Locust Or Curly Lily Lilium Martagon

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Beautiful natural locust flower that came to our gardens

Who in childhood did not have to admire the fabulously beautiful flowers of a locust or sarana in the field or in the forest, feast on the golden, insanely tasty, as it seemed then, starchy slices of its bulbs. The botanical name of this type of lily, found in Russia in the European part, in the Urals, in Western and Eastern Siberia, is curly lily or Martagon lily (Lilium martagon).

This plant is surprisingly harmonious. It seems to consist of two pyramids standing one on top of the other. The lower one is formed by up to seven whorls of dark green lanceolate leaves; the diameter of the largest lower whorls is about 30 cm. The upper pyramid is formed by a cone-shaped racemose inflorescence, in which up to 40 large (4 cm in diameter) fragrant flowers with lilac petals with dark purple specks. The petals seem to be curled into curls. That is why this type of lily is called curly lily. They also give the impression of a turban. Therefore, this common flower shape is called turban.

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Despite the spread of this species throughout Europe, the hybrids obtained by crossing the curly lily with other species of lilies are called Asian hybrids. Indeed, some kind of oriental motifs are also evoked by flowers similar to a turban and a pyramidal structure of an inflorescence with bent flower petals, similar to an oriental pagoda. The Asian hybrids group is the largest, with thousands of different varieties.

Some of them inherited the structure of the flower from the curly lily, others - the color, the third - a unique aroma, but they all inherited an amazing winter hardiness and unpretentiousness. Without these qualities, the curly lily would not have been able to have the most extensive range among species of lilies, extending to the banks of the Lena and Vilyui rivers. Therefore, growing this seemingly delicate flower in the garden is not difficult.

The curly lily reproduces by dividing the bulbs, rooting scales and seeds. By dividing, adult bulbs are propagated, from which daughter ones have budded - such bulbs have two flowering stems. The bulbs are divided in August. They are large (up to 7 cm in diameter) and consist of yellow scales. Curly lily is shade-tolerant, since its natural habitats are inextricably linked with the forest.

Plants bloom longer in the shade, but not as abundantly as in the light. Therefore, the best place for her would be one that is illuminated by the sun for part of the day. It is important that melt water does not stagnate in this place. Normal garden soil is suitable. Curly lily plants are not prone to fattening to the detriment of flowering, therefore, on fertile soil, plants will be more powerful and flowering more abundant. Water it sparingly and only before flowering.

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Curly lily bulbs divide slowly - once every 3-4 years. Therefore, they often resort to the method of reproduction by rooting scales. As soon as the plants bloom, immediately dig up the bulb and separate the outer scales, and the remaining bulb is planted again.

The scales are buried 2/3 of their height in a box with light soil, consisting of a mixture of turf, humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1, sprinkled with peat on top, covered with a film and put in a shady place. By the fall, at the base of the scales, 1-2 baby onions with roots and a leaf are formed. They are separated and planted on a ridge, which is insulated with hay with a layer of 5-10 cm for the winter.

The easiest and most effective way to propagate lilies to produce healthy plants adapted to local conditions is by sowing seeds. Plants bear fruit annually, seeds ripen in early August. They are light brown, flat, triangular. They must be sown to a depth of about 2 cm before winter or early spring. In the latter case, the seeds must be stratified - kept for about 60 days in a moist substrate (moss, peat, sand) at a temperature of about 0 ° C.

A very interesting feature of the reproduction of lilies with curly seeds. They have the so-called underground type of germination. Its essence is that after sowing, before a sprout forms on the surface, a tiny bulb with roots is formed underground, and only then, sometimes in the second half of summer, sometimes one leaf with a pointed tip grows the next year.

A year later, the first whorl of leaves appears, and after another year or two, flowering begins. So you have to be patient to see this beauty. But, firstly, gardeners are patient people, because plant cells divide so slowly. And, secondly, to the impatient, I can say: as soon as you have sown something, time begins to work for you; sowed nothing - time is idle for you