Wood Lily
Lilium philadelphicum
Family: Liliaceae
What it is like
Lilium philadelphicum is a BULB growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) by 0.3 m (1ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 1
Where it is found
Heavy, often somewhat alkaline, meadows to montane forest. Usually found in drier woodlands on acid sandy loams.
Eastern N. America - Maine to Ontario, south to North Carolina and West Virginia.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Bulb - cooked. Used as a potato substitute. Starchy and slightly sweet. Rather small, it is up to 25mm in diameter.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 1
A tea made from the bulbs is used in the treatment of stomach complaints, coughs, fevers etc. The crushed bulb is applied externally as a poultice to swellings, bruises, wounds, sores etc. A poultice of the flowers is applied to spider bites.
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.
Other
Rating:
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
How it is grown
Requires a well-drained humus-rich soil and a cool moist root run. Likes a warm position with moisture in summer. Stoloniferous. Plants are rather difficult to establish. Early to mid autumn is the best time to plant out the bulbs in cool temperate areas, in warmer areas they can be planted out as late as late autumn. A very ornamental plant, it requires protection from rain in winter. The plant should be protected against rabbits and slugs in early spring. If the shoot tip is eaten out the bulb will not grow in that year and will lose vigour. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 8 through 5. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a clumper with limited spread. The root pattern is a bulb. The root pattern is stoloniferous rooting from creeping stems above the ground.
Propagating it: Seed - immediate epigeal germination. Sow thinly in pots from late winter to early spring in a cold frame. Should germinate in 2 - 4 weeks. One report suggests that the seed might have delayed hypogeal germination. In this case it would be best to sow the seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame because stored seed would require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification before the seed would germinate. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people prefer to leave them in the seed pot until they die down at the end of their second years growth. This necessitates sowing the seed thinly and using a reasonably fertile sowing medium. The plants will also require regular feeding when in growth. Divide the young bulbs when they are dormant, putting 2 - 3 in each pot, and grow them on for at least another year before planting them out into their permanent positions when the plants are dormant. Division with care in the autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately. Bulb scales can be removed from the bulbs in early autumn. If they are kept in a warm dark place in a bag of moist peat, they will produce bulblets. These bulblets can be potted up and grown on in the greenhouse until they are large enough to plant out.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge;
Habit: Bulb
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist