A garden of lilies

Flower & Garden Magazine, August-Sept, 1996 by Marty Ross

Lilies Are In Such Demand As cut flowers that the international forcing industry keeps them in bloom year-round. Gardeners have it almost as sweet: lilies bloom in the garden from late spring through the end of summer, producing spectacular flowers in wave after showy wave of color. Many of the top florists' varieties grow well in the garden, but a new generation of lilies, bred for garden performance, is earning a place alongside the old favorites. This is an exciting time to grow lilies.

Members of the genus Lilium are sometimes confused with daylilies, but daylilies (Hemerocallis) are not true lilies at all. True lilies grow from a bulb. If you've never seen a lily bulb, the first one you hold in your hand will look naked and strange, a bit like a fleshy, pale artichoke. The plant's stem grows from the center of the bulb, shooting up in the garden like a green geyser. Flower buds appear on this stem, not on side shoots.

Many varieties produce dozens of flowers every season; really vigorous lilies grown in optimum conditions have been known to bear as many as 150 blooms on a stem. The flowering stems can reach 7 feet high or taller, clamoring for attention from the back of a flower bed, but there are also lower-growing varieties that are suited for the front of the border. Bold lilies -- some are almost architecturally striking -- often figure in modern garden designs, yet the graceful flowers make themselves at home as effortlessly in romantic cottage gardens.

Ambitious breeding programs and mass production made lilies a sensation in the 1950s. The latest lily revolution has produced even more astonishing results. Through careful selection, the new generation of lilies has been bred to have larger flowers; bigger, stronger stems; and greater disease resistance than earlier hybrids. They also are heavy bloomers.

Extra chromosomes distinguish many of the new lilies from the older generation. Today's hybrids often have four sets of chromosomes (tetraploid) instead of the usual two (diploid). "Once you see these big, tetraploid lilies, you just sort of think, `Oh well, who wants diploids?' " says hybridizer Ed McRae. His breeding work has produced a strain of sturdy, tetraploid Asiatic lilies named for giants and heroes: `Goliath,' `Hercules,' `Samson,' `Paul Bunyan,' and `Gulliver.'

Another new lily group, referred to by breeders as L.A. hybrids, is the product of crossing Lilium longiflorum, the Easter lily, with various Asiatic hybrids. These new, vigorous lilies thrive in gardens from Louisiana to Canada. Included in the group are the Aladdin Hybrids, sold as a color mixture, and the Showtime Series, whose individual variety names are derived from the musical theater. `Kiss Me Kate,' for example, is fiery red touched with gold, while `South Pacific' is a demure, creamy white.

The Orienpets, a third new group, represent crosses between Chinese trumpet lilies and Oriental lilies of Japan. McRae describes the Orienpets as "unbelievable, the strongest of all." `Scheherazade,' one of the first of these hybrids, blooms in August on 6-foot stalks; its whiteedged petals are generously brushed with rich burgundy.

Horticultural publishers can't keep up with the changes, and gardeners must turn to the perennial crop of gardening catalogs for the latest information. There, unrestrained enthusiasm for the latest, top-performing lilies makes decisions difficult and comparisons challenging. Fortunately, even brand-new hybrids are inexpensive (usually less than $5 apiece), so you can try several. Save some space in the garden, however, because the future of lily breeding looks floriferous.

The history of horticulture is full of stories of plants being "improved" to their own detriment by zealous hybridizers. In gardens, the only real proving grounds, older lilies still outnumber new introductions. Time-tested varieties like `Connecticut King,' `Star Gazer' and `Case Blanca' are still easy to find at garden centers and through mail-order catalogs.

`Enchantment,' an Asiatic hybrid lily introduced in the 1940s, is in fact one of the most popular lilies of all time. In the 1970s, its bright, freckled, orange-red face dominated the trade in cut lilies; as many as 100 million stems were sold every year at the great Dutch flower auctions, which supply florists around the world. `Star Gazer,' an Oriental hybrid that is stunning in a vase or in the garden, is now the top florist lily grown in Holland; 49 million stems were sold in 1995. Elegant, snow-white `Case Blanca,' another Oriental hybrid, is one of the best dual-purpose lilies, every bit as successful in the garden as it is in the florist trade.

All lilies have the same basic cultural requirements. They should be planted in deep, well-drained soil enriched with plenty of leaf mold or other organic matter. Lilies like to have their roots moist, cool and shaded, but the flowers must be able to grow into the sun. At least six hours of sun is recommended; where summers are brutal, they will appreciate dappled afternoon shade. Make sure they get good air circulation.