Ixiolirion tataricum

The Ixiolirion tataricum is sometimes called Siberian Lily, due to its Tartar origins. This bulbous plant, native to the steppes of Central Asia, still quite rare in cultivation, is little known to Western European gardeners. It is discreetly elegant but very real in spring. A clump of long, slender leaves with a slightly silvery green colour, a slender stem carrying loose clusters of small lilies in a pretty light blue-violet, this is how it appears before its summer rest period. Its origins attest to its good adaptation to cold and dry winters, sheltered under a thick layer of snow, as well as to dry summers. Wild plant enthusiasts will adopt it in borders, flowerbeds, and sunny alpine rockeries. This bulb also allows for original flower pots and charming spring bouquets.

The Ixiolirion tataricum, formerly classified in the family Amaryllidaceae, now belongs to the much smaller family Ixioliriaceae, which only has 4 species. The etymology of the genus name Ixiolirion comes from Ixia (like the corn lily) and the Greek lirion which simply means lily, probably alluding to the (slight) resemblance of the flowers to those of Ixia. Only the species Ixiolirion tataricum is available in the horticultural market.

This bulbous perennial is native to mountainous or plain steppe regions that cover a vast territory from eastern Siberia to Central Asia, and further west and south, from Iran to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. Each bulb, or more precisely corm, ovoid in shape, covered with a brown tunic, about 2-3cm (1in) wide, produces 3 to 8 linear and flexible leaves, gathered in a basal tuft, somewhat like grasses. They have a fairly characteristic gray-green colour. From the center of this tuft, a slender and sinuous stem emerges from April to June, depending on the climate, reaching a height of 40 to 50cm (16 to 20in). This stem bears, at its apex, a sort of umbel or cluster composed of about ten thin trumpet-shaped flowers, 4 to 5cm (2in) long, which also resemble agapanthus flowers. Each flower has 6 narrow and spread-out 'petals', ranging in colour from lavender blue to light purple. They are traversed by darker veins. The flowers are carried by peduncles of varying lengths, giving the inflorescence a pleasantly disorderly, light aspect. This flowering is followed by the formation of fruits, which are capsules releasing numerous black seeds when ripe.

If we do not encounter Siberian lilies more often in our gardens, it is undoubtedly because they have some requirements; the secret to success lies in guaranteeing them very well-drained soil, dry in winter and summer, but moist in spring when they are in growth. They will naturally find their place in an alpine rockery, or any rockery in a not too harsh Mediterranean climate. Growing them in pots allows for easy control of substrate moisture in winter and summer. In the garden, plant them in groups of 10 bulbs in borders, alongside nerines for example. Their spring flowering will also accompany that of late pink tulips and, of course, the majestic spikes of Eremurus, their steppe companions that require the same growing conditions.