Lilium Slate's Morning

'Slate's Morning' lily is a large hybrid of martagon lily introduced in 2011 with a very bright future. Its numerous red-orange flowers are highlighted by a small yellow centre and speckled with cinnamon brown. This sweet and luminous variety is essential for a collector but still easy to grow in mild sun or partial shade, in well-drained soil.

'Slate's Morning' is a deciduous bulbous plant, with a narrow and upright clump from spring onwards. It belongs to the Liliaceae family. It is a hybrid obtained by crossing Lilium martagon and Lilium hansonii. This compact plant will reach  120 cm (47in) high when flowering, and the clump will spread limitlessly over time as the bulbs produce bulblets through vegetative multiplication. From the middle of summer until September, medium-sized flowers, 8 cm (3in) in diameter, appear, grouped in clusters of 3 to 8. They bloom facing downwards. Their petals curl up at full bloom and are of a dull red to blood orange colour, with a bright yellow centre, speckled with light brown to purple.  Each stem bears about twenty flowers that are not fragrant. The leaves are lanceolate and dark green.

This lily establishes itself a little more slowly than Asiatic, trumpet, or Oriental lilies. It may take an extra season to bloom and planting conditions must be right. Martagon lilies sulk when moved and need to settle in. Plant lilies with other perennials in flower beds as they like having their feet in the shade, and these perennials will help prevent the stems from bending in the wind. The 'Slate's Morning' hybrid is ideal in slightly shaded flower beds, on the edge of woodland, in fresh rockeries, and of course,  in bouquets. The botanical martagon lily, from which this variety and a whole line of magnificent hybrids originate, is protected in the wild, both its flowering and foliage are remarkable.