Hello, everyone- I am new to the lily forum and I wonder if any of you are fans of martagon lilies? I have trumpets and Asiatics but martagons are my particular interest. I have about 20 established cultivars and about that many new ones that have yet to bloom... maybe this year! All of them have been slow to come up this year with this cold spring and even snow on the ground a week ago. Pictured below is one of my favorites, 'Theodore Haber'.

Hi Linda and welcome to the Lily forum! There are indeed some martagon growers here. I haven't tried them because I have heard they don't particularly like this part of the country (rain fall winter and spring then a dry summer).

I'm one of them. Not a lot of cultivars, but lotsa seedlings. Are you an NSLS member?

Hi Linda

Martagons are so charming. I haven't had great success with them. Yet!

But I wonder about how necessary the winter snow is. Connie, it might be worth trying. Here in coastal Tasmania, with a very similar climate to yours by the sound if it, Neil Jordan grows the most amazing martagons. He's succeeded by planting them very deeply to keep them cool. Aside from perfect drainage I don't know what other secrets to martagon culture he may have, but growing great martagons in less than ideal climate is certainly possible!

I have my first martagon stem ("sunny morning") sprouting as we speak. Can't wait! I have a bunch of martagon seeds to start later this year.

Welcome Linda Martagons are very graceful and beautiful. I have a few here, they multiply nicely and appear to like my more alkaline soil. One problem I have is photographing them. I have no really nice pictures of them. Look forward to your pictures as the season progresses.

Wow Linda! That is a lot of cultivars! Do You start them from seed or have you found a good source? I really like them too even though I only have a couple established cultivars, but bought some more last fall.

Rick, I admire your patience as I know that it takes a long time from seed to bloom. You have some beautiful ones going!

We had a speaker Friday from the Northstar Lily Society and she said there are a lot of MN people breeding and starting new Martagons and other varieties. Are either of you involved in that?

There seems to be a lot of interest in starting martagons from seed! I have never even tried, but Mother Nature has done so for me! I have a nice clump of the mauve form of the species, about 20 ft. from the mother plant which has disappeared, and also a clump of sp. alba, self seeded. And just yesterday I discovered a shoot that looks like it could bloom this year! It is in an allium edging... shows the value of not being "a faithful weeder"! Here are some pictures of martagon
seedlings at various stages: The top photo is a 1st year sdlg; the next photo is a 2nd year sdlg. and the 3rd photo (leaves just unfurled) is the same shoot as the
bottom picture in bloom.











This last photo is a 'dahlhansonii' sdlg. which came up right next to 'Rosalinda' (the pink blooming stems just behind the dark red flower). I didn't even know I had
a seedling there until it bloomed in 2012!

I used to be a member of both NALS and North Star Lily Soc.... in fact I was once secretary of North Star! I have acquired my martagon cultivars over quite a long time, from Hartle/Gilman, Gene Fox, and others. I still have quite a few Asiatics and trumpets, but over the years the labels have disappeared and I don't know
what I have any more. Most of my trumpets were sdlgs. from someone in Lake Elmo whose name I've forgotten, or from Calvin Helsley in MO. I do love the
fragrance of the trumpets. Regarding taking photos of martagons, you lay on your back and point the camera up!

Calmar Cloud:

Hi Linda

I don't breed, but I do play around with hybridizing.

Pics of Crosses by Leftwood

I have to admit my ignorance as I don't know the difference between breeding lilies and hybridizing them.

There were some very beautiful lilies in your pics of crosses Rick.

Linda, I like them from the side too when they look like a candelabra.

Hi Linda:
Glade to hear you're getting back into lilies with us. Lots of fun here!

Breeding versus hybridizing is probably only used in technitalk, and I use it thusly:

Hybridizing = intentional crossing (via manually application of pollen to the corresponding female part of another flower)
Breeding = hybridizing with explicit purpose(s) in mind. For example: Mr. X breeds lilies, trying to introduce a pollenless line of small trumpet forms.

Everyone here on ATP is always welcome to visit my gardens. I'll be on this year's NALS Lily convention self-guided tour list of gardens for Sunday, July 13, 2014. (For those that don't get enough with the bus tour of the better gardens.) No martagons blooming then, though.

Hi Linda, A few Marts here, many seedlings ... I havnt had a lot of success here, but I have so many lilies here, some just miss out from time to time

Thanks for the explanation Rick.

From one of my fuzzy bud martagon seedlings....


The ones from this batch of seed always win the race to bloom, even though they are the last to emerge in spring. This is the first:


We'll just say that I artistically meant for the spike to have that graceful curve....

Nice color on those!

If that fuzzy one was in my garden, I'd think it was infested. Eek!

Hey--it works. Keeps insect out! Although, in this case maybe I should say, 'scares them away'. I didn't realize there are 'fuzzy Martagons until this year. Nice photo of it.