Plant of the Week: Turk's Cap Lily (Lilium superbum)

Glad to be back in Kentucky after a week of being in the northwoods.  Not so good is the continued hot, dry conditions we find here in the state. So perhaps it is time to think about getting into the shade and enjoying the shade garden.  But this time of the year, what is in flower in the shade garden?  Actually there are a few showy species including black cohosh, bear's foot, hedge nettle, germander, tasselrue, spikenard, and the showiest of all, the lilies, both Canada and Turk's Cap.  The easiest of the species to find in the nursery trade is the Turk's Cap Lily.  As with most shade garden plants, this species does not like clay but rather a rich organic soil and it does like some sun, maybe early morning or late afternoon, but it does not like drought, hence it might be one species you need to water this time of year when it is dry. Furthermore, this is one native species you should probably mulch. If you get a plant that likes where it is at, it will grow up to 7' tall and have multiple flowers on the plant, sometimes up to 10 or 15.  In addition, it will spread via stolons and you can get a nice patch in the garden, but only if the conditions are right. The petals are nicely recurved and the distinctive identifying feature is the green throat in the center of the flower.  The best companion plants would be cinnamon and royal ferns with black cohosh.