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Garden Thyme Blog 

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Is it a Tiger Lily or an Orange Ditch Lily?

3/5/2018

3 Comments

 
Every year I hear people talking about finding tiger lilies along the roadside, but what they are really referring to are orange ditch lilies. While they both grow in similar locations and are both orange, they are distinctly different flowers.
Tiger Lily
Tiger Lily ©Nannette Richford
The tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium and Lilium tigrinum) produces clusters of bright-orange blooms speckled with black or crimson dots. The bloom faces downward with its petals folding backward to expose the center of the flower. Tiger lily blooms are long-lasting. Foliage lines the stem of the flowers. Tiger lilies reproduce via underground bulbs.
Orange Ditch Lily
Orange Ditch Lily ©Nannette Richford
The orange ditch lily (Hemerocallis fulva) produces bold, orange blooms atop a slender stem. Although there are several buds atop each stem, each opens for only one day. As the petals shrivel and fall from the plant, a new bloom opens to take it's place. Foliage is grass-like and separate from the flower stem. Orange ditch lilies do not have spots. Ditch lilies have tuberous roots. 

Tiger Lilies and Orange Ditch Lilies are both attractive flowers that can be found growing wild along roadsides in early to midsummer. 
3 Comments
cindy lang link
7/16/2019 08:07:23 am

Would it be possible to clearly label which of these are straight native plants in Maine? "wildflowers" may be invasive as well as non-native plants. thank you.

Reply
lee
10/27/2022 09:56:11 pm

I find this very interesting. I see plants growing in the wild with characteristics of both. They are long lasting and grow from bulbs, and are speckled like photo 2, but grow in groupings along a slender stem. the foliage is also grass like. the bloomd don't face downward. I have grown up calling these 'fire lillies' but realize that they may be some cross of tiger and orange lillies?

Reply
lee
10/27/2022 10:01:04 pm

i am in michigan, but the lillies were transplanted from seeds in new york (that probably originated from the virginias). but i also see local lillies in michigan (different from this type). im probably thinking of american lilies and firery belles.

Reply



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Photo used under Creative Commons from MyArtfulLife
  • Home
  • Garden Thyme Blog
  • Themes
    • Butterfly Gardens
    • Moon Gardens
    • Sensory Gardens
    • All About Fairies
  • Flowers
    • Annual Flowers >
      • Alyssum
      • Cosmos
      • Geraniums
      • Marigolds
      • Morning Glories
      • Nasturtiums
      • Petunias >
        • Reviving Petunias
      • Snapdragons
      • Sunflowers
      • Sweet Peas
      • Zinnias
    • Perennial Flowers >
      • Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Hortensia’)
      • Lupines
      • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea)
    • Maine Wildflowers
  • Veggies
    • Warm Season Vegetables >
      • About Beans >
        • Growing Beans
        • Growing Pole Beans
        • How to Make a Teepee Trellis
      • About Corn >
        • Growing Corn
        • What is Baby Corn, anyway?
        • Can you grow corn in containers?
      • Cucumbers >
        • Grow a cucumber in a bottle
        • Growing Pickling Cucumbers
        • Growing cucamelons (Mexican Gherkin)
        • Why do cucumbers blossom but fail to set fruit?
        • Trellising Cucumbers
        • Making Cucumber Relish
        • Powdery Mildew on Cucumbers
      • Melons
      • Peppers >
        • Growing Peppers
      • Squash >
        • Growing Zucchini
        • Spaghetti Squash
      • Tomatoes >
        • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants
        • How (and when) to Prune Tomatoes
        • Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) for Tomatoes
        • Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
        • Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets
        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
        • 5 Early Maturing Tomatoes for Short Season Gardening
        • How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
        • How to Grow a Pomato Plant
    • Cool Season Vegetables >
      • Cole Crops
      • Greens >
        • How to Grow Spinach
        • How to Grow Malabar Spinach
        • How to Grow Swiss Chard
        • Harvesting and Cooking Beet Greens
        • How to Grow Microgreens
      • Onions & Garlic >
        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
      • Peas >
        • Growing Garden (shelling) Peas
        • Growing Sugar Snap Peas
      • Potatoes >
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Hay Bales
      • Root Crops >
        • Growing Beets
        • How to Grow Carrots
        • Turnips vs Rutabagas
  • Herbs
    • Growing Basil
    • Growing Chives
    • Growing Lavender
    • Herbal Tea Garden
    • How to Grow a Culinary Herb Garden
    • How to Grow Herbs in Sponges
    • Colonial Herb Garden - Classroom Project
    • Herbed Butter
    • Making Herbed Oils
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting Basics
    • Grafting Basics
    • Soil >
      • Starting a New Garden
      • How to Prepare Soil
      • How to Test Soil Drainage
      • What Type of Soil Do You Have
      • Soil Mix Recipe for Containers
      • How to Make Compost Tea
      • How to Use Mulch
  • Garden Pests
    • How to Control Japanese Beetles
    • How to Control Blister Beetles
    • How to Get Rid of Colorado Potato Beetles
  • Birds
    • Hummingbirds >
      • DIY Hummingbird Feeders from Recycled Bottles
      • Annuals for Hummingbird Gardens
      • Perennials for Hummingbird Gardens
    • About Birdseed
    • Choosing a Birdfeeder
  • Fiddleheads and Fairies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • How to Marinate Roasted Vegetables