Great Plant Pick: Erythronium revolutum, coast fawn lily

Published 1:30 am Saturday, April 6, 2019

What: Erythronium revolutum is a very charming Pacific Northwest native with nodding, lily-like flowers. They are borne on slender burgundy stems and open to pink, dark pink or almost rose along with showy orange-yellow stamens. The green foliage is variable being dappled with white and/or a dark eggplant hue. The horticultural folklore is the mottling is reminiscent of a fawn’s coloring, so that’s how it gets its common names coast fawn lilly and pink fawn lily.

Where: Plant this fawn lily in light to open or dappled shade.

Size: This flowering bulb will grow to be 1 foot tall and spread 1½ feet when mature.

Care: The habitat of this native erythronium is generally on or near moist sites such as near streams, wet meadows, or moist forests. Although growth and flowering is in mid-spring when moisture in the soil is typically adequate, provide water if unusually dry conditions prevail.

— Richie Steffen, Great Plant Picks