Madonna lily
Lilium candidum · Liliaceae
Pure white, wide-open, sweetly scented trumpets with golden anthers. Grown for more than three thousand years, and the lily of medieval paintings.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to mid July
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around madonna lily
The planner designed this bed around madonna lily when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why madonna lily stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 6, pink
- 2 Leadwort × 13, blue
- 3 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 3, purple
- 5 Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' × 1, grey-green leaves
- 6 Bergenia 'Bressingham White' × 3, white
- 7 Madonna lily × 1, white
- 8 Red spider lily × 8, red
Why this plant
- The only trumpets. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Forward of its place. At 4 ft it belongs at the back of the bed: this far forward it stands in the way of what is behind it.
- One plant. An accent is used singly, like a punctuation mark.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late June to mid July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' and false sunflower 'Summer Sun' in late June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by false sunflower 'Summer Sun' and Tatarian aster 'Jindai', the tallest plants on the plan. The scheme leans cool (pink, blue and purple) and uses yellow and red for warmth, with white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where madonna lily goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
Unlike other lilies it must be planted shallowly, in late summer, in limy soil and full sun, and it makes a rosette of leaves that lasts through winter.
- Cottage and historic gardens
- Scent in early summer
- Limy soil in sun
What to plant with madonna lily
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Delphinium: in flower together for four weeks, from late June; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves.
- English rose: in flower together for four weeks, from late June.
- English lavender 'Hidcote': in flower together for four weeks, from late June; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about madonna lily
Does madonna lily need sun or shade?
Madonna lily grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does madonna lily grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does madonna lily flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Mid June to early July |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to early July |
| Zone 9 | Early June to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should madonna lily be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many madonna lily plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is madonna lily poisonous to cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to cats. Extremely poisonous to cats: every part, including the pollen and the water from a vase, can cause kidney failure. Not considered poisonous to dogs or people.
It is not recorded as toxic to dogs.
Rated from the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
What can I plant to hide madonna lily's leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Blue false indigo: 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide, in flower late May to mid June.
- Peony: 3 ft tall and 3 ft wide, in flower late May to late June.
- Daylily: 2½ ft tall and 24 in wide, in flower late June to early August.
What does madonna lily look like in winter?
Madonna lily is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
More Lilium
- Asiatic lily Lilium (Asiatic hybrids)
- Canada lily Lilium canadense
- Easter lily Lilium longiflorum
- Henry's lily Lilium henryi
- Martagon lily Lilium martagon
- Orienpet lily Lilium (Orienpet hybrids)
- Oriental lily Lilium (Oriental hybrids)
- Oriental lily 'Casa Blanca' Lilium 'Casa Blanca'
- Oriental lily 'Stargazer' Lilium 'Stargazer'
- Regal lily Lilium regale
- Tiger lily Lilium lancifolium
- Trumpet lily Lilium (Trumpet hybrids)
- Turk's cap lily Lilium superbum
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to mid July; trumpets; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Liliaceae
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.