How to Grow Turk’s Cap (Martagon) Lilies

Lilium martagon

Are you looking for a long-lasting, showy lily that produces dozens of flowers on each stem?

Then have a look at the striking Turk’s cap lily, L. martagon, which features numerous highly ornamental flowers on spires that bloom for weeks starting in early summer.

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Prized for their small to midsized blooms with fully recurved petals and extended anthers, the distinctive appearance and rich colors of Turk’s cap lilies are the ideal choice for full sun or light shade.

The flowers attract an array of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

These true lilies have excellent cold hardiness and are easy to cultivate. Once established, you’ll love the abundance of blooms and their elegant, striking beauty for years to come.

In our guide to growing lilies we cover how to cultivate these gorgeous blooms.

Are you ready for a little magic in your summer garden? Then let’s dig into how to grow Turk’s cap lilies aka martagon lilies.

Here’s a peek at what’s ahead:

Turk’s cap or martagon lily is a species in the Lilium genus and all the varieties in Division II (Martagon Hybrids) of the Royal Horticultural Society’s International Lily Register (ILR) are hybrids of L. martagon.

For more info about the ILR, our guide to 27 lily varieties outlines the differences between the nine divisions.

Species plants can produce as many as 30 flowers per stem while martagon hybrids can develop up to 50!

Flowers open in rich shades of burgundy, maroon, mauve, pale and deep orange, pink, white, and yellow, often heavily freckled with dark maroon dots and with extended, dangling anthers.

The blooms are subtly fragrant with a sweet, appealing scent.

Among all of the lily varieties, martagons are the most shade tolerant and do well in dappled light or afternoon shade.

They have excellent cold hardiness as well, suitable for cultivation in USDA Zones 3 to 9.

They earned the common name of Turk’s cap for the shape of the fully open, reflexed flowers which resemble the magnificent, onion-shaped kavuk – wrapped turbans worn by Ottoman sultans for formal occasions.

It should also be noted that all parts of the plants, including pollen, are highly toxic to cats.

How to Grow

Loaded with flowers in midsummer, Turk’s cap lilies can be used in a variety of settings.

They add colorful stature to the back of mixed beds, borders, and cottage, cutting, or light shade gardens.

And they’re ideal for a relaxed look in meadows, naturalized plantings, and woodland fringes.

Let’s discuss their cultural requirements next:

Light

Martagon lilies prefer a full sun to part shade location and don’t like to bake in hot sun.

Those in part shade, or morning sun with afternoon shade, stretch a bit more and develop longer flower stems – which suits their pendant form handsomely and produces the showiest blooms.

Soil

Water

During the growing season, allow the top inch or two of soil to dry out between water applications.

The plants are somewhat drought tolerant when established, but as with all bulbs, do not allow the soil to become waterlogged and soggy, as this will cause rot.

Fertilizing

To keep the soil lightly friable and replenish nutrients, add a top dressing of organic matter in the form of compost, leafmold, rotted manure, or worm castings each fall.

For new plantings, use a one-inch layer of mulch, using bark, leafmold, shredded leaves, or straw spread on top of the bulb beds.

Add a two-inch layer for established plantings applied in early spring.

To feed during the growing season, apply a slow release fertilizer with a balanced or flower-boosting formula scratched into the soil in early spring and again in midsummer.

Balanced fertilizers have equal portions of the major nutrients, such as 5-5-5 (NPK).

Burpee Enhanced All-Purpose Plant Food

You can find Burpee Enhanced All-Purpose Plant Food, with an NPK ratio of 5-5-5, available at Burpee.

Flower boosting formulas typically have a higher level of potassium, like this bloom boosting formula from Burpee, with a ratio of 4-6-4 (NPK).

Burpee Natural Organic Bloom

Alternatively, a liquid or water-soluble formula can be applied monthly to the root zone starting in early spring after new growth emerges.

Containers

If you want to cultivate Turk’s cap lilies in containers, keep the mature size in mind – they can grow quite tall and need a large planter to anchor them and for the bulbs to spread.

Also, containers must have drainage holes in the bottom to prevent the soil from becoming waterlogged – wet soil is a leading cause of bulb rot.

I like to prepare my containers by adding a layer of porous materials over the drainage holes to keep the water moving freely away from the bulbs.

