Lilies, anyone?

[Tony Willis]

Rick

I collected the scales the first week in May which is when I know I was in Greece and can therefore be accurate about the timing.

However below are two martagons I purchased late November last year and before planting I took some scales of the bulbs and have got new plants from them.

I do not think it matters when you do it ,just when the material is available and the only difference is the time when the new bulbil produces its first leaf.

The 'albiflorum' is not one I was really taken with but the 'red russian' is really beautiful.

I also have Lilium polyphyllum which I grew from seed. This flowered for the first time this year and appears to have set seed.

[RickR]

I have read that with certain species, timing is import for successful scaling: L. szovitsianum to be exact, which is why I ask.  Supposedly, scales removed in the fall yielded no bulblets, while those taken in summer, especially right after bloom, produced many bulblets.

Nice photos.  I have seen pics of albiflorum with fewer spots, and I think I like those better, although yours is nothing to scoff at!  Lilium polyphyllum is indeed a great find! (And from seed, too. Congratulations!)

[RickR]

More martagon cultivars:

Claude Shride (a Minnesota introduction) usually has a few spots on each flower.  I must have twenty bulbs of this vigorous clone, and this year none have spots at all!

               16 Jun 2011
        

Also this year, the white striping on the back is very prominent.  I noticed this on one of your lilies, too, Lori.

              

Terrace City
                      23 Jun 2011
        


Lilium taliense "var. kaichen"
I only have one and the species is self infertile.  I hand pollenated almost every flower with pollen from various species and hybrids, but the only pollen it has accepted to date is Lilium lijiangense and Lilium duchartrei.

                      24 Jun 2011
              

               2 Jul 2011
        


                  

[Tony Willis]

Rick

I have never grown any of the Turkish lilies or indeed on my nineteen trips there actually seen one in the wild always being too early and therefore have no experience with scaling them. I hope to start growing some in the near future.

The Claude Schride is very nice and from your pictures appears to be very close to Red Russian which in the flesh is stunning.

I have a number of the Chinese ones coming on that I have imported and on the whole the names are wrong and since most have not flowered yet I do not have an identification.

[killdawabbit]

I love the pics, everyone. Now I'm dying to try some martagons. I only have a few common varieties so far.

[Booker]

The beautiful, but always slightly incongruous, Lilium bulbiferum thriving at Val Gardena in the Dolomites. July 2011.

[Lori S.]

Beautiful indeed!  It does seem slightly incongruous to see a lily up there... but my viewpoint is of only one native lily (L. philadelphicum), that tends to inhabit the mixed forest edge.

[Hoy]

I love the pics, everyone. Now I'm dying to try some martagons. I only have a few common varieties so far.

I fully agree with your first statement. However, your second is wrong: It is not me but my lilies which are dying . . not beetles but slugs.

[RickR]

Lilium distichum

From Korea and nearby China, this is the area where the four other Lily species (besides L. martagon) that make up the martagon section of the genus grow.  Even as species lilies, most are fairly rare in cultivation.  I have found L. distichum easy to grow, but I would venture that to most people it's not the prettiest lily around.  I only have one clone blooming, so I can't make blanket assessments of the species, but on this one, I really like the black stems, and stark white ovary.  Like L. tsingtauense, the petals possess the deepest saturation of orange, and at least on this L. distichum, the petals are even glossier.

                           25 Jun 2011
               

[RickR]

This is what many (at least in the U.S.) think of as Lilium tsingtauense.  It's ancestry dates back to the early collections of lilies in Korea and/or nearby parts of China.  But actually, these photos are of a natural cross of Lilium tsingtauense and Lilium distichum (and/or Lilium medeoloides). Lilium tsingtauense bears completely upfacing flowers and ruffly foliage. Ll. distichum and medeoloides have outfacing flowers and leaves without rippling.

There are some that label this a separate species, L. miquelianum, but it is generally not an accepted name.  However I do use the designation for simplicity's sake, as a shorthand for the uncertain cross.

               16 May 2011
        

                                                       Late May 2009
        


How the petals radiate seems dependent on the position relative to gravity. These are the two extremes:

                 28 Jun 2011
        


This natural hybrid has the undesirable characteristic of skipping a season of growth for whatever reason.  Last year, I thought my clump was dwindling, since it only had four stems in 2010.  When I dug them that fall, I discovered many bulbs had just taken the year off, and were as healthy as could be.  Now I have quite a few...

              

[Tony Willis]

Rick thanks for a most interesting post.

I am growing Lilium tsingtauense from scales which came from a recent importation and so I have some way to go before I see it flower. I must confess I am not at all keen on upward facing lilies but it was offered and I thought I would give it a go.

As to L. distichum I saw this at the Tatton Park Flower Show last year and it was superb,brick red outward facing perfectly formed flowers and I have now obtained what I think is hopefully a plant from China. This produced a rosette of leaves and has no died down.

You mention the hybrid skipping a season and in fact my L. gloriosoides has not put any growth above ground for three seasons. It is a beautiful healthy bulb and makes new roots each year. I am going to keep it frost free over the coming winter and see if this will bring it into growth.

Here are two pictures of my second L. poilanei in flower. I am working hard on getting seed.

[RickR]

I very much enjoy your Lilium poilanei.  I wouldn't be surprised if it would be hardy for you outside, if you can keep it dry enough.  Not that you should try... I'm just sayin'.

My L. distichum does have a hint of red in it.  I will be transplanting it to a not full sun area this fall.  Perhaps then it will show deeper color.  I, too, much prefer the out and down facing flower orientation over upfacing.  But a bit of a mix is nice, especially if they are species.  

You mention the hybrid skipping a season and in fact my L. gloriosoides has not put any growth above ground for three seasons. It is a beautiful healthy bulb and makes new roots each year. I am going to keep it frost free over the coming winter and see if this will bring it into growth.

This is good to know!  I have two tiny bulblets from seed (germinated this past winter) of var. gloriosoides.  I hope they don't exhibit that trait early in life...
We will all be interested to see if you find the trigger for seasonal growth.  I follow everything Lilium on the SRGC forum, too.

Years ago, I received a bulb of Lilium speciosum var. gloriosoides from Chen Yi.  The bloom was the highlight of the year.  I tried to overwinter the bulb in the pot in the refrigerator, but was unsuccessful.

                Sept 2007
        

[RickR]

Next to flower this year is Lilium concolor.  Variety coridion consistently blooms at least a few days earlier than variety strictum for me, but there is always overlap.  Both are small flowered (3 inches) and very narrow growing plants, although strictum is even more narrow.  There can never be the excuse for "no room in the garden" for these.  They will fit anywhere, are are easy from seed, and bloom in the second year.  Red-orange is the "normal" color for the species, spotted or unspotted.  The nubs on the petal ends seem to be a trait of the species.

Lilium concolor var. coridion           7 Jul 2001
        


Lilium concolor var. strictum              12 Jul 2011
                    

[RickR]

Oops, I neglected Ll. duchartrei and lankongense  . They began blooming the first few days of July.  Both are similar to L. fargesii in that these species can easily bloom with small, 2-3 inch flowers or larger 4+ inch flowers, depending on the vigor and/or siting of the plant.   (My first bloom ever of L. fargesii was only one inch wide.  Now they bloom more than double that size.)

Lilium duchartrei.  When in bud, the white is almost as saturated as in the Madonna lily (L. candidum).  I have one that has a bronze/maroon coloring at the base and tips of the petals (similar to Caucasian lilies), mostly visible in bud, and two with green coloring.

               Lilium duchartrei - (green coloring)
          



               Lilium lankongense

          

                   

[stephenb]

A couple flowering in the garden here at the moment:

1) Lilium callosum
2) Lilium lancifolium flaviflorum with Mondarda didyma "Adam" and Monarda fistulosum v. menthifolia