Martagon lilies
Garak (Fri, 22 Jun 2018 11:08:30 PDT)

Hi Rodger,

I guess your report shows how adaptable martagons are - two weeks ago I
visited a colony in their natural habitat, about 10 kilometers from here
on the Swabian alb - that means:

On the border between continental and oceanic climate with highly
variable winters with mild wet spells (west wind) as well as freezing
cold periods (east wind - zone 6 up there on the Alb while 7ish down
here in the Fils valley) and hot summers - of course no extra water in
the wild

Soil: leafy forest ground on jura limestone / karst which obviously
means good global drainage

mostly filtered light only through deciduous forest canopy. Very few
ventured into sunny meadows.

I couldn't find any deer-caused damage

I may upload some pictures to the wiki - i know. there are a lot
already, but none of true wild populations from original habitat...

I have to admit I didn't think of sampling the scent - I missed to do
that on that trip on Gymnadenia odoratissima and Orobanche carophyllacea
as well. When I'm on the run with a camera, I tend to forget the other
senses...

Gretings,
Martin

Am 21.06.2018 um 03:20 schrieb Rodger Whitlock:

Martagon lilies are flowering right now, and doing better than in the
past. They are even starting to self-sow a little, so the patch is
bigger than when originally planted; and one stray seed germinated
right by my front steps and is flowering right now.

This is not because I am some super-gardener. Nor is it because the
seeds I grew these from were in some way "special". The show is due
entirely to the conditions of growth, so let me outline those:

1. Climate: cool Mediterranean with wet winters and cool summers.

2. Extra water? None.

3. Soil: a clay called "floured sand." This clay, unlike the blue
marine clay so common here, can be worked when wet because it isn't
sticky.

4. Drainage: poor. I get standing water near the martagons during wet
periods.

5. Light: almost no direct sun but plenty of sky light.

6. Pests: deer, which in many seasons eat all the buds.

The great drawback to martagons is that though they are very
beautiful, they smell bad and hence cannot be used as a cut flower.

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--
Martin
----------------------------------------------
Southern Germany
Likely zone 7a

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