{"id":4160,"date":"2023-08-28T07:09:30","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T15:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=4160"},"modified":"2023-08-28T07:09:30","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T15:09:30","slug":"foxtail-lilies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/foxtail-lilies\/","title":{"rendered":"Foxtail Lilies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I was the tallest person in my second grade class, but shortly afterwards everyone else passed me on the growth chart. I sprouted a bit after second grade, but arrived at adulthood as a relatively short person. Being short means that I don\u2019t have to worry about low ceilings or overhangs, but I do have to use the stepstool all the time. I also employ a supermarket-style grabber to reach lightweight items on high shelves. None of these things are real challenges because I am used to the situation.
\n\tLast spring when I looked at my garden beds, I was pleased with the number of daffodils, hyacinths and other spring beauties, but I realized that the garden was, like me, vertically challenged. I made a note to myself to rectify the situation when bulb ordering time rolled around.
\n\tThat time is now, and I have made good on my resolution by ordering some perennial foxtail lilies or Eremurus. They will be positioned like a spine running down the middle of my front beds in colors that will harmonize with the symphony of creams, yellow and blues that dominates the spring planting scheme.
\n\tFoxtail lilies, also sometimes called \u201cdesert candle\u201d are not true lilies, but part of the asphodel or Asphodelaceae plant family, which is also home to the familiar kitchen aloe plant and the tall kniphofia, sometimes known as the \u201cred hot poker\u201d. The latter provides a little flash in many summer gardens.
\n\tFoxtail lilies are not quite as bright as some of their kniphopia relatives, but offer statuesque drama earlier in the growing season. Garden retailers carry a number of varieties and species for sale, but among the most common are descendants of the Shelford hybrids, Eremurus x isabellinus. They are bona fide antiques, originally bred in the late nineteenth century by an Englishman, Sir Michael Foster, a Cambridge don best known for breeding iris. Eremurus breeding must have been a detour for Foster, but his hybrids have stood the test of time. These days you can still buy the peachy-pink \u2018Robustus\u2019.
\n\tWhat does a foxtail lily look like? Imagine a three to four foot-tall colored bottle brush composed of scores of tiny six-petaled flowers in shades of cream, yellow, peach, pink and salmon. Each fragrant bottle brush\u2014known botanically as a raceme\u2014is perched atop a thick, leafless stalk. At the base of that stalk is a clump of long, strappy, blue-green leaves. Below ground a thickened root with octopus-like tentacles clings to the soil.
\n\tThe Shelford hybrids may have originated in England, but their forbearers came from southern Europe. All together there are over forty eremurus species. Some of the taller species, like giant desert candle or Eremurus robustus come from central Asia and the Himalayas.
\n\tThe range of choices is wide. I like the pale pink \u2018Romance\u2019 that shoots up to four feet-tall in late spring. \u2018Pinocchio\u2019 is described as \u201crusset yellow\u201d, and \u2018White Beauty\u2019 is closer to cream in color, but goes with just about anything in the garden. \u2018Orange Marmalade\u2019 is not the bright orange of its namesake, but shines in peachy-orange. If choosing is difficult, you can pick from among a number of color mixtures, like the Spring Valley hybrids, bred in Idaho, that offer a range of pastel shades.
\n\tWhat do you need to know to grow foxtail lilies successfully? As with the vast majority of garden plants, site and soil are important. The lilies like full sunshine and well-drained soil. If your soil, like mine, is heavy clay, amend it with organic material, sand or fine grit when planting in the fall. Each root shoot go into a hole about six inches deep. Arrange the tentacle-like projections over a mound of soil in the same way that you would position a bare-root rose. Space separate plants at least two feet apart. When the lilies start to sprout in the spring, mulch around them and insert stakes to support the stalks as they soar to the skies.
\n\tFoxtail lilies are drought tolerant, so the plants will not need much supplemental water once they are established. They are also ephemeral and will disappear in summer. It is a good idea to mark or take pictures of their locations so you don\u2019t accidentally dig them up when planting later in the year. After a few years you can divide the clumps after flowering is finished.
\n\tGiven their height, foxtails are perfect for the backs of beds or borders, or as tall accents in circular beds. If you want some of these gorgeous \u201cfoxes\u201d in your garden, check local garden centers or order from Brent and Becky\u2019s Bulbs, 7900 Daffodil Lane , Gloucester, VA 23061;
\n(877) 661-2852; www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com. Print catalog available. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was the tallest person in my second grade class, but shortly afterwards everyone else passed me on the growth chart. I sprouted a bit after second grade, but arrived at adulthood as a relatively short person. Being short means that I don\u2019t have to worry about low ceilings or overhangs, but I do have … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2],"tags":[2914,2917,2912,2913,2915,477,2916],"class_list":["post-4160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","tag-asphodel-family","tag-desert-candles","tag-eremurus","tag-foxtail-lilies","tag-shelford-hybrids","tag-spring-bulbs","tag-tall-garden-accents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4162,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4160\/revisions\/4162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}