Description
The showy, nodding orange flowers of Columbia lily add a graceful touch to a moist, but well drained garden. In the wild it prefers to grow in meadows, prairies, forest openings, coastal scrub, redwood forests, and open woods. With whorled leaves around a central stem, Columbia lily can grow over 3′ tall. Columbia lily is best suited to fertile, well drained soil in sun to part shade and medium moisture. Columbia lily is a perennial wildflower that grows from a fleshy-scaled bulb and can be quite variable. Although the flowers are not fragrant, they are pollinated by hummingbirds and large butterflies. Native Americans in some locations have used Columbia lily bulbs as a food source. It typically takes Columbia lily 3 or 4 years to bloom when grown from seed.
Lilium columbianum seed packets contains 1/2 teaspoon of seed.
Seed Germination Instructions
90-120 days cold-moist stratification. Sow outside in early fall and overwinter for springtime germination.