Zone 9b coastal Otago NZ
Though not enormously showy at first glance like an orienpet, this species lily is well worth growing if ...Read Moreyou can get hold of a bulb.
The petite flowers are thick and waxy and brilliantly yellow with shiny black ticking while the pollen is so orange it looks artificial! They seem almost alien and every time you walk past you see some new, weird detail.
The scent is dark and sinister, and while some people find it disturbing, I think it's delicious. People's reaction to them is always fascinating; some are appalled by some element of their smell or appearance, while others fall in love at first sight.
I have them planted amongst rocks with a shaded root run, which is apparently the key to keeping them happy. They don't like to be roasted.
Difficult to find but endlessly rewarding, perhaps not for the faint hearted!
Origine from Pyrenees Mountains (France/Spain) and already described around 1600. In Scotland and North UK it appears sometimes locally i...Read Moren the wild. The stem (40 to 120 cm) is dense packed with little narrow leaves. The stem carries clusters of 6 to 10 nodding flowers, each 2 to 4 cm across, soft yellow with dark purple stripes and spots. It likes a nutritious moist but well drained soil in partial shade. Flowering: May -June.
Sow at Max. 5ºC (41ºF), germination irregular, often several months (source Tom Clothier).
Lilium pyrenaicum is a wonderful lily which feels happy in the rock garden here in Austria. Early in bloom and very hardy
Zone 9b coastal Otago NZ
Though not enormously showy at first glance like an orienpet, this species lily is well worth growing if ...Read More
Origine from Pyrenees Mountains (France/Spain) and already described around 1600. In Scotland and North UK it appears sometimes locally i...Read More