Turk's Cap Lily
Lilium superbum
Dozens of nodding orange flowers with swept-back petals on stems to eight feet. The plant guests stop mid-conversation to walk toward.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The most dramatic native perennial we grow -- eight feet of reflexed orange flowers that stop people in their tracks.
Turk's cap lily is the most spectacular native flower in the eastern garden. Eight feet of stem topped with dozens of reflexed orange flowers with swept-back petals and dark spots, each one nodding on a long pedicel like an elaborate chandelier. The flowers open in July and August, and on a still morning the fragrance carries clearly. Hummingbirds probe them continuously; clearwing moths work them at dusk. It thrives at the woodland edge where it gets filtered morning sun and moisture-retentive soil. In a naturalized setting it multiplies into colonies over years, growing more impressive with each season. This is the plant that makes guests stop mid-conversation and walk toward it. Plant it at the back of a moist border or at the edge of a woodland path where the height works in your favor.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown turk's cap lily propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 4–8 ft · 12–18 in wide
- Bloom time
- July–August
- Bloom color
- Orange
- USDA zones
- 4–9
- Family
- Liliaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America from New Hampshire south to Florida and west to Missouri and Oklahoma
Care notes for turk's cap lily.
Full to part sun in moist to wet, humus-rich, acidic soil. Water consistently during establishment and in dry summers. Protect bulbs from deer with caging if deer pressure is high. this lily is one of their favorites. Stake in exposed sites. Top-dress with compost each fall.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside turk's cap lily.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.