"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote
01 taken at beginning of June when in bud, others taken a few days ago.

Sorry, I did reduce the size, honestly. Not enough, obviously :-(

Mary, that is a perfect picture of a monstrous growth, it's something
that happens to plants when the growing tip is damaged and it flattens
out into a line instead of a point. You often see Cacti grown like that
deliberately, making a sort of crest.

Well, that's an answer of some kind, I've neve heard of it but don't hear
of much about lilies :-)

Or cacti ...

It may be a chemical you have used

I don't use any chemicals anywhere near it. Spouse uses Derris on the
gooseberry, as you know, but that's many yards away and he's very careful.

or some other reason

Could it be mechanical damage? I have a couple of hive supers round it to
keep away the hens but they were only put there after they were scratching
round.

so I would suggest you repot when it's dormant, be careful what you use
on it next season, and see what happens next year.

As I said, it happened last year although didn't flower.

And it's not in a pot, it's been in the open ground since we got it, never
disturbed except possibly by Zen, Gen and Rab, little buggers!

Should I keep it in a pot?

Thanks very much for your thoughtful reply.

If it's growing well in the ground then leave it there. It may be also a
virus that has caused the damage especially as you say this is the second
year it's grown in that way. At least this year, as it's flowered, you can
collect some seed to propagate it (in time!).
Martagon lilies didn't last long with me when I tried to grow them but we do
have a serious problem with lily beetle around here.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden