unfortunately this year they don't look as well. I am sure the hotter and longer than usual summer plays a part. They are saying that the autumn leaves also won't be great this year due to the hot summer too. Check out the 2024 autumn leaf forecast on @genkidesu 's post here. 

Are there kohiganbana where you live?