Of the thousands of Easter lilies grown in the United States several seasons ago, no two individual plants attracted as much interest as those grown by a couple of Fort Lauderdale lady gardeners.
Both of these lilies were spectacular.
One, grown by Mrs. Berkey Jones, reached a height of 8′ feet tall and produced 36 flowers on a single stem.
The other, grown by Mrs. Ralph Dunn, was even more spectacular since it grew only 4′ feet high but produced 45 flowers on one stem.
Outstanding Specimen
The 8-foot lily was not only an outstandingly fine specimen, but the conditions under which it was grown were most unusual.
In the fall, this lily bulb had been dumped with garden refuse into a compost pile.
Later, an old cement block, tossed over the compost pile for no special reason, happened to cover it.
When the bulb started to grow, it pushed its new growth through one of the holes in the cement block and continued to grow and flower until its owner noticed it. Mrs. Jones had to cut the stem to remove the plant from the block.
Magnificent Easter Lilies
Both of these Easter lilies (Lilium longiflorum) were magnificent specimens.
Their flowers were not spread around the stem, as they are commonly found, but opened instead from the top of a fan-shaped stem.
Their stems, round at the base, were about two inches in diameter.
At the halfway mark, each stem started to flatten out and grew thinner until it resembled the shape of a fan below the flower.
The leaves on the round part of the stem were normal but became smaller as they neared the top. The uppermost leaves were very small and appeared more frequently.
Gardeners in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, grow their Easter lilies in the garden year-round. Most of them flower at Easter and bloom from 4 to 6 weeks afterward.
Bulbs increase very rapidly, and lily gardens often have to be dug up to make room for the bulbs to grow.
Aphids attack the flower buds but are kept under control by frequent spraying.
44659 by Robert Doig