Lilium nobilissimum
| Lilium nobilissimum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 6' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Lilium nobilissimum
Propagation: Seed - One report says immediate epigeal germination[1], another says delayed hypogeal germination[2] whilst a third says autumnal hypogeal germination[3]. We would suggest sowing the seed as soon as possible and keeping your fingers crossed. 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].
Not very easy to grow in cultivation, it is best grown in the greenhouse border, succeeding outdoors only in the mildest areas of the country[4],
Stem rooting, plant the bulbs 10 - 15cm deep[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].
The flowers are sweetly scented[6].
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 - Japan on Ryukyu Island.
Edibility: Bulb - cooked[7][8]. 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.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Reed, David. Lilies and Related Plants. 1989.
- ↑ Royal Horticultural Society. The Plantsman Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society, 1982.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Woodcock, Hubert. Lilies - Their Culture and Management. Country Life, 1935.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.