The early cultivators of the gladiolus, though able to work with many species, were confined to a basic flower form in both spike and individual floret.
In 1920 some thought that the limit in hybridizing gladiolus had been reached. But since then, so many new developments have been made that older varieties are now obsolete. No one hesitates to predict the future of the gladiolus.
In contrast, lily hybridists have many species and at least a half-dozen distinct forms of flowers and spikes to work with. How can one even hope to predict the possible results of working with such treasures?
For nearly a century, attempts were made to intercross species without marked results. The few hybrids known, such as the Nankeen lily (Lillium testaceum), which is still grown today, were generally infertile or, at best, would reproduce themselves only from the pollen of one parent; the plant resulting from the cross would be identical with that parent.
Many lilies were of weak constitution and were lost almost immediately. And even the introduction of the robust L. regale did little at first for the future of lilies except to sustain a wavering interest.
But I am convinced there was progress in those days. Something was happening to the lily. For example, let me tell you about the first bulbs of the coral lily I saw. They were so small that one hundred were packed in a single small box.
Yet the lily enthusiast who received them was delighted, saying that they had seldom seen better bulbs. And as I remember, they all flowered well the same year.
Lilies Grow Quickly From Seed
Today this lily can be grown quickly from seed, and in two years, the bulbs will be nearly an inch in diameter. Instead of giving one prodigious burst of bloom and then dying out, as was its early habit, it will flower and persist in an average garden.
The only conclusion that can be made is that over the years of cultivation, this Siberian native has lost its wildness.
Casual selection has kept the best forms, and various strains may have been mixed to add vigor.
An early color variation that is still available and is known as “Golden Gleam” will keep its orange-yellow shade if grown entirely apart from the type, showing that proximity of other pollen does affect lilies, despite some feeling that they are generally self-pollinated in nature.
I believe many other lily species have developed as the coral lily. They, too, were wild plants originally. A few forms were grown in Europe for garden ornament and a few in Asia for food.
But not until interest in Lillium regale stimulated the growth of lilies commercially in America was any large number grown here from seed; in fact, most native American species were sold to be dug from the wild.
These native species were generally difficult to cultivate under garden conditions, which proves my point that only continuous commercial cultivation can allow these wild plants to become beneficial garden plants.
While it is true that lilies are a bit difficult to cultivate, they are not impossible for any plant lover who will attempt to give them the conditions they need; strangely enough, these are not always the same conditions that they find in nature.
Shallow Planting Rule
Culture may vary in different parts of the country. In Vermont, shallow planting is the rule for most lilies, with perhaps a light summer mulch and a straw cover in winter; in the prairie states, it is common practice to plant lilies a foot deep.
And for that matter, how can one expect Lilium speciosum, for example, flowers in the North in August or later, to perform similarly in a section where it flowers earlier and where summers are longer and hotter?
Yet this lily is being grown successfully in both locations by those who attempt to meet its needs.
The primary cultural needs of the lily are deep (at least 12″ inches) fertile soil, good drainage but sufficient moisture during the growing period, and an excellent location.
If no cool spot is available, precautions must be taken to prevent high soil temperatures in summer. Lily bulbs will withstand much drying out and still growing.
Over the years, a few dedicated souls from various parts of the world have continued to grow and hybridize lilies, and as seed and information have been exchanged, both new forms and hybrids of old favorites have found their way onto plant lists.
The development of pink strains of the trumpet lilies and the color development is found mainly in true hybrids between L. regale and other trumpet lily species, which have given us the later and sturdier forms.
The Pacific Coast
On our own Pacific Coast, there was a group of growers and hybridizers whose work gave us pink and yellow trumpet lilies; jewel-like forms of the martagons; crosses between the indestructible tiger and the equally easy and permanent candelabra or upright-flowered group; and improved and healthier forms of older well-known species.
In Canada, hybridizers have long been growing lilies to withstand northern conditions. A Canadian hybridizer over 50 years ago, Dr. C.F. Patterson, produced new lilies based on the beautiful lavender-pink Lillium cernuum, which withstand a prairie environment.
One must not overlook Isabella Preston; she was one of the first to attain results with the crossing of species previously believed to be impossible to combine.
Some people charge that there are already too wide a varieties of lilies. This is not true. Only by introducing many forms from various sources can we hope to attain the quickly grown, permanent, and disease-resistant lilies which will delight our eyes and flower the entire summer.
For goodwill persist, and the poor will fall by the wayside.
There is much more to be attained than just a change in the color of a flower. In days to come hybridizing will produce trumpet lilies that will flower from late May to September and forms of the gold-banded lily that will blossom in June.
Up Right Blooms
Lilies that now hang their heads will hold their blooms up-right, just as upright forms have already turned their flowers outward and have become partly curled from their tiger lily parentage.
Giants we already have, towering to 8′ and 10′ feet. Equally valuable for the small garden are sturdy erect trumpet types growing some 3′ feet high and holding their flowers so that the beholder can see their throats and inner markings.
And, of course, the breeders will attain effective lily resistance to disease and the ability to withstand adverse conditions if they disseminate and thus test the new introductions.
There is, of course, a catch to all this, best expressed by saying, “let the buyer beware.” As always, there are persons who, carried away by the beauty of a new seedling, spend their enthusiasm on words.
Those who purchase extravagantly praised new varieties which have not been widely disseminated must do so with the same “fingers crossed” attitude with which they would buy a lottery ticket.
One may win, and again, one may not. Any new lily that is worthwhile is sure to appear on several nursery lists quickly. For the other varieties, the reputation of the grower must be depended upon.
It is wise to buy from nearby sources whenever possible. Bulbs developed in your section or those that grow well for a producer in your area are most likely to do well for you.
I have not attempted to name all the hybridizers and growers whose work is worthy of consideration, and I hesitate to call the lilies that you should grow or the new varieties now available, which I consider among the best. I think one must learn what is best by trial.
6660 By Don Wahl