Very nice flowers, Michael!

But there must be some mix up there. Lilium canadense has a completely different look. The plant should have narrow leaves of thin substance, arranged in unmistakeable whorls on green stems. Flowers too, do not resemble the L. canadense. They can be that color, but not that shape or with those kinds of spots. If you grew it from seed, I'll bet it sprouted the first season and grew multiple leaves. L. canadense will sprout only one leaf in the second season (delayed hypogeal growth).

Lilium szovitsianum from seed


Very excited about this one. I've been hoping it would turn out to be this form of the species.
Lilium monadelphum from wild seed collected in Georgia (in the Caucasus, Asia).

That is beautiful Rick! Great spotting. I have heard that some people believe that szovitsianum is just a variant of L. Monadelphum along with others......any thoughts?

Rick, Lilium szovitsianum is beautiful, but your L. monadelphum is ......... OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!!!

Joebass said:That is beautiful Rick! Great spotting. I have heard that some people believe that szovitsianum is just a variant of L. Monadelphum along with others......any thoughts?

I do tend to be a lumper with taxonomy, but I haven't grown L. monadelphum for that long to formulate any kind of opinion. (My first batch of L. monadelphum just up and died one winter before any flowered.) There are a lot of examples of what was once classified as a different species, and later proved to be variant of a same species. When you look at how varied our human species is, yet we are all exactly the same species (no varieties or subspecies), lumping certainly can have validity.

But sometimes I'll still use the "illegal" names, for easy differentiation in garden and garden notes. For instance, the lily that usually masquerades as Lilium tsingtauense is actually a natural hybrid of Lilium tsingtauense crossed with L. distichum and/or L. medeoloides. Rather than using that long phrasing, I'll just call it Lilium miquelianum.

Such dreamy lilies. Absolutely sublime. I hope one day I can flower both - what a marvelous experience!

leitchtlinii ready to bloom

Lilium pumilum 'Golden Gleam'

'Golden Gleam'. Do you mean this is a 'named' but unregistered hybrid designation.

Lots of variation with L. pumilum, even a white and cream color ones, I've heard. I have one that only semi-reflexes. And the flowers are just a little bit larger as well.

I never looked this one up until now....
From the RHS lily register, seems spot on for the modern take:


From seed from a local NSLS member. As some may remember from last year, the name had led me to think it would be yellow, and I was a bit surprised that it was an orange. I am not sure how the man performed his cross. Does it not look quite right?

Interesting. Has anyone tried recreating the cross to see if the RHS entry is plausible?

Australis said:Interesting. Has anyone tried recreating the cross to see if the RHS entry is plausible?

David Simms made several Martasian crosses. I believe someone has made that cross more recently.

Given the year noted in the RHS registry, it would have to be without embryo rescue, so I don't think Simms' Martasian crosses (which I understand from his article were using ER) would be enough to prove that it was possible.

Well on the odd chance that it might work, after I read that, I went out and stuck Mrs. R.O. Backhouse and L. martagon var. albiflorum pollen on it. Deed is done. Tomorrow with a new flower, I'll mix some Golden Gleam pollen from another seedling with martagon pollen and apply.

Thanks, Rick. I'll be interested to see what the results are! I'll hopefully be able to try it myself in a couple of years with albiflorum once I have a flowering pumilum and the exact cross with L. martagon var. album in 5+ years once my seedlings reach maturity.

I have spoken with some folks in Europe that have been crossing American hybrids with martagons using embryo rescue to get seedlings. They shared that martagon album seems more willing than other martagons to make embryos when used as the pod parent. For those wanting to mess around with these kinds of crosses be sure to get mart album for your breeding stock.

And unfortunately, probably the best way to insure it actually is album is to buy a bulb. Seed from seed exchanges are likely not album unless they specifically say hand pollenated. Usually they are donated by well-meaning members who think open pollenated album will breed true. Not.

Martagon album seed will always be blonde.
Left: regular martagon seed. Right: martagon album seed.


But just to confuse things: not all blonde martagon seed is martagon album. Nor are all white martagons L. martagon album. I have a seedling of Amelita x Super Tsing that always produces blond seed.

My martagon var. album seeds were purchased from Chiltern Seeds in the UK, so hopefully they will be true to name.

Lilium pumilum