Growing Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense)

Michigan lily (Lilium michiganense) are a fun yet challenging plant to grow. Where I have seen them in the wild has usually been bordering wooded areas near wetlands. They bloom in midsummer with amazing hanging orange flowers. Once they are mature, I have found them to be reliable growers, but it is getting them to flowering size that is challenging. They truly follow the saying that goes with many native plant (First year they sleep. Second year they creep. Third year they leap) and then some. Their seed needs to go through a double dormancy. So although there are some trickery methods you can use, it takes two years for the seed to germinate. In the pic you can see a tray of seedlings coming up. This tray of seeds sat outside for two years. I was transplanting some of them today as you can see. They have a single leaf and you can see in the pic the small bulb that will grow to look like a crown that will sit below the surface over the next couple years. The second year will also be a small single leaf, but may start to get larger. The pic of the ones in the larger fabric pot are 3 year old plants that now are starting to look more like a Michigan lily, but we’ll see if I get flowers. In the past I have usually gotten only one flower in year 3, but in subsequent years can get multiples if the are happy and like their spot.