Jane mentions Lilium occidentale. Does anyone have 3-4 seeds they could spare? I have been looking since I moved to the south coast of Oregon for any wild populations, in sites a friend saw it growing 15-20 years ago, and it's not there anymore. Pardalinum does wonderfully for me, as are many of the bulbs I'm beginning to grow for myself and for the nursery. It really ought to be in the trade, if nothing else, to keep it going. (I hear rumors that's it has been wild collected almost to extinction, which of course is not good.) It's all very well and good to protect the few left in the wild, but surely someone has it in their gardens? Thanks, Robin Hansen Southwestern Oregon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane McGary" <janemcgary@earthlink.net> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 6:13 PM Subject: [pbs] Western lilies (was Lilium candidum) > Jim asked, > > >I have been hoping you or some > >other west coast grower would have something to say about the so-called > >dry-land western lilies such as Lilium kelloggii, L. bolanderi, L. > >rubescens and L. washingtonianum. > > > >In my experience, none of the west coast lilies is easy here. Even L. > >pardalinum and its various hybrids/forms seem challenged by what my garden > >has to offer. > > L. pardalinum enjoys moisture year round in my garden. In the mountains one > sometimes sees it growing right in the spray of mountain streams. Perhaps > the hot, humid east coast weather makes it susceptible to disease, although > I've never seen Botrytis on it here. > > >Years ago a friend gave me some freshly collected seed of Lilium > >washingtonianum. I eventually had several hundred seedlings in a coldframe. > >Having read that this species grows in forests, I had started them in a > >shaded coldframe. The frame was left open during our wet, humid summer. > >That was the last I ever saw of them - not one survived the summer. > > OK, they grow in forests, but not what an East Coast person would think of > on hearing the word "forest." They grow typically on very steep slopes in > pine and fir forests, above the normal winter snow elevation, and they are > very dry in summer owing to the steep, rocky sites and competition from the > trees. This very beautiful large and fragrant lily is regarded as a great > challenge even in my neighborhood, only a half hour's drive from some of > its wild sites but much lower in elevation. However, the similar though > smaller L. rubescens, from northern California, is more amenable to garden > culture, if you can keep the foul rabbits from eating it (mine are in > little wire cages). > > > >For those of us here in the east, it's very difficult to understand how the > >requirements of Lilium washingtonianum differ from, for instance, those of > >the so-called wet land lilies such as L. maritimum, L parvum and so on. > > The only "bog" lily I know of on the west coast is L. occidentale. I think > the very rare L. pitkinense is also a bog species, perhaps Mary Sue can > confirm? Even L. occidentale (which is on the endangered list) doesn't grow > in stagnant water, but in clear, slowly moving fresh water, often with > Darlingtonia, the West Coast analog of the eastern Sarracenias. > > L. parvum is regarded as an easy garden plant in most parts of the country > and has been used a lot in breeding hybrids. I grow L. kelloggii and L. > bolanderi in the bulb frame to keep them from getting too much water in > late spring (we just had two solid weeks of rain). However, they don't want > to be parched in summer, just not too moist. > > For complete information on growing species lilies, see Edward McRae's book > "Lilies" (Timber Press, 1998). > > Jane McGary > Northwestern Oregon > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >