If you consider the lily season practically over when Madonna’s wither in June, and regals shed their last petals in July, you may be amazed at the list of satisfying and beautiful August blooming lilies.
Of course, the weather has a way of fouling up things—not only family picnics and state fairs but also a simple statement such as “These lilies bloom in August.”
Should it be an early season, the weather abnormally dry or hot, some of the lilies normally blooming in August may have finished in late July.
If the weather remains cool with plenty of moisture (more cloudy days), July-blooming lilies may bloom into August.
But it makes little difference when lilies bloom- they are aristocrats of the garden and lovely any day or month.
Lilium Callosum
Lilium callosum is the midget of the lily family. It may show its first diminutive blossoms toward the end of July and still have plenty of buds left for August.
The small scentless blossoms open on slender but sturdy, erect stems that may grow three to five feet tall.
The segments of the nodding flowers shape themselves into a narrow tube before recurving. They are brick red, faintly spotted with black toward the base.
Because the blossoms are small, we set the plants in groups of 10 or 12 to make a border display. Fortunate is the gardener who has the yellow form. L. callosum luteum.
It is considered more of a choice than dull red. Bulbs are very rare but occasionally they are obtainable.
Lilium Auratum
File giant of the lily family (referring to blossom size—there are taller lilies) blooms at this time too.
It is Lilium auratum, commonly known as the gold band lily or the golden-rayed lily of Japan because of its origin and the wide gold band down the middle of the petals.
Flic type and its variants have large bowl-shaped blossoms, some of them measuring ten incites and more across.
The exotic white blossoms, delightfully fragrant, are spotted generously with yellow and crimson.
Growers specializing in lilies have produced some highly colored strains in vivid crimson colors. The planting of different types and forms provides a long blooming season.
A well-grown plant may reach a height of 6’ feet and more and is spectacular when in full bloom.
As with all lilies, this garden queen is at its best when given ample room to grow and breathe. Unfortunately, auratums show their resentment when they must rub elbows with close neighbors.
Some For The Shade
The August sun is hot. Lilium speciosum requires some protection from its hot rays, or the leaves and blossoms bleach. Trees may provide this shade, but they should not sap the moisture from the lilies.
Mulch may be used to conserve moisture and to provide cooler soil. Ground cover plants also help to keep soil temperatures down.
Lily Blossoms
The blossoms of L. speciosum variety rubrum have a white background but are so heavily suffused with pink and so thickly spotted with prominent crimson papillae (the raised “freckles”) that the effect is a lovely crimson color.
Seedlings vary in color, the darker ones usually being the choice. The reflexed segments have wavy edges.
Other varieties are listed, such as magnificum with flowers of deep rose spotted with crimson; punctatum with frilly white flowers flushed with pink, which open earlier than most of the varieties: melpomene is richly colored and edged with white.
There are named kinds such as the vigorous ‘Lucie Wilson’; the lovely ‘Red C
Garden Gems
Lilium speciosum album and L. speciosum Kraetzeri are truly garden gems. The former sports white flowers with frilly-edged petals, while the latter has a pale green stripe down the middle of the petals, and the outside is tinged with green.
‘White Champion’ and ‘White Pearl’ are named varieties. Against a green background, these white lilies make August pictures that are simply bewitching.
Crossing Two Lily Species
An Australian grower succeeded in crossing two magnificent lilies—varieties of speciosum and auratum—to produce a majestic beauty, ‘Jillian Wallace.’ This sensational lily grows to 5′ feet with broad dark green leaves.
The large flowers, 7″ to 10′ inches across, are spotted with deep crimson pink with white margins, somewhat wavy along the edges. Nothing can be dull about a mid-summer garden when ‘Jillian Wallace’ is present.
Almost all the erect or cup-shaped lilies bloom in the spring, but there is one for August, too—the Lilium dauricum variety ‘Wilsoni.’
This lily prefers part shade in the center, or back rows of the border for its three to five-foot stems. However, in full sun, they do not grow quite so tall. The apricot-colored blossoms are spotted with brown.
