# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DeHhqyXDJzr
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71418590-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/057dfda61a.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-10-05T15:25:45.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

*NATIVE PLANT OF THE WEEK*⁠
Turk’s Cap Lily (Lilium superbum, Zones 4/5–8)⁠
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There are a number of true lilies (Lilium spp.) that are native to North America; Turk’s cap lily is the tallest. Its striking flowers attract a wide variety of pollinators. ⁠
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Sometimes also known as American swamp lily, it’s native to the edges of swamps, wet meadows, and moist woodlands of eastern and midwestern North America from New Hampshire to Florida and west from Minnesota to Arkansas.⁠
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Caution⁠
Don’t grow Turk’s cap lily—or any other true lily (Lilium spp.)—if you have cats that may possibly come into contact with them. All lily parts, including pollen, are highly poisonous to cats if ingested.⁠
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At a Glance⁠
• Grows up to 8 feet tall⁠
• Downward-facing, orange flowers with 6 highly reflexed, dark-spotted petals⁠
• Numerous flowers bloom in summer ⁠
• Flowers are up to 4 inches across⁠
• Strappy green foliage grows in a whorl on stems⁠
• Grows from small bulbs connected by rhizomes; may form colonies under optimal conditions⁠
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Why Grow It⁠
• Flowers provide nectar for pipevine swallowtail, eastern tiger swallowtail, great spangled fritillary, and other butterflies, aa well as hummingbirds and bees⁠
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Growing It⁠
• Sun to part sun⁠
• Moist, well-drained⁠
• Plant bulbs in fall; new plants may take several years to flower⁠
• Divide established plants every few years to prevent overcrowding; best done in fall after leaves have died⁠
• Protect from deer browse if possible⁠
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Design Tips⁠
• Rain gardens, pollinator gardens⁠
• Great for naturalizing⁠
• Use in the back of informal borders⁠
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Photos:⁠
Closeup, Jim Oehmke, iNaturalist⁠
Butterfly, alyshapennachio⁠
Colony/stand, Caitlin Lynch, iNaturalist⁠
View into flower, sblumen, iNaturalist⁠
Row against greenery, Turner Brockman, iNaturalist⁠
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#nativeplants⁠
#pollinatorplants⁠
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## Tags

pollinatorplants, nativeplants

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