Is this 5' tall flower a species of lily??

I believe this is some species of lily......But what one I do not know!? We just purchased our home in September so I had no idea what was in our complex landscaping. It resembles a lily, has a dark reddish-brown stalk and is currently 57″ tall. I’m sure I can identify it once it blooms, although I would like to ensure I’m caring for it properly. The photo showcasing the entire plant may be difficult to see as it is growing directly in front of a small ornamental tree. I also can not rotate the photos, sorry! Thank you for your help!

I agree it is some sort of lily.

I am concerned about the shrub or tree behind it. WAY too close to the house!

Yes Diana, this fall the small tree will be transplanted elsewhere. Want to make sure the surrounding flowers can bloom before I interrupt their root system. I too am almost positive it is a type of lily, can't wait until we can identify it!

Your doing the right thing Andrew by waiting a whole year before you dig up, chop down or even get somone in to turn the garden over, by doing so, you will have lost a lot of beautiful plants etc, the garden look lush and green and the flowers appear to have been planted with care, perhaps the little tree was a seedling dropped by wind or birds as I can think of anyone intentionally planting a tree in beside beautiful Lily plants, but there again, there is nothing weirder than folks LOL.

Yes your plant is a Lily, like you I would not be able to tell you without the flowers and it looks like you wont have too long to wait for the blooms to come.
Maybe post a picture to put us all out of our misery LOL. There are giant lilies and they look sturdy of stem and foliage like yours, I think they are members of the Madonna Lily section of the family, Also called Lily Candidum, and IF it is, they usually have the most beautiful markings on the flowers, BUT until the blooms appear, were NOT going to know. by the way there is another type called Lily Giganteum, Panther Lily, grows well in USA warmer states.

Get back to us once the flowers are open and give us a treat.
Best wishes and good luck.
WeeNel.

The "mystery lily" is well over 5' now! The suspense is killing me! Thank you all for your input, I will post photos of blooms as soon as they quit hiding their beauty!!

Andrew,

They sell "tree Lilies" (Lilium orienpet) that get to be this tall. I bought several for my front garden last fall. I was told often the first year they dont get that tall (they are less than 3'), but they get that tall. Wonder if that's what it is? It has ALOT of buds!

Please post a photo when it blooms..would love to see!

Valal, most of the neighbors have stopped by to look at the landscaping as the previous homeowner didn't maintain it very well. So almost everything that is popping up they have not seen either. I do have one other that looks identical to this one but it is just over 3'. Thank you for your input, can't wait to share photos of the blooms!

We have blooms!! It really looks like an asiatic lily on steroids (currently standing 6'8" tall). But the coloring is amazing! It has a total of 21 buds with only 2 open thus far. I can not figure out why this forum keeps rotating my photos, my apologies.

This message was edited Jul 5, 2015 1:10 PM

WOW! How beautiful! I only hope the tree lilies I bought reach this kind of display.....
you have plenty more blooms to come! ENJOY -- and thanks for posting with blooms!

How Beautiful, Nature at it's best, who would ever imagine a single bulb could produce such a stunning flowering display, it looks like a sunset,

Dont know IF you know much about lily's Andrew or any bulbs for that matter, BUT, after flowering has passed, DONT cut off any of the stems or foliage, allow this to die down naturally as by doing so, the decaying foliage helps build up energy and feeds the bulbs, helping to give energy for the following years growth and flowering. Once the greenery has either dried or turned brown, it's easy to give a gentle tug at it and remove the dead stuff, this allows air and moisture to get down to the bulb again,
For now, as this bulb is working overtime, using up loads of energy producing all those flowers from a single stem, I would give a liquid feed of maybe Tomato fertiliser and only use the recommended dosage as too much feed is as bad as NONE at all.
the other thing I use on my bulbs as I do winter clean up of the dead foliage is, a mix, ready made to the correct mixture of Blood / Fish / Bonemeal, you buy a box of this from garden store, the good thing about this feed is it's NON chemical, it is a slow release fertiliser and a handful sprinkled around the bulbs then hand forked in gently so as NOT to damage the bulbs / tubers etc that are shallow planted,

Hope this helps you out a little, just enjoy all the plants you find in your new garden, I can only assume someone must have spent a lot of money and even more time while planting your garden,
I can imagine these Lily bulbs were NOT planted last year for sure so make sure you take pictures of all you fins as come winter or early spring when everything is usually still under ground, you will be able to find these plants awaiting a new season, maybe even place a cane and tie a label beside the plants end of this season then, you will know IF you want to keep, save, move or give away. Gardening is an expensive hobby and you should take advantage of all you have within the plot you now have.

Good Luck Andrew and make time to enjoy and make new friends with the neighbours.
Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

Valal, isn't it amazing! And as none of you know, I am color blind, mainly to bright and subtle tones. But yet gardening has been something that I love! And no matter the color I still find so much beauty in this! I would love to see how your tree lilys flourish! WeeNel, thank you so much for sharing your tips with me! At only 26 my wife and I have much to learn. And it is lovely people like you that will help us grow as we help our flowers grow! It is just so rewarding to see flowers like this knowing that just a few months ago I had no idea what I was tending to! And we have purchased some garden labels to make sure we know what is where.

Andrew,

we look forward to seeing you more around the forums....share the rest of your plants with us.
I am old by your standards...have a daughter who is 28, and I have always puttered around the garden but this past year or so I have taken on a massive gardening project at our newest home and learned SOOOOO much. Had Dave's garden been around 20 yrs ago and had I found it, I would have been a much more avid gardener all these years. Not to mention all the great, helpful people!

I'm sorry you can't see the colors of all your blooms but to enjoy each and every bloom for its form, the miracle of nature, watch things grow is also such a joy!!

Just keep asking any questions Andrew, you or your wife, how do you think any gardener learns how to, when to and how often to.
weve all been in your shoes, it's just great 2 young people want to learn about gardening and keen to learn more.
Look forward to keeping up with your progress and so want you offer any encouragement and advice IF I know the answers.
Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

that is beautiful!!