Description
A rare lily now found only in a few isolated populations in the limestone gorges of Southern France. It makes 60-70 cm tall stems crowded with narrow, mid-green leaves and topped with a cluster of absolutely stunning and good-sized flowers of a vivid sealing-wax-red. In quantity, these have a strong, seminal smell which is seldom reported in the literature.
Despite being known for a very long time and being very beautiful and desirable, the appearances of this plant in cultivation have almost always been short-lived, we think because its horticultural needs and its intolerant nature have not been fully appreciated. This likes rich, leafy soils in light humid shade. Though it is found only on limestone, this is not essential in its compost however what it does need is the physical properties of good drainage associated with this porous, fast-draining rock. It seems sensible all the same to incorporate of plentiful limestone gravel to your mix.
- Firstly it needs VERY acute drainage, not a compost which is ever soggy or wet. It will not tolerate being wet, more than transiently. It is prone to rotting and this can happen some time after you inadvertently leave it sitting too wet. I stress again that lots of drainage material (preferably limestone chips) is needed within its compost. It is probably best to start drying the plant off soon after the flowers fade, to avoid it starting to mould or rot.
- Secondly plant it shallowly, put it too deep and the bulbs will rot on you. It needs to be grown with the tips of the bulbs just breaking through or even sitting 1cm above the soil surface. Yes we know, this sounds mad, but believe me it matters and it works.
- Thirdly, for preference, keep it covered and preferably under rain protection/glass at all times. It is perfectly cold-hardy, so the glass can be unheated (ours are grown under glass-lights in cold-frames) but like many plants it is NOT “soggy-hardy”. If kept wet or damp in winter it will rot on you and even late summer moisture can be detrimental. Rotting may be delayed long after the event that caused the rot to start, especially when temperatures are low, but the damage done by excess wetness can manifest weeks or months later. Under glass you have control of watering at all times and can control what goes onto the bulbs.
No matter how lovely this species is (and it really is spectacular and utterly gorgeous) it is not one for beginners or those who think “it will be okay in the garden”! (no, it won’t be). It has taken many years of trials and a lot of bulb losses to get to the point where we feel that we know this species a bit better and can offer this plant and our cultural experiences. The latter are shared in the hope that the species will become more widespread in cultivation, since if its needs are known, it may help you keep it alive long enough to get seed and propagate a more tolerant strain.
Please note that this does not, naturally, make very large bulbs, we offer bulbs around 8cm circumference and this is flowering size (and these bulbs have already flowered at this size).
Raised from JJA.634.401
Lilium pomponium