Lilium dauricum

Uses

Bulb - cooked^[10]^[12]^[13]^[2]. The bulb is about 2m in diameter^[8]. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). Flowers^[13]. No further details are given.

Plant part: Flowers

Plant part: Root

Environment

Range

N.E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Siberia.

Habitat

Damp meadows and forest edges in mixed herbaceous vegetation in sandy soils^[11]. Open forests, bushy slopes, hillsides and moist meadows, 400 - 1500 metres^[8].

Light

full sun

Shade tolerance

no shade

Water

moderate

Hardiness

Zone 5+

Soil textures

sandy, loamy

Soil pH

acid, neutral, alkaline

Drainage

well drained

Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil

Drought

intolerant

Propagation

Seed - immediate epigeal germination^[3]. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. Should germinate in 2 - 4 weeks^[5]. 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^[6]. 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^[6]. The formation of bulbils on the stem can be induced by either removing the stem at flowering time and layering it just below the soil surface, or by removing all the flowers before they open.

Cultivation

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil^[4]. Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil in a sunny position, it rapidly degenerates if grown in shade^[4]^[6]. Prefers an acid soil but tolerates lime^[11]^[6]. The dormant bulb is very hardy and has withstood soil temperatures down to -20°c, though the embryonic flower shoot will be damaged at temperatures around -15°c^[7]. Stem rooting with a stoloniferous stem base, plant the bulbs 10 - 12cm deep^[9]^[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^[6]. A very ornamental plant^[1]. L. spectabilis, which is said to be a synonym of this species by many botanists, differs from this plant and therefore exists in its own right^[13]. 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^[6].

References

F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

↩

Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

↩

? The Plantsman. Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society 1982-00-00

↩

Woodcock. and Coutts. Lilies - Their Culture and Management. Country Life 1935-00-00

↩1 ↩2 ↩3

RHS Lily Group. Lilies and Related Plants.

↩

Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5