I just received some bulbs i had ordered from a bulb-company specialised in rare bulbs and one among them is Lilium mackliniae.
My experience with growing lilies is very limited having grown only L.martagon until now. I actually started real interest in lilies through this forum :)
I fell for this one not only because I really love its pure beauty but also because it would be very suitable for my shady garden as according to the catalogue of the bulb company it's suited for a shady cool place.
I would appreciate it if someone could give his/her experience with this lily. One of the comments in Plant Files describes it as very difficult to please..
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/136462/
This message was edited Nov 4, 2008 5:47 PM
Does anyone has experience with Lilium mackliniae ?
The bulb is rather small, probably natural for this specie but looks in excellent condition with fresh roots still attached to it.
It does look like a healthy bulb. Congratulations on your procurement of such a bulb.
I don't have much help for you. On 2 Feb 2006 I winter sowed some seed of L. mackliniae, and they came up on 8 May 2006. They seemed to be doing quite well for the 2006 and 2007 seasons and weren't picky at all. But for an unknown reason, none returned in 2008.
I have now procured a few more seeds to try again.
Thanks Leftwood! I think I can only try. For the moment I've planted it in a container, though I have a place in mind in my garden that could be ideal for it.. I guess it being so expensive it's probably not all that easy to raise them from seed into maturity. We'll see.. Would you be interested in some more seeds if it makes them next year?
I am quite sure that mackliniae would not be self fertile. It would need another different L. mackliniae to cross pollinate with to produce true mackliniae seed. However, if it does produce seed (by crossing with some other species), the resulting hybrid would be very promising, I would think.
Yes, I think me, Wallaby and perhaps Pard would all be interested.
Well the only lilies it could cross with in my place are L.martagon and L.martagon 'alba', I have no neighbours who have lilies. Don't know if a crossing is possible among these two species. Could be interesting if they did! If it does make seed I figure out that they can cross then? (And I would be happy to share the seeds amongst you)
Extremely doubtful they would ever cross. And if it did produce a pod with "seeds", the seeds probably would not be viable. But then again, you never know . . .
I planted this lily in my raised bed about a year ago but have never seen it again :( It's a beautiful thing so I might try again.
Sorry to hear about your misfortune with this lily Galanthophile, did you only have one ? I didn't dare to plant it in the garden but in a large pot so I have better control over it.
Yes only one bulb. I thought I was able to protect it a bit more in the raised bed rather than in the open garden - maybe I should have took a chance!