Lilium pomponium
L.
(c) Gunera, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Root
Bulb - cooked. Rich in starch, it can be used as a vegetable in similar ways to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum).
Where to Find It
Europe - S. France to N. Italy.
EUROPE: Italy (northwest), France (south)
How to Identify
Lilium pomponium is a BULB growing to 1.2 m (4ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
How to Grow
Prefers an open free-draining humus-rich loamy soil with its roots in the shade and its head in the sun. Prefers calcareous soils but tolerates acid conditions. Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Prefers a warm sunny position, requiring a hot flowering and ripening season if it is to grow well in following years. Plant the bulbs 12 - 15cm deep. Early to mid autumn is the best time to plant out the bulbs in cool temperate areas, in warmer areas they can be planted out as late as late autumn. A very ornamental plant. The plant should be protected against rabbits and slugs in early spring. If the shoot tip is eaten out the bulb will not grow in that year and will lose vigour.
Propagation: Seed - autumnal epigeal germination. Best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in spring. Stored seed will require a warm/cold/warm cycle of stratification, each period being about 2 months long. Grow on in cool shady conditions. Great care should be taken in pricking out the young seedlings, many people leave them in the seed pot until they die down at the end of their second years growth. This necessitates sowing the seed thinly and using a reasonably fertile sowing medium. The plants will also require regular feeding when in growth. Divide the young bulbs when they are dormant, putting 2 - 3 in each pot, and grow them on for at least another year before planting them out into their permanent positions when the plants are dormant. Division in autumn once the leaves have died down. Replant immediately. Bulb scales can be removed from the bulbs in early autumn. If they are kept in a warm dark place in a bag of moist peat, they will produce bulblets. These bulblets can be potted up and grown on in the greenhouse until they are large enough to plant out.
