Since its introduction to this country nearly one hundred years ago, the gold band lily, known to botanists as Lilium auratum, has been one of the most desirable and popular lilies. It well deserves the enthusiastic praise it has received from gardeners lucky enough to be successful with it. Unfortunately, many people are not able to grow it well.
We often hear them ask, “What is wrong with my gold band lily?” They present us with a list of symptoms ranging from dropped or yellow foliage, twisted and distorted flowers, and leaves, to decay in the bulbs.
The difficulties with this lily have several causes. To understand them, we need to know something about the conditions which this species prefers. In the course of evolution, there is a tendency for all lily species to become well-adapted to their peculiar environment and, consequently, less well-adapted to any other, radically different, conditions.
L. auratum is reasonably hardy, although it needs some protection from winter frost. This is best accomplished by mulching as soon as the ground is frozen in early winter. It requires perfect drainage and light, friable soil.
In most gardens, this can be achieved by planting in raised beds and by adding sand and peat to the soil. Such materials need to be thoroughly mixed in, to a depth of a foot or more. Do not put them in a pocket around the bulb itself.
Auratums Relish An Acid Soil
L. auratum needs acid soil. To determine the relative acidity or alkalinity of the soil, a simple test is needed. All one has to do is to soak some of the soil in distilled water, dip it in a strip of litmus paper and observe any color changes that take place. The blue color indicates alkalinity and pink, acidity.
Distilled water may be obtained from garages and service stations, and litmus paper, as well as pure distilled water, from most drug stores. If the soil in your garden is on the alkaline side, you may correct it by incorporating peat and fertilizing it with ammonium sulfate.
In cool areas, such as are found in some parts of the Pacific Northwest, this lily does well in full sun. In climates where high summer temperatures may be expected, a partially shaded location is to be preferred. The gold band lilies also resent very high soil temperatures.
A summer mulch, or ground cover of low-growing plants, is beneficial to their growth. Adequate, but not excessive watering is needed. These are not swamped lilies but, like all healthy, strong-growing plants, they need ample moisture to thrive.
About Virus Diseases of Lilies
One of the most frequent causes of failure is because L. auratum is susceptible to virus diseases. These diseases are usually transmitted from other lilies, tulips, or other plants by aphids or leafhoppers. While most lilies will live with and tolerate the virus, it is fatal to the auratum.
The symptoms are a sudden drying up of the buds and yellowing of the foliage, usually starting on one side of the plant. If the bulb lives through another growing season, it will show marked streaking of the leaves, the flowers will be distorted and the bulb will rot. There is no known cure.
To prevent the spread of a virus disease to the gold band lily, plant it as far as possible from other lilies and tulips in the garden. Control insects by spraying or dusting with a good insecticide. It is more important to control these pests on all possible carriers of the disease, that is, on the other plants surrounding the lilies than on the auratum itself.
Commercial lily growers have been very much interested in the problems encountered by the gardener. Many years ago, they began an effort to produce new hybrids of L. auratum more adaptable to a wide variety of conditions.
After more than 20 years, they have now developed several new strains of auratum hybrids that are hardier, more disease-resistant, and much more adaptable to differences in soil and climate than the L. aura twin.
Look for These New Hybrids
The most important is the Jamboree strain, tall (up to eight feet), extremely vigorous with flat, crimson flowers, and recurved petal tips. Then there is ‘Imperial Crimson,’ similar in color, but with very large and more bowl-shaped flowers. Under ideal conditions, each bloom may be as large as a dinner plate and have a dozen or more flowers carried on a beautifully shaped pyramidal head.
‘Imperial Silver’ is similar in habit and size but is pure white with pink to crimson spots. ‘Imperial Gold’ will be of special interest to those who love the gold band lily since it has the same color scheme. These plants all bear large trusses of enormous flowers, a little more wide open than auratum, pure white with crimson spots and with the beautiful gold band at the center of each petal.
A Spectacular Future for Auratums
In this way and with these results we have tried to find a solution to the problem and the question, “What is wrong with my auratum lily?” The future undoubtedly holds still more spectacular results in the thousands of new hybrids now being tested.
It may take a few more years, but the time is not far off when, through hybridizing, the auratum lily in a new invigorated form will prove to be resistant and possibly even immune to virus diseases.
44659 by Earl Hornback