The Tiger Lily
Sargentiae hybrids Dioxide creamy-white trumpets for late July and early August. The outside of the segments is flushed with reddish brown, rose, or green.
The old-fashioned tiger lily, Lilium tigrinum, may open its first spotted orange blossoms in July and extend its blooming period into August.
It is such a well-known lily that a description is scarcely necessary. But, even before it blooms, we recognize it by the bulblets (bulbils), dark in color, which form freely in the axils of the leaves.
A double tiger lily, L. tigrinum variety flore-pleno, is available. It grows 4′ feet in height and is as spotted as the single type. ‘Cherokee’ with brick red flowers dotted with maroon is a tiger lily hybrid.
Late Blooming Regal Lilies
“Why do your regal lilies bloom so late?” A visitor asked one hot day in mid-August when tall, stately Formolongi lilies displayed gorgeous white blossoms against an arbor-vitae background.
Perhaps they do appear similar to the casual observer. Still, regal lilies usually have yellow throats, or greenish-yellow, while the blossoms on Formolongi (supposed to be a cross between Lilium formosanum and L. longiflorum) have cool green throats.
Suppose one wants to cut them for vases. In that case, it is wise to remove the stamens early in the morning, just as the blossoms are opening and before the bees are about, and then cut them toward evening when the blossoms are fully open but before the sphinx moths go nectar hunting and soil the white petals with their wings.
We can count on several strains of Lilium formosanum at this time, too. All these white trumpets are real treasures and give one a feeling of coolness even though temperatures may be at the wilting level for humans.
Lilium Henryi
The waxy, rich green foliage of Lilium Henryi glistens and shines in the garden but bleaches white in spots in full sun, as do the nodding orange-colored flowers. A semi-shady location with protection from the hot midday sun is the solution.
Some varieties have rather weak swaying stems. The tall stems have a heavy load to bear because they are topped by many horizontally spreading flower stems, often with secondary buds. Therefore, one should choose those with stiff stems, such as ‘Erecta.’
The reflexed petals of all varieties have numerous prominent papillae. L. Henryi has been a favorite of hybridizers.
It is one of the parents of the outstanding Aurelian hybrids and also of the Havemeyer hybrids.
Late Blooming Hybrids
The Aurelian hybrids bloom in July, but lily specialists list ‘Delight’ and ‘Eventide’ as August bloomers.
‘Delight’ grows as much as 7′ feet tall with flowers of good substance, semi-trumpet and bowl-shaped in white with apricot and yellow at the center.
‘Eventide’ is a foot shorter. Its 5-inch blossoms are cream with an overlay of saffron which blends to a deep orange in the throat. The vision of these charmers against a green background on a hot summer day.
A. Havemeyer Lily
The lily ‘T. A. Havemeyer’ was produced by crossing Lilium Henryi and L. sulphureus. Its seven to 8-foot stems belong in the back of the border.
The fragrant flowers, often measuring seven inches without spreading the segments, are ivory yellow blended with apricot.
A band of green on the outside of the petals has an interesting twist and recurved tips.
The blooming period may extend into September. The Havemeyer hybrids are as lovely and interesting as ‘T. A. Havemeyer.’
Among the names of this group are the following:
- ‘Edmund L. Kagy,’ which is persimmon orange lightly flecked with red
- ‘Paulina Kline,’ which is yellow flecked with red at the center with the outside of the petals green
- ‘William Bates’ which is tangerine orange, shading to ivory
One has to see a collection of Havemeyer hybrids to appreciate the interesting blending of colors, the substance, the shape of the blossoms, and other details—they vary from plant to plant.
Sulphureum Henryi Hybrids
Edgar L. Kline (Oregon) has worked with Sulphureum-Henryi hybrid crosses for almost 20 years, crossing and recrossing, selecting the best, and backcrossing these.
From this work evolved the Golden Harvest Hybrids—creamy white, yellow buff, greenish-white, some shading to other colors toward the base of the petals.
The blossoms are large and rather flat at the center with slightly recurved tips. As cut flowers, they are a joy to use, for they stay fresh for as long as eight days. Wise gardeners plant the bulbs in light shade.
44659 by Olga Rolf Tiemann