1. Fill with a good quality potting soil enriched with one part of organic materials such as compost, manure, or worm castings.
2. Mix in a generous part of grit to improve drainage. I find most commercial potting blends are slow draining and Turk’s caps must have good drainage to keep the bulbs healthy.
3. Stir in one tablespoon of bone meal for each bulb planted.
4. Nestle the bulbs into the soil at a depth of three times their diameter.
5. Backfill with soil and firm gently over the bulbs.

Place containers in a full to partial sun location and water lightly to settle the bulbs in place.

Cultivars to Select

Turk’s cap lily bulbs can be a little hard to source but can be found at retailers that specialize in bulbs and online.

Here’s a sampling of what’s available for the home gardener:

Martagon Mix

If you can’t decide what colors to choose, why not try a mix?

Martagon Mix

A handsome selection of mixed Turk’s cap lily bulbs in shades of cream, maroon, peach, and pink are available in packets of three, six, or 12 bulbs at Eden Brothers.

Manitoba Morning

Pretty as a prairie sunrise, ‘Manitoba Morning’ features blooms of rosy mauve and banana yellow boldly dotted in maroon.

‘Manitoba Morning’

Bulbs are available from Hirt’s Gardens via Walmart.

Sunny Morning

Bright and cheerful, ‘Sunny Morning’ has golden yellow petals heavily freckled and spotted in deep maroon.

‘Sunny Morning’

Bulbs are available from Hirt’s Gardens via Walmart.

Maintenance

Deadhead the plants when all of the flowers are spent and dried.

Use clean, sharp shears to remove the flower spire just above a set of healthy leaves.

If you’d like to encourage self-seeding, you can leave the spent flowers in place and cut off the seed pods when they are empty.

If you experience freeze/thaw cycles, add a two- to four-inch layer of winter mulch to help keep bulbs in place. Remove the winter mulch in spring after new growth emerges.

Learn more about how to overwinter lilies here.

Propagation

Turk’s cap can be propagated from seed, and by harvesting offsets (bulblets) or scale divisions in fall.

Plants started from seed can take up to seven years to bloom and seeds from hybrids may not grow true to the parent plant, so it’s best to avoid this propagation method.

Plants started from harvesting offsets or scale division can take one to four years before flowering.

The easiest way to get started is to plant bulbs in spring or fall.

1. Loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 18 inches.
2. Mix in a shovelful of compost, rotted manure, or worm castings to enrich the soil and create a crumbly texture.
3. Mix in a shovelful of gritty material such as landscape sand, pea gravel, or stone chips to improve the drainage if needed.
4. Stir in a tablespoon of bone meal for strong, healthy root growth and bud set.
5. Plant bulbs to a depth that’s equivalent to two to three times their diameter with the basal plate at the bottom.
6. Space bulbs 12 to 18 inches apart, planting in odd-numbered clusters or triangles of three or five bulbs for a full, natural look.
7. Backfill with soil and firm lightly over the bulbs.

Water gently to settle the bulbs in place.

Managing Pests and Disease

When properly maintained and planted in a suitable location, Turk’s cap lilies are robust, healthy plants with good resistance to diseases and pests.

Sapsucking aphids can sometimes be a problem as can the small, scarlet or lily leaf beetle (Lilioceris lilii).

Aphids can usually be dispatched with a strong spray of water from the garden hose – repeat for a few days as needed.

Stubborn infestations can be treated with a natural pesticide like neem oil.

Bonide Neem Oil

You can find neem oil available at Arbico Organics.

The larvae of the scarlet lily beetle can be handpicked from the undersides of leaves.

Martagons can suffer from botrytis blight aka gray mold, a fungal condition which mostly impacts the leaves and stems, sometimes the flowers.

It shows up as soft, gray mold and thrives in high humidity.

To avoid root rot, ensure bulbs are planted in well-draining soil and avoid overwatering.

Easy, But Slow

Turk’s cap lilies put on a beautiful show and they’re easy to grow in the right conditions, but they are a bit slow so patience is required.

Don’t expect much their first year in the garden. In year two, you’ll start to see their appeal, and by year three you’ll be duly impressed with their tall panicles of ornate flowers!

Are you growing Turk’s cap lilies? What’s your favorite location, in the sun or part shade? Let us know in the comments section below.

And for more information about how to cultivate flowers in your landscape, add these guides to your reading list next:

• Bulbs, Corms, Tubers, and Rhizomes: What’s the Difference?
• 15 of the Best Late Summer Flowering Bulbs
• How to Naturalize Spring Flower Bulbs in the Landscape