Lilium superbum
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Tried and True Recommended by 2 Professionals
Common Name: Turkscap lily
Type: Bulb
Family: Liliaceae
Zone: 5 to 8
Native Range: Eastern United States
Height: 4 to 7 feet
Spread: 0.5 to 0.75 feet
Bloom Time: July
Bloom Color: Red
Bloom Description: Orange, spotted maroon
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Medium
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Wildlife: Attracts Hummingbirds
Tolerates: Wet Soil
Uses: Rain Garden, Will Naturalize

Culture

Easily grown in average, medium to wet, well-drained soils in full sun to part/filtered sun. Best in consistently moist, humusy soils. Soils should not be allowed to dry out. Mulch helps keep root zone cool. Plant bulbs 5-6" deep in fall. Bulbs are stoloniferous, and plants often spread to form impressive colonies in the wild. May be slow to spread in cultivation, particularly when sited in less than optimum growing conditions.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Turk's cap lily is native to eastern North America where it occurs in wet meadows and moist woods from New Hampshire south to Georgia and Alabama. This is the tallest of the native American lilies, typically growing 4-6' (less frequently to 8') tall. Elliptic to lance-shaped leaves (to 6" long) are arranged in whorls around the stems. Downward-facing, nodding, Turk's cap-type, orange flowers (2.5 to 4" wide) with greenish throats are densely-spotted with maroon. Sharply-reflexed sepals and petals curve backward to touch at the stem thus forming a "Turk's cap". Flowers appear in a loose inflorescence atop upright stems in early to mid summer. Michigan lily (Lilium michiganense) is a similar-in-appearance Turk's cap-type lily that is native to Missouri.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems.

Garden Uses

Borders, cottage gardens, native plant gardens or meadows. Good plant for moist low spots or pond peripheries. Best grouped or massed.

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