Lilium Martagon (Turkish lily):

The Martagon lily is a perennial plant which, from origin, grows in the mountains, on mountain meadows and on open spaces in mixed deciduous- and pine forests. You can find the wild Martagon lily in the Alps, the Vosges, der Schwarzwald, the South Siberian Taiga and it is also introduced by mankind in England and Scandinavia.

The Martagon lily thanks its name “Turkish lily” to the turban shape of its flowers. The flowers have characteristic, backwards curved petals. The flower colour of the wild Martagon lily is deep purper-red til brown-violet with black spots. Very seldom you can find the white variant of this lily in the wild.

The Martagon lily grows, from nature, the best on moist, nutrient- and Humus rich loam- and clay grounds. In mountain areas the Martagon lily is an indicator for quite wet til very wet places. In the wild the Martagon lily usually grows in de neighborhood of mountain streams that overflow periodically, thus releasing fertile substances. In addition, the plant is found in swampy meadows, however, due to improved dewatering, this natural biotope of the Martagon lily is drastically reduced. As a result, the plant is becoming a rare appearance in its natural environment.

Lilium martagon hybrids:
The wild Martagon lily propagates mainly through seed and to a limited extent by producing new bulbs. The wild Martagon lily is, however, difficult to grow in a garden environment. Therefore easy to grow hybrids are hybridized of this beautiful lily, especially for use in the garden, varying in colour ranging from yellow, orange, pink and purple to brown and dark red. Al this hybrid species have the characteristic backwards curled petals and dark speckles on the petals. In the garden the Martagon lily blooms in June and July and reaches a flowering height of ± 80 to 100 cm. The Martagon lily is hardy, very suitable for naturalizing and it blooms richer each following year. The Martagon lily thrives, in principle, in all northern and southern temperate areas, such as the United States (except for the south), the largest part of Europe and a large part of Russia and northern Asia.

Martagon hybrids are traded in autumn as loose bulbs to be planted in the autumn and in early spring as young plants on pot to be planted in the spring. The Martagon lily does not set high demands on the growing location because they can adapt well, however, for optimal growth, they prefer a well water permeable place where they are protected against excessive heat, wind, drought and cold. A little direct sunlight at some moments of the day and light shade throughout the rest of the day ensures the best flowering results.

The planting depth of a Martagon bulb is 10 cm plus the height of the bulb. The best way to plant them is with the roots at the base of the bulb pointing downward. It is important that the soil is well moist and is firmly pressed after the planting hole is filled up with soil.

Martagon lilies must be well-watered in the garden during growth until late autumn to ensure good flower production in the following spring. It is also important that every autumn all lily plant residues are removed from the garden. The best time to fertilize Martagon lilies is immediately after the flowering season, so that the leaves and the stems get the opportunity to lose plant naturally before winter begins. The best way to fertilize Martagon lilies is to work organic manure through the soil at some distance from the bulbs and the stems and afterwards cover the fertilized soil with sand or soil, to prevent that raindrops splash fungal spores on the lily leaves.