As lilies become more beautiful, they become tougher also. This happy situation puts them in the front running for flower popularity in the near future.
As soon as gardeners discover that these glamorous flowers are also vigorous (hardy to cold, heat- and disease-resistant), prolific, and able to withstand neglect, the lily stock is bound to go up.
For years, the idea has been abroad that only the best gardeners could grow lilies, but now the truth is out—anybody can grow these new kinds. Moreover, many of them are ranked with the easiest of perennials.
Difference Between Garden Lilies There and Now
The chief difference between garden lilies of today and those of a generation ago is that most modern ones are of hybrid origin. The old-time lilies were probably native or species kinds, the same as would be found wild somewhere in the world.
Bulbs of these were notorious for being infected with disease, and only under the best conditions could the plants survive the handicap. They were “hard to grow.”
In the seed-grown strains of many modern lilies, the disease problem has been left behind. This is because virus diseases are not transmitted through the seed.
Commercial lily bulb production now aims to keep stocks vigorous and clean, with only the best selected for sale.
The difference between an absolutely healthy lily and one virus-infected is alone enough to cause excitement without the added advantages of hybrid origin.
What has been happening to lilies amounts to a revolution. The same thing happened to the tulip centuries ago in Holland or even more centuries ago in the Orient to the peony and chrysanthemum.
Now, in our time, the lily’s turn has come.
Group of Lily Hybrids
Dozens of different groups of hybrids have evolved—enough to create a situation that is already bewildering and likely to become more so. These groups are based on the ancestry used in developing them.
Sometimes the family tree is complex. Better new ones have replaced some of the early hybrids.
As things stand, the chief groups of hybrid origin are:
Olympic Types
White or mostly white trumpet lilies resembling regals but with flowers borne in a pyramidal, not spoke-like, formation.
This includes the new ‘Black Dragon,’ the older ‘Green Dragon’ and ‘Green Mountain’ hybrids, and many others. Derived from a number of trumpet lilies, including L. leucanthum centifolium.
Mid-Century Types
Yellow to dark red lilies resembling the tiger lily (L. tigrinum) or the candlestick lily (L. hollandicum) and intermediate types between them, widely varying, the flowers upright or outward facing.
Auratum-Speciosum Hybrid Types
A combination between the Japanese gold-band lily and L. speciosum rubrum. The fabulous Titian Wallace’ was one of the first-named hybrids from this basic cross.
- `Jamboree’ lilies
- `Empress of India’
- ‘Empress’ lilies
- ‘Imperial’ strains
- `Imperial Crimson’
- ‘Imperial Gold’
Others in this set are the `Potomac’ hybrids, an introduction of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
These all have nearly flat, large flowers with a white petal background and carmine markings to varying degrees. Some retain the gold petal band of the parent.
Aurelian Types
A grand mixture but with the ancestry of L. henryi as a uniting factor. Flowers may be bowl-shaped (as in ‘Heart’s Desire’), trumpet-shaped (`Golden Clarion’), or nodding and re-curved (`Sunburst’), and colors may be white or creamy to orange.
Fiesta Types
Yellow, orange, red, spotted, and recurved or nodding, resembling the principal ancestors L. dauricum and L. davidi.
Backhouse Hybrid Types
Small, variously colored recurved flowers with spots. These and the ‘Painted Lady’ hybrids are derived from L. martagon and L. hansoni.
Other small groups exist also, and promising new ones are a few years in the future.
Difference Between Lily Strains and Clones
A source of confusion to many gardeners is the difference between lily strains and clones. Price is one big difference between them, but the reason why takes more explaining.
A clone is a stock of bulbs all obtained by propagating the original lily plant in some way, except seeds.
Perhaps it was by bulb scales, stem bulbils if the lily has them, or by root or stem bulblets. This is a slow way to get new bulbs, but the grower knows it will make plants identical to the parent lily.
Bulbs of a clone are expensive because they are scarce. The famous Aurelian lily ‘Limelight’ started as a clone.
If the grower knows what he crossed to get the prize lily in the first place, he might try the same cross again and get more like it from the seed. This is essentially the way a strain is created.
Each year, he makes carefully controlled crosses, harvests the seed, and grows new plants from it. The seedlings are tended for the two or three years it takes them to bloom.
Then the grower compares each plant’s flower with the original lily he wants them to look like, weeds out any that do not qualify, and at the season’s end, harvests the rest of the bulbs to sell as a seed-grown strain of that variety.
The new ‘Limelight’ strain—with its unique chartreuse trumpets—is an example.
This lily is also to be sold under the name ‘Moonlight’ strain. Because from seeds, these bulbs can be produced so much faster, they can be sold for less.
The flowers may not be exactly like the original in all respects. Still, only an expert could tell the difference, and the lilies of the strain may actually be better and healthier than their namesake.
The strain is the logical choice for the gardener who wants good lilies but does not care if they are authentic offshoots of the original.
For Finest Lilies
Although modern lilies are not difficult to grow and can survive mistreatment, they can be seen at their thrilling best if given good care. This begins with the care of the bulb before it is planted.
Most lily bulbs are never completely dormant.
They are simply underground buds and should be treated as living plants. Protect them from drying out, and preserve the unbroken roots.
Don’t Delay
Plant them without delay. Of course, lily bulbs are not dug until the plants have ripened, But orders can be placed in advance so there is no time lost between digging by the grower and planting by you.
Good Drainage
Give them good drainage. If there is one main factor that kills lilies, it is poor drainage. Never plant lilies where water stands after rain or in tight soil that holds water long around the bulb.
Good sites for lilies are slightly sloped beds, raised somewhat above the surrounding ground surface, or provided with a drainage layer such as gravel or drain tile.
Humus Soil
Give them a deep, loose, humus-rich soil. Leaf mold, compost, or peat moss will supply any lack of humus.
Be generous with it. Barnyard manure can be used if it is completely rotted. Prepare the soil in advance so that it settles down before you plant.
Do Not Plant Bulbs Too Deep
The catalogs usually give planting depth for each variety. Only in light, sandy soils could you risk planting any deeper than the recommendation.
The average depth to cover bulbs in the groups mentioned here is about 5” inches. Mark and label each planting so that you will not hoe off young tops in early spring.
Watering and Mulching
Water each new planting after you have finished it in the fall to get root growth started before winter.
Late plantings should be mulched with coarse leaves before freezing up. A similar winter mulch would be good in any case where winters are severe and snowless.
Growing Season Care
Growing season care consists of giving a shallow mulch after plants are well up, feeding in mid-spring with a fertilizer such as that sold for bulbs, and sometimes staking tall growers in windy locations.
After bloom, developing seed pods should be removed to save the strength for the bulb unless you want to save a few to try growing your own from seed.
Occasional spraying or dusting with insecticide-fungicide mixtures through the season, when other garden plants are treated, will control pests should any appear.
Lilies are not particularly attractive to insects. Moles, gophers, or mice will damage bulb plantings in some areas. Where this is a serious problem, plant the bulbs in wire baskets.
44659 by Rachel Snyder