| Where the garden meets the wild | ||||
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LILIUM LILY Liliaceae (Lily family) 百合属 |
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A butterfly nectars on Lilium speciosum var. rubrum in our garden. Photograph © Paige Woodward. |
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Most of our lilies are
grown from seed. This takes more time than vegetative propagation ~ most West
Coast natives need 5-7 years to reach flowering size ~ but there
are good reasons for taking the long way round.
Lilies do best with their roots in perpetual cool shade and their flowers in sun for at least part of the day; four hours is a rule often mentioned. Resources The taxonomy of the lilies of eastern Asia is incomplete and often vexed, with lilies new to western science emerging from China every year. Hoping to glimpse some of these wonders in their wild habitats before it is too late, we have organised a study-tour, Lilies of China. Excellent advice on the care of lilies will be found in Lilies: A Guide for Growers and Collectors by our dear friend Edward Austin McRae (Timber Press, 1998), ISBN 0 88192 410 5. Pots of these lily species and others are often available at the nursery. Lilies are shipped in autumn. Please order in good time. |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Lilium auratum
Mountain lily.
サクユリ Yama-yuri
(Japanese).
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward |
Lilium
auratum var. platyphyllum
(Lindley) Baker. Golden-rayed
lily. サクユリ Yama-yuri
(Japanese). This magnificent variety of
Japan's "Mountain Lily" is native only to the Izu Shoto, a
sprinkling of islets, some of them volcanic, not far south of Tokyo. It is
more robust than plain L. auratum, with thicker, almost waxy petals
and leaves; and it has few or no spots on its petals. Our plants are from
stock propagated for the Species Lily Preservation Group. Their huge
flowers, often 15-20 cm (6-8") across, rise on 140-cm
(4'6") stems to perfume our garden for
two or three weeks in July-August, especially in the evening. Easy in good
garden loam and part-day sun. Zone 6.
Not available this season. |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward |
Lilium canadense var. flavum Pursh. Golden Canada lily. Meadow lily. Flaring orange-gold flowers with purple freckles and russet pollen open in June-July on sturdy stems with whorled leaves. This lily tolerates many conditions, but is happiest beside ~ even in ~ a ditch, a shallow stream or a seep. Full sun to part shade. Stoloniferous. Native to New England and adjacent Canada. Our plants are from seed. Height 60-150 cm (2-5'). Zone 2, according to the New England Wild Flower Society. | |||
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Photograph © Arnold Trachtenberg |
Lilium canadense var. coccineum Pursh. Red Canada lily. Meadow lily. リリウム・カナデンセ (Japanese). Similar to the above, but tinged to suffused with cinnabar red. Our plants are from stock propagated for the Species Lily Preservation Group under the name L. canadense var. rubrum. In the lower photograph, by our friend Arnold Trachtenberg ~ click on it; you won't be sorry ~ the anthers appear black; to our eye they are a deep rust color. | |||
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Photograph © Pat Woodward
Photograph © Jim Sullivan |
Lilium
cernuum Komarov. Nodding lily. 垂花百合
Chui hua bai he (Chinese).
マツバユリ (Japanese). Beautiful and
exceptionally hardy, this small, sugar-pink, fragrant
Turk's-cap is closely related to Lilium
pumilum. It is native
to the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria and the Ussuri region of Siberia. Our bulbs are from
stock grown for the Species Lily Preservation Group. Grow
this one in sandy loam and dry it out at the end of the summer. At left
you see it (above) in our wet Zone 6 garden and (below) in
the Zone 5 garden of Jim Sullivan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Height to
120 cm (4'). Zone 3.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward |
Lilium columbianum
Hanson. Columbia lily. Western tiger lily. リリウム・コルムビアヌム
(Japanese).
Candelabras
of dainty, nodding, saffron Turk's-caps bloom in June-July
above whorled leaves.
Their hearts are splashed with maroon freckles. Bend closer ~ they
are sweetly scented. This most
widespread of the West Coast lilies is adapted to damp, open woods, grassy
meadows and dry slopes from sea level to the subalpine. At low elevations,
it's common to find 3-12 flowers on stems 1-2 m (3-6.5') tall. You might
find 15-20 flowers on shorter stems in the subalpine ~ a wonderful sight
on a slope of blue lupines. Native from BC to California and Idaho.
Our bulbs are from seeds collected in SW British Columbia. Zone 5.
