LITFM - Formosa lily

Season Five, Episode 00233
Botanical Latin Name: Lilium formosanum
This episode is a few years in the making as I could never quite catch my Formosa Lilies in proper full bloom. Either there were other projects or the bloom time was short or they got overgrown by other plants in their prior location making it hard to film. But here we are and they are really over-performing in this long overdue video. So a Formosa Lily is a member of the true Lily family known as Lilium, which unfortunately means they are toxic to cats and may cause digestive issues with dogs. However for the rest of us Formosa lilies are perhaps the tallest lilies you can readily get your hands on. It is not uncommon for them to reach up to seven feet tall in a given growing year and thus require some significant staking or they flop over. The flowers can be anywhere from 6 to 10 inches long and in my specimens are mainly white colored but have a pinkish blush on the outside before they open. They are scented but the aroma is not strong, these plants are hardy in zones 5a to 8b which now the test gardens are in in the southern limits of their growing range. The thing about these lilies that make them of note is that they can take care of themselves and don’t need all the fuss that Asiatic (L. auratum) or Easter (L. longiflorum) lilies call for. Literally the three specimens in the test garden did just fine in the neglect zone for years dealing with virtually no irrigation and poor at best soil and bloomed yearly. Once moved to a high care zone that was near the drip line of the house they exploded and this year hit the 6 or more feet tall height and are blooming as we speak. So this is a plant you should really consider for your garden.
This week there are some links with extra information:
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LITFM Garden Life is intended as a series of videos highlighting a specific plant/family in the Botanical Testing Gardens. The Gardens are located in North Carolina (Zone 8b). Hopefully this video gives you some good garden ideas and if you have questions or comments let me know.
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