Foxy
After a long three-year wait, my one and only foxtail lily has finally flowered!
The foxtail lily or Eremurus is a fleshy-rooted, clump-forming perennial plant with tall (1-3m) elegant spears bearing clustered flowers arising from the base of thick strap-like leaves. Eremurus are native to the dry grasslands and semi-desert of western and central Asia.
My stately flower spear, gleaming with clusters of white flowers, is over 2.5m tall! FOX-AY!
I planted two but one died. I think the spot this lily is in is a little wet for the plant, and it doesn’t get quite a full day’s sun. Free-draining soil and full sun are vital for flowering. Thankfully, the spot is not wet and shady enough to kill the plant, but in a wet, bleak spring, blooming will likely be affected, and this clearly has been the case in earlier years. We had a good stretch of warm, super sunny, dry weather this spring. I also made sure to control weed growth around the plant carefully as the brittle roots resent disturbance and competition from other plants. Foxtail lilies need space. Young spring growth needs to be protected from frost damage. It’s also best to avoid windy locations.
I am looking to achieve the dramatic impact of having a cluster of foxtails on my plot, so I will be planting a number of new plants (roots), of different colours, on drier ground this autumn. I only hope that I won’t have to wait a further three years to see the drama …
Until then, I’ll ponder on the hazy rainbow that the optics of the day and my phone camera conspired to give me on 02 June when I took my latest picture. Nice!
Lucky me!
I get to see my foxtail lily flower for the first time, lupins and Cirisium rivulare in the foreground, hostas at ground level on the right side, PLUS a rainbow on a sunny day! Grateful.