Demand for this lily for native plantings is so great that we offer both mature bulbs and robust juveniles at the two-leaf stage; these are 2 or more years from blooming, depending on conditions. Bulb (Fall shipping only). Blooming size. $14.00; Juvenile. $6.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Lilium concolor
Salisbury, Late-blooming form. Morning star lily.
渥丹
Wo dan
(Chinese). ヒメユリ
(Japanese). Small, upward-facing flowers of intense lacquer-red bloom in July,
rather than June.
The tepals are thick and waxy. The stamens are the same lacquer-red. The purplish stem and the scattered, narrow leaves are
slightly hairy. Native to grassy mountain slopes in central and
northeastern China, Japan, Siberia and the Korean Peninsula. Some of
our
bulbs are from stock grown for the Species Lily Preservation Group; others
are from exchange seed. They are all pretty similar. Height
30-90 cm (1-3'). Zone 4.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $10.00 |
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Photographs © Jim Ault |
Lilium concolor Salisbury var. coridion
Baker. Hime-yuri (Japanese).
Substantial, waxy, star-shaped flowers bloom in June-July. They open
citron-yellow, with a greenish cast, becoming warm cadmium yellow. The stamens are
a matching yellow and surrounded by a ring of vertical russet
streaks, like iron filings, at the base of the tepals. Our bulbs descend from seeds provided to the
Species Lily Preservation Group by Dr. Marina Barinova of the St.
Petersburg Botanical Garden. Here you see bulbs from the same stock
growing in the Zone 5 garden of Jim Ault, director of ornamental plant research
at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Click on the pictures: the leaves and stems
are hairy; even the petals have a faint fuzz at the tips. Height
30-90 cm (1-3'). Zone 4.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $10.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Lilium duchartrei Franchet.
宝兴百合, Bao xing bai he
(Chinese). Umbels of 2-3 nodding,
white, revolute flowers with red-maroon spots bloom in July-August on
stems up to 1.5 m (5') tall. Fragrant. The
lanceolate leaves are scattered. Native to the north-central Chinese
provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei at elevations from
1500-3000 m (5,000-10,000'). Our plants are from wild seed.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $30.00 |
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Photographs © Pat Woodward |
Lilium formosanum
Wallace [var. pricei Stoker of
gardens]. 台湾百合
Tai wan bai he
(Chinese).
タカサゴユリ Takasago-yuri
(Japanese). This is a deliciously fragrant
late-summer dwarf ~ a full-sized creamy trumpet with narrow leaves on a surprisingly short
stem. The trumpet is slender and flushed red-purple down the outside
centre of each tepal; the
pollen is golden. There are usually one or two flowers per stem. This lily smells so good!
It also multiplies rapidly into heavenly clumps. Grow it on a slope, perhaps in the rock garden, where it can nod; just mix
organic matter into the soil and give it plenty of water. Keep
some in pots ~ for the dining table, and to drop into planters and hanging
baskets. Native to the mountains of Taiwan. Height varies in the
wild; the Flora
of China does not recognize var. pricei. Our plants are from
garden seed and consistently about 30 cm (12") tall. Zone 5. Award of Garden Merit (Royal
Horticultural Society).
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © G.M. Pradhan |
Lilium lancifolium
Thunberg
'Flore Pleno'. Double-flowered Tiger lily.
This is a sport of the dark-purple-spotted orange Turk's-cap lily native across China, Japan and the Korean
Peninsula.
The species, also sometimes called Lilium tigrinum, is widely
grown as both food and medicine. On our plants, flowers that
are consistently double bloom in July-August. Bulbils form in the
leaf axils. Height to 60 cm (24"). Zone 4.
Bulb. $10.00 |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Lilium lankongense Franchet. 匍茎百合 Pu jing bai he (Chinese). Delicate, recurved flowers in shades of pink to violet with spots of violet-rose bloom on airy stems with narrow leaves. The flowers are intensely, spicily fragrant and the pollen is golden. The stalk may emerge some distance from where you think you planted the bulb, for this is one of the lilies that spreads, and produces new bulbs, on stolons. Native to alpine grasslands in SE Tibet [Xizang] and NW Yunnan province in China. Our plants descend from bulbs propagated for the Species Lily Preservation Group from wild Chinese stock. We are growing them on a south-facing slope in deciduous shade, where they bloom in June-July. Some lankongense are said to bloom as late as October. Don't count on it! Height 40-150 cm (16-60"). Zone 5. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $16.00 |
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Photograph © Darm Crook
Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Lilium leichtlinii
Hooker f. var. leichtlinii. キバナノコオニユリ
(Japanese). The red-orange form of
this August-blooming Turk's-cap
lily, called var. maximowiczii, is common in Japan, the Korean peninsula, Manchuria in China and
Siberia in Russia. This rare yellow form with reddish-purple spots grows only in central Honshu,
Japan's main island, among tall grasses in high, moist meadows. The stem
is purplish; the buds, and the outside base of the tepals, are woolly. Height
60-120 cm (2-4'). Zone 5.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.00 |
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Lilium
leichtlinii
var. maximowiczii (Regel) Baker.
大花卷丹 Da
hua juan dan
(Chinese).
コオニユリKo-oni-yuri
(Japanese). Cinnabar-red,
purple-spotted Turk's-cap flowers, up to 12 per stem, bloom in
July-August. The nectaries are fringed with papillae. Native to damp,
humusy meadows and light forest in Japan, the Korean peninsula, Siberia in
Russia, and Shaanxi, Hebei, Jilin and Liaoning provinces in China. Like Lilium
lancifolium, which is usually more orange, but similar in flower, this
lily has been cultivated as food for a very long time and it is possible
that humans have extended its range. "A very good garden plant"
~ Eddie McRae in his book.
Height 60-200 cm (24-78"). Zone 5.
Not available this season. |
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Photograph © Arnold Trachtenberg |
Lilium leucanthum
var. centifolium
(Stapf. ex Elwes)
Stearn. Chinese white lily.
紫脊百合
Zi ji bai he
(Chinese).
Not available this season. |
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| Lilium mackliniae Sealy. | ||||
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Photograph © Paige Woodward
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Lilium maculatum Thunberg. スカシユリ Sukashi-yuri (Japanese). Sometimes called Lilium wilsonii. Closely related to Lilium dauricum. Upfacing, maroon-spotted apricot flowers, in umbels of up to 12 per stem, bloom in July-August. The pollen is maroon-brown. Native to damp humus along the shores of Japan's central island, Honshu, from the Kanto region north. Planted on a slope, this lily will often lean straight out, presenting its flowers like chalices. Our plants are from seeds collected wild in Japan. Height 30 -100 cm (1-3'). Zone 5, possibly colder. | |||
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Lilium martagon var. album
Weston. White Turk's-cap lily. This is an uncommon
white form of the variable pink candelabra lily native across
Eurasia. The species prefers dappled woodland shade. As Eddie McRae notes
in his book, "it flowers early in the garden, receiving sun before
the trees have leafed out fully, and is protected from heat later in the
season." Height to 180 cm (6'), usually much less. Zone 5,
possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $20.00 |
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Lilium nanum
Klotzsch var. nanum. 小百合
Xiao bai he
(Chinese). The name is the same in Latin and
Chinese: "Dwarf lily."
Wide, down-facing pink bells that remind of Nomocharis and Fritillaria
(this beauty has been filed under both genera in the past) bloom in summer on
short stems with
scattered, narrow leaves. Our stock is from several sources. The flowers
are the color of raspberry ice with black-currant blotches inside, at the
base of the tepals. Native
to subalpine meadows and open forest in the Himalaya and western China. The bulbs are naturally small. Give
them a damp, cool, peaty but well aerated root run in part-day shade. Height
15-30 cm (6-12"). Zone 5.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $20.00 |
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Lilium nanum
var. flavidum (Rendle)
Sealy.
黄斑百合 Huang ban bai he
(Chinese, "Yellow dwarf lily"). The
tepals are yellow and unspotted. Otherwise similar to var. nanum
(above).
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $25.00 |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward
Photograph © G.M. Pradhan |
Lilium nepalense D. Don. 紫斑百合 Zi ban bai he (Chinese). Gardeners keep losing this beauty. The secret of longer life is at the end of this description. Large, lime-green bells with hearts of deep maroon and dark pollen bloom in June-July. The flowers are down-facing, flared and scented. The bulb is stoloniferous. It roves underground (a Houdini in a pot), producing many smaller bulbs on strings. Native to open scrub in the high mountains of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, India, Myanmar (Burma), Tibet (Xizang) and Yunnan province in China. Height to 120 cm (4.5'). Lilium nepalense is Zone 5, but it abhors fall and winter wet. If that's likely to be a problem where you are, grow it outdoors under an overhang or in a frame or glasshouse. Some people even overwinter these treasures bagged in peat in the refrigerator. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.00 |
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| Lilium oxypetalum var. insigne | ||||
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Photograph © Pat Woodward |
Lilium pardalinum Kellogg. Leopard lily; Panther lily. This is a complex of tall, flame-hued, Turk's-cap lilies that form substantial clumps and are very easy in the garden. The flowers are scarlet shading to gold at the centre, with purple-brown spots and golden pollen. Adapted to brooksides and other moist places in sun to part shade. Porous, well aerated organic soil and summer water are essential. Native to southern Oregon and California. Bloom time is June-July. Most of our bulbs are grown from seeds, either wild or hand-pollinated. Some are garden divisions made in self-defence. This lily forms huge clusters of bulbs, jam-packed and facing outward around a central core. When bloom drops from extravagant to merely stunning, dig the cluster up in autumn and break the bulbs apart, making sure each division has good roots. Height 1-2.5 m (3-8'). Zone 6 for sure; we have a report of Zone 3 (Winnipeg). Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward |
Lilium parryi S. Watson. Lemon lily.
Butter-yellow flowers with amber to maroon freckles open in June. Scented.
Native to high-altitude streambanks and wet meadows in southern
California, where it is red-listed. Our plants descend from bulbs received from the Species Lily
Preservation Group. In our garden they thrive in dappled, deciduous shade on
a fairly steep slope with Trillium ovatum,
Lilium columbianum and Erythronium
oregonum . We have very few of these wonderful Lemon lilies for sale
this year. At least Zone 6.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $30.00 |
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Photograph by Charles Webber © California Academy of Sciences |
Lilium parvum
Kellogg. Sierra Tiger lily,
orange form.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $30.00 |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward
Photograph by Jim Robinett © Georgie Robinett |
Lilium parvum
Kellogg. Sierra Tiger lily, pink form. Thimble-sized flowers ~
cerise at the recurved tips, then heavily freckled russet on white ~ bloom
in June-July, inviting bees, hummingbirds and swallowtail butterflies to
pollinate them. The very narrow leaves are in whorls. The bulb is very small,
as its name suggests, and
grows sideways, rhizome-like.
This uncommon pink form of the widespread Sierra Tiger lily is sometimes called L. parvum var. hallidayi. It is native only to the Sierra Nevada in El Dorado County, California, where it grows in damp meadows and along streams in open coniferous forest. Our plants are from wild seeds. At top left you see this treasure in our nursery. The lily in the lower picture is a wild hybrid known as the "Ditch lily" which resembles our lily in structure; it was photographed on the Georgetown Divide in the Sierras by the late Jim Robinett. Lilium parvum can take our Zone 6 cold, but it is used to snowcover and should be protected from winter rains. It definitely likes to be damp while it's above ground, though. As Eddie McRae writes in his book, "it is really a wetland bulb, inhabiting damp snowbed sites in an otherwise dry zone." Height to about 1.5 m (5'), usually less. |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Lilium pumilum Redouté. Coral lily. 山丹 Shan dan (Chinese). イトハユリ (Japanese). This little lily says, WOW, look over here! Its small turk's-cap flowers, shiny-red and sweetly scented, dance above narrow leaves. They bloom in June with us, though the Flora of China says July-August. In China, this lily is grown for its medicinal properties. Native to N China, N Korea, Mongolia and Siberia. Closely related to Lilium cernuum and sometimes called Lilium tenuifolium. Our plants are now from stock propagated for the Species Lily Preservation Group. Height 15-60 cm (6-24"). Zone 5, perhaps colder. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © Edward Austin McRae |
Lilium pumilum
Redouté Yellow Bunting
strain. A
yellow form of the lily above that also comes true from seed. It flowers a little
earlier. Our plants descend from bulbs
propagated for the Species Lily Preservation Group. Only a few available.
