Got a passion for lilies? Want a good sampling of choices for your native garden? Below are seven easy growing native lilies to get you started. Lilies are some of the prettiest flowers around today, and getting native lilies will be easier to plant.
This species grows up to 6 feet tall and has fragrant yellow trumpet shaped flowers from June to September. It has lance shaped deciduous foliage. Plant this in sun or partial shade.
Lilium catesbaei Walt. (Pine Lily)
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass Liliidae –
Order Liliales –
Family Liliaceae – Lily family
Genus Lilium L. – lily
Species Lilium catesbaei Walt. – pine lily
A great pick for a water garden, this will reach up to 2 feet tall. It loves sun or partial shade and moist soil. It has red blooms from late fall to winter. You can divide to propagate.
Most gardening books have this flower getting up to 11 feet tall with over 50 blooms. However, realistically you can expect it to get 3-5 feet tall with around 30 blooms in a southern garden. Blooms range in the orange/yellow/red/white range with green star in center. They are usually speckled with brown dots. It has 3-20 leaves per whorl. Bloom season runs mid summer to fall. Plant this is rich moist soil and in partial shade for best results. Cherokee Indians were known to make flour from the tubers. This is a gorgeous border plant or as a backdrop in a raised bed garden.
Maianthemum racemosum (L.) Link ssp. racemosum (Feathery False Lily of the Valley)
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass Liliidae –
Order Liliales –
Family Liliaceae – Lily family
Genus Maianthemum G.H. Weber ex Wiggers – mayflower
Species Maianthemum racemosum (L.) Link – feathery false lily of the valley
Subspecies Maianthemum racemosum (L.) Link ssp. racemosum – feathery false lily of the valley
This gets up to 2-3 feet tall and has a raceme of white flowers at the terminal end of the plant. A member of the Iris family, it prefers moist soil and partial to full shade. Its bloom season is from April to May.
Species Polygonatum biflorum (Walt.) Ell. – smooth Solomon’s seal
This member of the Lily Family reaches 1-3 feet in height. It has small white bell flowers from April to June and bluish black berries from August to October. Foliage is unique in that it has a fuzzy underside. Early colonists used the root tea for indigestion and coughing.
Uvularia perfoliata L. (Perfoliate Bellwort)
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass Liliidae –
Order Liliales –
Family Liliaceae – Lily family
Genus Uvularia L. – bellwort
Species Uvularia perfoliata L. – perfoliate bellwort
This perennial gets up to 18 inches and has a spread of 12 inches. It has pale single yellow (sometimes greenish) flowers. Blooms stay from mid spring to early summer. It’s a member of the Lily Family. Plant this in sun or partial shade. It has curious little orange bumps on its petals.
Zephyranthes atamasca (L.) Herbert (Atamasco Lily, Easter Lily)
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass Liliidae –
Order Liliales –
Family Liliaceae – Lily family
Genus Zephyranthes Herbert – zephyrlily
Species Zephyranthes atamasca (L.) Herbert – Atamasco lily
This gets up to 18 inches tall and has a spread of 18 inches. It prefers sun or partial shade and moist soil. It has near white repeat blooms and they are fragrant. There are single blooms on fleshy stalks. It is classified as an amaryllis. BEWARE: this is poisonous if eaten.
