Lilium pardalinum
| Lilium pardalinum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 7' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Lilium pardalinum (common name: panther lily)
Propagation: Seed - autumnal hypogeal germination. Best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in spring[1]. Stored seed will require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification, each period being about 2 months long[1]. Grow on in cool shady conditions. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people 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 in autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately[2].
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.
Bulbils - gather in late summer when they start to fall off the stems and pot up immediately. Grow on in a greenhouse until large enough to go outside[1].
Cultivation: Succeeds in almost any soil that is moist but not water-logged[3][4]. Prefers a wet soil on a slope or a well-drained soil with a high water table[5]. Tolerates lime[3][5][1]. Succeeds in full sun but rapidly deteriorates if grown in deep shade[4]. Fairly wind resistant but is best grown in a sheltered position[3][4].
Very ornamental and easily grown[6], the plant is rhizomatous, forming clumps[3]. The plant increases rapidly by division, each bulb producing 5 new bulbs per year[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[2].
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[2].
Range: South-western N. America - California to Oregon.
Habitat: Stream banks and springy places to 2000 metres, forming large colonies near the coastal range[3][7].
Edibility: Bulb - cooked[4][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, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Reed, David. Lilies and Related Plants. 1989.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Fox, Derek. Growing Lilies. Croom Helm, 1985.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Woodcock, Hubert. Lilies - Their Culture and Management. Country Life, 1935.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.