Lilium nepalense
| Lilium nepalense | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lilium nepalense
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].
Plants should be kept dry from November to April and are therefore best grown in a greenhouse border[4][5].
The stem is running and rooting underground[4]. Bulbs should be planted about 20cm deep in almost pure leafmold with added charcoal[5]. 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].
A very ornamental plant[6]. The flowers are usually malodorous[7]. The flowers have a strong scent of indole[8].
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 from Nepal to Assam and N.E. India.
Habitat: Exposed positions amongst rocks and on open slopes, 2300 - 3500 metres[9][4]. Plants are often found on limestone rocks and in bamboo thickets[4].
Edibility: Bulb - cooked[10][11][12]. The bulb is about 20mm in diameter[13]. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum).
Medicinal: The bulb is used as a tonic[12].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
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 4.2 4.3 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Woodcock, Hubert. Lilies - Their Culture and Management. Country Life, 1935.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg and Adam Stainton. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press, 1984.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Manandhar, Narayan. Plants and People of Nepal. Timber Press, 2002.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.