Lilies, anyone?

[Gene Mirro]

Do you think any of the western lilies could do here?
I am very fascinated by lilies but as I have told slugs devour the plants as fast as I get them. At my summerhouse though they fare better. However there I have to watch for lily beetles > Still many lilies do very well there.

I don't think I can say.  I'm just not knowledgeable enough with these.  Many like a long dry summer, but cool and wet winter/spring.  L. columbianum (known to be more easily cultivated) seems to survive for certain people in the UK, and L. pardalinum likes wetter situations throughout the year, so...

Perhaps Gene Mirro will lend some advice here.

It is almost impossible to grow lilies with a slug infestation.  I kill them with metaldehyde bait.  They will even eat the bulbs, and you will not know until it is too late.  If you can't get bait, try copper sulphate.  That's what the oldtimers used.

If your winters are not too cold (no big freezes), NW native lilies will be happy.  Some NW lilies have snow cover all winter, but the soil does not get much below 0C (32F).  I have never tried to grow NW lilies in a very cold climate, so I don't know if it is possible.  But I am not optimistic.

If your summers are wet, the pardalinum group is the best choice.  You can also try maritimum, parryi, wigginsi, and parvum.  If you want to try the dryland lilies, I recommend building a bed of pure coarse sand at least 8 inches deep.  Never let lily soil get hot.  Mulch with wood chips, and grow companion plants that are not too competitive. Don't use plants that make basal rosettes, such as foxgloves, because they shelter slugs.  My favorite is Corydalis sempervirens.  It will reseed itself forever, but it is not hard to control.  Platycodon is also good, and reseeds in my garden.  Native lilies will grow in part shade, but they are much stronger in full sun, if you can keep the soil cool.

Everyone says that L. columbianum is easy, but I find that many of the bulbs rot in summer, even in Oregon.  Try growing them in sand.  The most difficult NW species in my opinion is bolanderi.  I have never gotten it to bloom.  I am trying again.  In nature, it grows in places that get very hot and dry in the summer, like the Siskiyou mountains.  And it is always growing through low brush (Manzanita), which keeps the soil shaded, cool, and dry.  It is a serpentine soil plant, but I believe it will grow in sandy or gravelly garden soil in the right conditions.

If you grow species lilies in a greenhouse, the big problem is high soil temperature in the pots.  The bulbs will rot in warm, wet mix.  It helps to plunge the pots and grow companion plants with the lilies, to keep the soil on the dry side.  Even so, you will sometimes find that the bulbs have rotted during the late summer when temperatures are highest.

If anyone wants some seed of true martagon album, let me know.   I also have lots of L. wigginsi seed.

[Hoy]

Thank you very much, Gene!
I have slug bait but it is not very useful outside with lots of rain. I like to grow lilies (and other plants as well) in as natural settings as possible and it is impossible to keep all places slug-free.
The winters are usually mild with a few cold spells but the two last winters were very cold. However the soil did not freeze very deep.

I would like to try seed of martagon and wigginsi, please!

[Toole]

First flowering from seed --label lost  

I suspect it's a North American sps --maybe L.columbianum ?.....although only the one flower on an arching pedicel.

Didn't notice the 'hitchhikers' until i was viewing the pic on the computer ---needless to say they have been dispatched .....

Cheers Dave

[RickR]

It does look like L. columbianum, assuming it has whorled leaves.  First flowers are not always the best to identify, but the large anthers and pedicel form also aid in a positive ID of the species.

Congratulations on growing it to flowering from seed, Roland.  Although easy to germinate, these western American species are difficult for me in my climate.  Except for L. pardilinum, I haven't been successful.

[Toole]

It does look like L. columbianum, assuming it has whorled leaves.  First flowers are not always the best to identify, but the large anthers and pedicel form also aid in a positive ID of the species.

Congratulations on growing it to flowering from seed, Roland.  Although easy to germinate, these western American species are difficult for me in my climate.  Except for L. pardilinum, I haven't been successful.

Thanks Rick
It has whorled leaves so my guess was correct.

A number of the Western N.A. sps do well here althought i'm still yet to master L.washingtonianum ....

Here's L.grayi currently in bloom .

Cheers Dave.

 

[Toole]

Here's another Lily in bloom --first flowering from seed NZAGS sown Aug 09 as L buchianum --the name a bit of a mystery to me--maybe it should be L buschianum ,(probably my spelling mistake originally-- ), which i see is a synonym of L.concolor var pulchellum ...

Cheers Dave.

[Hoy]

Dave, L. grayi is a beauty! The second one, L. buschianum or whatever - is the flower zygorphic or a little damaged?

[RickR]

That lily does look like L. concolor, but var. pulchellum is not supposed to have spots.  I grow varieties strictum and coridion, and both have the characteristically short (for a Lilium) style.

I have yet to see a photo of Lilium grayi that wasn't to die for.  Yours is not exception, Dave.  It seems they are more "common" outside the USA!  Peter Zale is still looking for a verifiable wild source of seed for this species for the Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center on the Ohio State campus.  If anyone can help, send me a message/email and I can give you his contact info.

[Toole]

Dave, L. grayi is a beauty! The second one, L. buschianum or whatever - is the flower zygorphic or a little damaged?

Thanks Hoy

Damaged i think.

That lily does look like L. concolor, but var. pulchellum is not supposed to have spots.  I grow varieties strictum and coridion, and both have the characteristically short (for a Lilium) style.

I have yet to see a photo of Lilium grayi that wasn't to die for.  Yours is not exception, Dave.  It seems they are more "common" outside the USA!

Hello Rick
L.concolor it is then     although I thought var. pulchellum could have a faint spotting ,however whether my plant shown qualifies under that heading i'm uncertain ..........

I have a number of seedlings of L.concolor from other sources coming along --it will be interesting to compare 'notes' when they finally flower.

Cheers Dave.

 

[Toole]

Reaching about 1.2 mtrs in height Lilium monadelphum is so out of scale growing in the middle of one of the small rock gardens --each year about this time i remember i should get round to lifting the small clump...Later this year i will ,(i will !!).....

Cheers Dave.

[Hoy]

A stately species, Dave! I have tried it several times but never got it growing. The slugs attack the soft stem when it is about a foot high and the plant is damaged >

[RickR]

A most admirable specimen, Dave!

I have never liked hybrid roses much, and what do you think was my first full time job out of college: a greenhouse rose cutter.  I harvested the roses sold in florist shops.  Well, I did develop a liking for rosebuds, as being able to discern if a bud should be cut that morning or that afternoon was imperative. 

I have always liked buds of all kinds, and since then, even more their development stages.  Now that you have patiently waded through this talk of roses  , here's the lily part:

Some lilies, Lilium monadelphum included, have very nice ornamental buds.  This is L. monadelphum var. szovitsianum (syn: L. szovitsianum).  From the looks of your flowers' backs, Dave, your buds would be far better.

               

[Hoy]

Your buds aren't bad either, Rick 

[Toole]

Your buds aren't bad either, Rick  

I thought so too Hoy --i think any difference could be to my cameras settings.

Here's a few more --a couple of unknown asiatic hybrids plus one which maybe is L.'Latvia' .

Lilium pardalinum.I used to have some nice clumps of this ....

Cheers Dave.

[Toole]

Lilium duchartrei

Cheers Dave.