PlantFiles: Martagon Lily, Common Turk's Cap Lily
Lilium martagon

I'm going to say my experience was positive but the jury's still out. I purchased mine from a very pricey but reputable (and locally-famous) garden centre in the fall of 2007. In 2008 there were only a couple of basal leaves visible where I planted it, but I know some perennials can be slow to establish, so I opted to wait. In 2009 there were more leaves but it really didn't look like it would ever do much. This year, I've got a very sturdy 2 foot-tall plant with lots of leaves and several buds. We'll see what happens next - will I be happy I waited?

Zone 9b coastal otago, nz

Inexplicably, this lily thrives here, taking a year to settle in then powering away into giant candelabras of musk pink and tan spotted flowers with an interesting slightly funky scent and nice whorled leaves. While my oriental hybrids are mostly languishing with virus etc, and getting their bulbs eaten by insects that invade my too-open bought-in soil (the millipedes just walk right in there and start munching) and generally looking crap, this lily, along with my pyrecacium and pardalinum, are loving the conditions.
Gardening on hideous clay, I use raise beds for my 'nana' perennial areas, shading the root with nearby plants. This is all the consideration they seem to require.
Ive noticed that these species lilies aren't bothered by aphids or virus as much as my oriental hybrids are. They also multiply (here) much faster than the latter, my pardalinums going apeshit and turning from about 5 rhizomes into 25 within a year, most of those flowering too. My orienpets are doing better than the straight orientals, which I may abandon altogether.
So if youre having issues with lilies but love the flower, go for the species and older varieties and forget the fussy modern hybrids. These martagons are definitely hardier and fuss-free, and in many ways are easier to incorporate into a wider planting scheme because their flowers are a little less in-your-face and more sympathetic in a mixed border.
Mine take a bit of wind too, being planted on a coastal hillside without too much shelter.

I bought three bulbs in 2006 and planted them in the spring. They did not begin to grow until the following April, 2007. A very hard freeze destroyed the foliage back to the ground during the week of April 3-10, 2007. I did not see growth again until April10, 2008! I understand they can be temperamental, but had no idea they could lay dormant for such a long period of time. Finally, this spring of 2009 I have a bloom stem with four buds!!! And today, June 21, 2009 I have a bloom. I have to rate this plant with a positive because it was well worth the wait to see it bloom. And secondly, any gardener can experience setbacks and disappointments from year to year.

Can also be grown in pots. Grows well in partial shade to full sun. They flower in July - August. They can be planted anytime up to then, also.

Martagons have been a bit slow to establish in my hands, but once they do, they are spectacular! I've got several hybrids as well as the lavender-flowered species: 'Mrs. Backhouse', 'Nepera' and 'Pink Taurade'.

I fell in love with martagons last year and will definitely collect more if I can. Too bad they're a bit pricey...

A tall lily from Europe and Western Asia.

Has mid-deep green, ovate or lance shaped leaves borne in whorls. Bears pendant, turkscap (petals strongly recurved), pink to reddish purple flowers that have a strong scent and which some people find unpleasant.

Flowers May-August

Will tolerate most well drained soils in full sun or partial shade but prefers a slightly alkaline, moderately fertile soil where it will thrive and make more Lilies!