Lilium nanum
| Lilium nanum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lilium nanum
Propagation: Seed - immediate epigeal germination[1]. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. Should germinate in 2 - 4 weeks[2]. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people prefer to leave them in the seed pot until they die down at the end of their second years growth. This necessitates sowing the seed thinly and using a reasonably fertile sowing medium. The plants will also require regular feeding when in growth. Divide the young bulbs when they are dormant, putting 2 - 3 in each pot, and grow them on for at least another year before planting them out into their permanent positions when the plants are dormant[K].
Division with care in the autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately[3].
Bulb scales can be removed from the bulbs in early autumn. If they are kept in a warm dark place in a bag of moist peat, they will produce bulblets. These bulblets can be potted up and grown on in the greenhouse until they are large enough to plant out[3].
Cultivation: Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun[3].
This species grows well in areas such as Scotland with cool summers, it dislikes areas with warm summers[4].
Early to mid autumn is the best time to plant out the bulbs in cool temperate areas, in warmer areas they can be planted out as late as late autumn[3].
The plant should be protected against rabbits and slugs in early spring. If the shoot tip is eaten out the bulb will not grow in that year and will lose vigour[3].
Range: E. Asia - Himalayas to W. China
Habitat: Open grassy, rocky hillsides, amongst dwarf rhododendron shrubs, 3300 - 4500 metres[4]. Forest margins, thickets, grassy slopes and alpine grasslands, 3500 - 4500 metres in western China[5].
Edibility: Bulb - cooked. The bulb is up to 23mm in diameter[5]. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum).
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Royal Horticultural Society. The Plantsman Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society, 1982.
- ↑ Reed, David. Lilies and Related Plants. 1989.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Flora of China. 1994.