Never heard of it. Most likely, you have, but under its proper name, Lilium speciosum rubrum. When admiring visitors ask me its name, I give them the botanical title, but to me, it is still a pink polka-dot lily.
I feel too grateful to this old friend, which has blossomed and multiplied so well in my Massachusetts garden, to think of it coldly as L. s. rubrum.
It was a joy to find a plant so willing to thrive for me when I began gardening years ago. It obligingly put up with my inexpert attention and flourished anyway.
Most gardeners, even beginners, now know and love this lily. The speciosum blossom is almost orchid-like, and the strongly reflexed petals are indeed polka-dotted with wavy edges.
The delicately poised anthers are large, adding much to the beauty of the flower. And fragrance—it’s divine.
Planting and Culture
Planting and culture follow that for lilies generally. Pink polka-dot must have a well-drained location and like plenty of dappled sunshine.
Low-growing annuals or perennials around the plants keep the roots cool. (Some growers prefer mulch for this purpose.)
A porous, fertile loam, rich in humus, well-decomposed compost, or peat moss suits them exactly.
Plants grow four feet high in my garden and send new flowering stems yearly. After flowering, I carefully take up the young outside shoots in late August or early September and set them in a new location on the border. These eventually become healthy clumps.
L. s. album, the white form, has all the charm of polka-dot except that it isn’t pink. It, too, is stunning.
Weakness of Speciosum
Experienced gardeners know rubrum and album well; they also know what wonderful things have been done and are being done in hybridizing lilies. Speciosum has been widely used in this work, and today’s speciosum hybrids are free from polka dots.
One weakness is a susceptibility to mosaic (a yellowed, streaking effect on either side of the leaf).
Jillian Wallace is notable among the named speciosum-rubrum progeny, as is Red Champion and Crimson Glory.
Among the whites, White Champion and White Pearl are breathtaking. All of these have hybrid vigor, greatly increased beauty, and freedom from the virus.
If purchased from a reliable dealer, today’s lilies are one of your garden’s best and most dependable plants.
44659 by Abbie M. Murphy