Michigan Lily
Suddenly noticed a very tall (over 4 feet!) lily in the front garden today. And it looked like nothing else in the yard. Did a little sleuthing on the Internet and found out it is a Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense). Who knew? It is a very dramatic flower that I know did not bloom either of the past two summers I have been in this house. However, reading about it more revealed that it is rather picky about it's growing conditions and soil, with one person reporting that seeds they planted took 14 years to grow and produce a flower!
Mine has a whole bunch of round black things on the stem that at first worried me, but that the wisdom of the gardeners on the Internet reassured me were nothing more than bulbils. These are apparently not common, but can be used to each grow a new Michigan Lily (provided conditions are right and you wait a few years). And yes, it IS a subspecies of Tiger Lily, if you were wondering. While it does indeed grow in Michigan, it also grows in a lot of other states as well, though is endangered in New York and Threatened in Tennessee.
It began to thunder as I took this shot and I got inside just as it started to pour! I wished I'd had more time to set up some better shots in better lighting but this tight crop (at 100% magnification) works pretty well.
Posts
Wow! What an incredible flower and shot of it!
ReplyDeleteThat flower is killer! I've not seen anything like that before! I love the color and the spots on it - so unique! How wonderful that you found this in your yard - now everyone will think you are an expert in growing rare flowers! I hope you get some more shots of it - I do like this shot, and the extreme crop!
ReplyDelete