Lilies and Related Plants - RHS Lily Group

Lilium bulbiferum var. chaixii Lilium cernuum
achieving this goal was at the very start when it was almost impossible to find Lilium
species seed and if found to pry them loose from those that had the seed. Who
in their right mind would want to send Lilium species seed to a guy that thinks he
could grow them in a Zone 1 environment north of the 60 th latitude? Everybody
knows Lilium species can’t be grown that far north. After retirement in 1999, and
learning how to turn on a computer, I found out that Societies like the RHS and
NALS had lily seed exchanges, which made the task of finding seed much easier.
In the Northwest Territories of Canada, which is where I live, reliable snow
cover provides the required winter mulch. This area receives anywhere from 61cm
(24 inches) to 122cm (4 feet) of snow each winter. The type of snow is light and
fluffy and because of a lack of wind at ground level it doesn’t wind-pack or form a
surface crust. By the time real cold weather sets in there is an adequate supply of
mother nature’s white mulch. With 61cm of snow at -40°C (-40°F) the soil’s surface
temperature only drops to a -2°C (+10°F). Snow is almost always here to stay by
the end of October and at that time the soil will usually only have a crust of frost on
its surface. The spring snow melt helps thaw the soil quickly and gives the bulbs in
a raised bed a quick drink to start their seasonal growth. Without raised beds the
soil is totally saturated for at least two weeks. With the Lilium bulbs in raised beds
only the soil below the beds is saturated. A well drained soil even in early spring
disperses the excess water.
Just because a Lilium species grows well here does not mean each of its
varieties will do the same. An example of this phenomenon is found with
L . lancifolium. The diploid form and several triploid varieties do well but varieties
flaviflorum and flore-pleno struggle to survive. With L . maculatum the varieties
monticola and dauricum do well but the type (late form) and variety flavum
do not.
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