Lilium poilanei

aaron floden via pbs pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Mon, 13 Apr 2015 06:05:47 PDT
At the lower latitudes where Lilium poilanei grows the sun is far more intense and despite this I observed this species at three different locations in Vietnam where it was in full sun, but the bulbs were shaded by grasses or in the cracks of rocks. At this elevation these plants experience a cloud-forest monsoon like summer, but are usually relatively dry from October to March. Also at this elevation some seasonality is observed and above 1600 meters (i never saw it lower, but maybe only because I did not look) there is a defined zone of frequent frost and occasional snow (temps to 16F have been recorded down to around 1800-2000 meters). I also saw it near the border of Yunnan where it was on a cold west facing peak at 2400 meters in full sun. Here it grew adjacent to the eastern slope covered in Rhododendron, Ternstroemia, Carpinus, and other plants all stunted by the wind, but the Lilium was only in open grassy areas in igneous derived soil. I suspect these will be the hardiest of the collections, but they are also very slow in comparison; the poilanei from near where the type originated have flowered after 2 full years from seed and these are still putting up single leaves. I suspect that they may be something different and in fact they look a lot like majoense I grew many years ago from Chen Yi.
  Aaron
       From: "iain@auchgourishbotanicgarden.org" <iain@auchgourishbotanicgarden.org>
 To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org 
Cc: frankcar1965@comcast.net 
 Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2015 5:59 AM
 Subject: [pbs] Lilium poilanei
   
This taxon comes from a mountain range on the frontier between China and Vietnam, its not quite
as simple as asking if your zone is suitable. I don't know much about the detailed climate where you live but this
lily comes from a region of relatively high humidity but like all lilies it needs near perfect drainage. As long as the
moisture at its roots is free flowing downwards that shouldn't be a problem but bare in mind this region in Asia
does not have the same seasonality as many other parts of the world. I grow this taxon in northern Scotland in
what is a crude equivalent to your USDA Zone 8, with ours being circa Zone 6 or 6A, roughly !  However we have
extremely distinct seasons where Spring is late, it has only just arrived with still night time frosts down to - 5 C but
rapidly increasing day lengths; our snow line after last night's deposit is down to c. 300 metres asl., but right now
we have a Sunday morning blizzard however the snow here won't last long.... hopefully however the skiers are 
wandering around with smiles on their faces, oh to be young again. 

  
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