Lilium candidum, etc

Jim McKenney jimmckenney@starpower.net
Thu, 17 Jun 2004 16:03:31 PDT
I just remembered one other thing about Lilium candidum which may be of
interest to growers here in eastern North America. 

Thirty or forty years ago there was a plant of Lilium candidum, one plant,
which was growing on a south-east facing hillside in an oak forest on the
grounds of the US National Arboretum. I have no idea how long that plant
grew there. Its companions included, in addition to the oaks, camellias.
The site was presumably strongly acidic. 

I saw this plant several times over the course of several years. I remember
seeing it late in its growing season, well after it had bloomed, and the
stem was easily six feet high - much higher than typical plants in our
climate. Was the height due to the low light conditions as the
inflorescence developed? This plant would have been exposed to lots of
sunlight from late November to well into May when the oaks leafed out. As I
recall, the accession tag indicated that the plant was Turkish in origin. 

Jim McKenney
jimmckenney@starpower.net
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7 where I'm old enough to have
lots  of memories but not so old that I have to worry about getting them
all written down soon - I hope!


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