Add Tiger Lilies for Great Garden Color

Tiger lily (Lilium columbian is an herbaceous perennial that grows from bulbs that produce narrow leaves and long stalks with colorful, stately flowers in the summertime. Plant the bulbs in the fall or spring and expect blooms by mid-to-late summer.

The orange flower petals curve upward and are speckled with dark spots. The plants are especially eye-catching when you group a few bulbs together or use them as a border. It is a more profuse bloomer than most lilies, producing as many as ten flowers per stem.

Edible

Many Pacific Northwest tribes (Clallam, Lummi, Nitinaht, Quinault, and others) have used the bulbs for food (boiled, steamed, dried, and eaten raw), as a spice, and in soups. The roots have been used as a food source.

Properties

Tiger Lilies grow from British Columbia to California mostly on the coast and both side of the Cascade crest. It reach 2 to 4 ft in height and likes full sun to partial shade. Grows best in moist, but well drained soil. Will bloom all summer from May through August. Attracts a number of different pollinators. Works well as a meadow plant.