OK, to launch into the topic of this post: Lilium candidum. A few months ago I managed to find potted specimens of this magnificent lily at the Digger's Club in Dromana. One thing I've been astonished at is how extremely rare this lily is in this country. I'm of european origin, and one thing I can say is that the Madonna lily is extremely common there, barely a garden without it.

Now, I planted the three bulbs in my garden in Melbourne. The soil in my garden is slightly alkaline
(pH 7.1) and very very sandy, and the garden receives sunlight up until 1.00pm. The garden has had plenty of cow manure added to it.

My question is this: I noticed that one of bulbs that still has its basal leaves (or, rather, leaf,) has had a purplish discolouration around the margin of the leaf. In addition to this the purple-bronze areas have now started to die off. Furthermore, I've noticed yellowish streaks further down the basal leaf, and when I look through the leaf, it appears that the cells have died and dried up where the streaks appear.

Whilst I know that this lily does go dormant in summer time, and I can expect the basal leaves to die during that time, I am utterly terrified that this specimen has been infected with a virus. Just as a note, it was planted in the garden at a time when the surrounding plants were minimal, and it was getting scorched pretty badly by the sun. The surrounding plants now almost completely shade it now, and I do water the garden quite regularly.

If anyone has any handy hints regarding this potential problem or has experience growing this lily here in Australia, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.

PS: I've just noticed how incredibly long this post is! So sorry!!

And to a Happy New Year to everyone else here!

Regarding the soil pH for this lily: yes, you are absolutely right in that most lilies prefer acidic-neutral soils. Lilium candidum, however, being a native of the chalky hillslopes of the Balkans and Greece, is an avid lime-lover.

I know I'm panicking here, and it's most probably a case of leaves being scorched by the sun, but then the yellowish streaks are a worry to me - no distortion on them mind you, and the streaks appeared after the purple margins.

You say that you have the seeds for this lily, Jan. That is truly amazing considering how rare this species is here in Australia. Can I ask you where you obtained them from? I'd love to get my hands on the seeds, especially the wild variety, Lilium candidum var. salonikae.

Just as a note with the seed raising of this species: it'll take a few years before it reaches flowering size, and it loves lime - lots of it.

Regards,

Ilijasx.

I've got a really tiny garden which I'm dedicating to only a couple of Liliums, and L.candidum is definitely one of them, but L. longiflorum definitely not - I find it a tad boring as far as lilies go. The reason for this is the spread of virus if I get too many types of lilies, that's all. If it were up to me I'd have rows of the damn things encircling my house.

Thank you for the offer of the L.wallachium seeds. I may give it a miss, though, as I'm not very experienced in raising lilies from seed. I know that L.regale is dead easy, however, so if you have a few seeds to spare (and I only have room for about 5 of the plants in my garden anyway!) I'd appreciate it greatly.

I've been astonished at how rare are the lilies that have traditionally been so popular, and this is definitely the case with L.regale.

Oh, I found a great website that has got loads of great Lilium seeds:

http://www.rareplants.de/plants/seeds/bulbs_and_corms_k_o.htm.

Thank you in advance,

Ilijasx.