I was just wondering who out there is successfully growing L. auratum and what the garden conditions are. I tried it once- it put up a stalk, buds, blooms that started to open; then it didn't live to finish. Turns out the bulb was undergoing a slow rot to oblivion! I just don't think my drainage is good enough for this one (heavy clay, amended but hardpan below). It's native condition in Japan is volcanic ash and lava debris where it would obviously have sharp drainage. If I lived 15 miles farther east I would have perfect conditions!
L. auratum...
I put in some Liatris this year and the info I had for planting came with a warning about bulb rot. The planting instructions suggested using gravel in the planting hole, 2 or 3" deep. Might be worth a try.
I have found all you will ever need to know about growing L auratum
http://permaculture.info/cgi-bin/eden?plant=3771
It states that fertilisers, rich soils and lime are fatal to this plant, but that young bulbs must be regularly fed while growing.
I assume they can be fed on a natural food of sorts. I don't feed at all, the compost mix I use seems to give them all they require, but I haven't tried this one YET.
It seems to have a life span of 3-4 years, so propogation is a must to keep it going
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium_auratum
Ha ha ha ha I like this snippet... "A very ornamental plant[1], but short-lived in cultivation..." ha ha!
Wallaby-- you've been researching again! You will need that info when you get your auratum seeds. Ahh-- the challenge!
Well I don't usually fertilize because I am too busy, I don't have rich soil for sure and I don't have lime-- just the opposite. What I do have is too much rain in the winter for the rate of drainage so I am sure this done it in. So beak I don't think adding gravel will help because the whole area can be under water for periods during the winter. The alternative would be to grow in a pot under the eaves but I don't think it is worth the trouble.
My bulb came from Ed McRae who grows them at... LAVA NURSERY on the VOLCANIC flanks of beautiful Mt. Hood. I think the poor baby was shocked to death when it came to live in my clay garden!
But I would still like to know if anyone is successfully growing it. More for the sake of newbies who might purchase it not knowing it's needs.
The only thing you could do is to grow them near dwarf evergreen shrubs that take up a lot of water, and as it says 'always on a slope' for drainage.
I challenge you to grow them successfully! I bet you could do it!
I don't have a slope...
Pard, do you grow other lilies in the area that you're talking about? I wouldn't think any lily would be happy in a wet spot like that.
Yes, amazing, huh! Of course I don't recommend it though. My neighbor has an apple tree just on the other side of the fence and I think that helps it dry out quicker as it puts on leaves. Also a Western Red Cedar up closer to the house sucks moisture out of the soil. Some winters are dryer than others and I don't notice any standing water. It's boom and bust here. It hardly rains at all in the summer. We haven't had any appreciable rain since around the first of June, 3 months ago. I just went out and took this pic from my bearded iris bed showing the Death Valley effect. The irises don't seem to mind though...
This lily does well for me in what I would call ordinary garden soil in a semi shaded position. I only feed sparingly with pelleted chicken manure.
Hmmm, I though the Willamette valley had some of the best soils in the country. Did someone scrape off all your good topsoil? I suppose you could have a raised bed.
One thing good about auratum: if it really is short-lived, it must also be relatively easy to grow from seed.
It seems like the soil varies depending on location. I am smack in the middle where the soil is heavy clay and major crop is grass seed. Rye grass grows great in it. That cracked patch I showed above is part of an 8' X 8' area where I tilled in more than a yard of organic matter 2 years ago.
Most of my trumpet seedlings are in a slightly raised bed (about 4") but I really can't build anymore as that would divert my share of winter rain to the neighbors yards and I don't think they would be happy about that!
If anyone is interested in the geology of the area just research the Missoula floods..
Hmmm. Just a thought here, Pard. Rain gardens are the big fad here. But I do hope they stay a permanent part of landscapes.
We get charged for storm water run-off in my little town. Yet all new construction requires a paved driveway. I am one of the few remaining with a gravel drive. I think people think I am weird, weeding my driveway. Well, that's nothing new.
I would love to do rain gardening but we don't have any rain in the summer, nor snow in the winter (rare and brief). Anymore I see alot of homeowners (me included) give up and let the lawns go dormant in the summer. Lush green lawns are getting more and more rare. I try to make up for it with the gardens though. If I were to water the lawn in a way to maintain green it would cost a hundred bucks a month of what would otherwise be lily dollars (to stay on topic;-).
Good for you!