'L. cernuum' (Lilium)

Requiring well drained, sandy soils, flowering Lilium cernuum from seed is a rewarding challenge. Though highly prone to basil rot and virus infection, this beautiful species from Northeast China and Korea certainly has a home in the well prepared rock garden. With rather small, lilac-pink, Turk's Cap flowers, Lilium cernuum will reach a height of about 24 inches and was used by Jan de Graaff to produce his lovely 'Harlequin Hybrids' introduced in 1950. We have always found it to be a lovely addition to the garden but never sow all seed in any given season, leaving enough for those inevitable years of crop failure.