Not available this season. |
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Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Lilium pyrenaicum Gouan. Pyrenees
lily. Substantial yellow turk's-cap flowers with black spots bloom
atop vigorous compact stems in June. Our
plants are seed-grown from garden stock. Height to 70 cm (28"). Award of Garden Merit (Royal
Horticultural Society). Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $16.00 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward
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Lilium regale
E.H. Wilson.岷江百合 Min jiang bai he
(Chinese).リーガルリリー
(Japanese). Horizontal white trumpets with a golden heart flower in June-July
on tall stems with narrow leaves. The trumpets' exterior is tinged to washed
with
red-purple and the pollen is golden. Very fragrant. Easy
to grow ~ no hair shirt required. Native to rocky slopes and riverbanks in
Sichuan province in China. Our bulbs are from garden seed. Height 60-180 cm
(2-6'). Zone 5. Award of Garden Merit (Royal
Horticultural Society). Bulb (Fall shipping only). $8.00 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward
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Lilium rosthornii
Diels.
南川百合 Nan chuan bai he
(Chinese). A cousin of Lilium henryi,
this luscious, late-summer bloomer produces up to 9 recurved orange
flowers with dark green nectaries edged with prominent papillae. The narrow
tepals are spotted purple-maroon; the long, diverging stamens bear red-brown
pollen. In our garden this is still producing luminous, apricot flowers when
hot-pink or violet Colchicum
species are in bloom ~ a striking color contrast worth planting to achieve. Native to dappled shade on forest slopes and streamsides in China's
Guizhou, Hubei and Sichuan provinces. Our plants
are from stock propagated for the Species Lily Preservation Group. Height
40-100 cm (16-40"). Zone 5, perhaps colder.
Not available this season. |
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Photograph © Joseph Nemmer |
Lilium rubellum
Baker.ヒメサユリ
Himesa-yuri, Otome-yuri, Maiden lily (Japanese). Deliciously fragrant
trumpets, wild-rose pink and slightly recurved, open in June on 60-cm
(24") stems. Red-listed in Japan, where it is native to high mountain meadows on N Honshu, the main
island. Though it is most plentiful where winter snow is long and deep, it
tolerates other temperate regimes. Our plants
are from stock propagated for the Species Lily Preservation Group. Zone 6,
perhaps colder.
Not available this season. |
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Photographs © Paige Woodward |
Lilium speciosum
Thunberg var. rubrum Baker. カノコユリ
Kanoko-yuri, Mosquito-saw lily
(Japanese). Voluptuous, recurved, spicily
fragrant flowers ~ flushed pale pink to cerise
with darker spots and papillae and emerald-green nectaries ~ open in
August-September. This is among the last lilies to bloom in our garden,
continuing through the first round of Colchicum.
Native to southern Japan, it is much visited by butterflies and moths here,
even in daylight. Our lilies descend from stock grown for the Species Lily
Preservation Group. They are raised from seeds and, as in the wild, the
flower color varies. Some are very dark, as in our upper picture at left.
More typical are those in the lower picture and at the top of this page. We
can't offer you a choice of color. All are lovely. Height to 170 cm (5.5').
Zone 6, perhaps colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.00 |
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Photograph © Paige Woodward
Photograph © Edward Austin McRae |
Lilium taliense
"var. Kaichen".
大理百合
Da
li bai he
(Chinese). Native to limestone soils in mountainous parts of
China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. Small, sweetly fragrant
turks-cap flowers bloom in June-July on a stalk up to 3 m (10') tall.
A dozen flowers per spike is typical, but 62 have been reported. This lily's
colors vary considerably, too. The tepals are always creamy white deepening to lemon or
gold down the midline, with a dusting of red or maroon freckles at the
edges. Sometimes there's a line of green within the yellow midline.
Sometimes the freckles are a broad band. Discussions about what to call this
lily never reach a firm conclusion. It has traits of both L. taliense and
L. duchartrei, which are sometimes considered a single, variable
species; but it also has traits they don't have. No matter what its place in
early cladograms, we would never mistake this lily for either species. Our plants descend from bulbs
propagated under the name above ~ minus the double quotes ~ from wild Chinese
stock for the Species Lily Preservation Group. We have only a few this
year.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $22.00 |
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Photograph © Pat Woodward
Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Lilium tsingtauense Gilg.
青岛百合
Qing dao bai he
(Chinese).
Large, upright flowers of a flamboyant, living orange open in June-July above
tropical-looking whorls of wide green leaves. The flowers have matching
orange pollen, fine maroon freckles and they are scented.
With us, the leaves often turn maroon in autumn. Native
to open forest, scrub and grassland on the Korean Peninsula and in the Chinese provinces of
Anhui and Shandong. Our plants descend from bulbs received from the Species Lily
Preservation Group. Height to 120 cm (4'). Zone 6.
Not available this season. |
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| This page was updated March 15, 2008. | ||||
