Lilium Pink Morning

'Pink Morning' lily is a hybrid of Lilium martagon that produces up to 50 small flowers of a delicate mauve pink colour, delicately speckled with purple-brown, when well established. This slightly fragrant, floriferous and perennial variety can be difficult to find. It will delight collectors and slowly but surely settle in the garden.

'Pink Morning' is a deciduous bulbous plant, with a narrow and unright habit from spring onwards. It belongs to the lily family and is a hybrid obtained through the cross-breeding of Lilium martagon and Lilium hansonii. This elegant plant will reach 1.2 meters (4 feet) high when flowering, and the clump will spread limitlessly over time as the bulbs produce bulblets through vegetative multiplication. From mid-summer to August, modest-sized flowers, 5 cm (2in) in diameter, appear in clusters of 3 to 8 and bloom facing downwards. Their thick and waxy petals are slightly curled at full bloom and have a mauve-pink colour washed with pearl grey nuances and finely speckled with reddish-brown. Each stem bears a minimum of forty, pleasantly fragrant flowers. The dark green leaves are lanceolate.

This lily establishes itself a bit more slowly than Asiatic, trumpet, or Oriental lilies. It may take an additional season before flowering, and planting conditions must be right. Martagon lilies sulk when moved and need time to settle. Grow lilies with other perennials in a bed as they like having their feet in the shade, and the other perennials will help prevent the stems from leaning in the wind. The 'Pink Morning' hybrid is ideal for borders, moist rockeries, and of course, bouquets. The botanical martagon lily, from which this variety and a whole lineage of magnificent hybrids originate, is protected in the wild, both its flowering and foliage are remarkable.