A tale of two lilies - Asiatic and Oriental hybrids - includes related article on hybrids created from an Asiatic lily and the longiflorum lily

Sunset, Oct, 1996 by Jim McCausland

Asiatic and Oriental hybrids are superstars of the summer garden. Plant them now for blooms next June into September

At the London Flower Show of 1862, the crowd was abuzz over a plant that had just been imported from Japan: the gold-band lily (Lilium auratum). Only the tiger lily (L. lancifolium), brought from China in 1804, had ever created as big a stir among English gardeners.

Excitement about these lilies grew on both sides of the Atlantic, and eventually breeders created two great lines of hybrids: the Orientals (descended from L. auratum and L. speciosum) and the Asiatics (descended from L. lancifolium and other east-Asian species).

In the United States, Jan de Graaff of Oregon Bulb Farms started hybridizing lilies in the 1930s. Thanks to him and to other breeders, we can now fill our gardens with the beauty of lilies from late spring through summer. Asiatics reign in June and July, and Orientals take over from mid-July into September.

In the past, the chief drawback to growing Asiatic and Oriental hybrids was their susceptibility to viruses. But with today's vigorous hybrids and disease-free bulbs, viruses aren't the problem they once were.

ASIATICS

Most of the Asiatic hybrids have upward-facing flowers and work best when packed into containers or a perennial border, where they surpass other lilies with their vibrant mass of color. Asiatic hybrids make great cut flowers as well. For those reasons - and for their dependability - they've become lite most widely grown lilies in the garden world.

If you're a seasoned gardener, you may have grown 'Enchantment' (a classic old orange) and perhaps 'Connecticut King' (yellow) for indoor arrangements. Newer hybrids really expand your choices. Now you can buy much shorter plants like the knee-high Pixies for containers, the beautiful, midsize L.A. hybrids (see page 60), and jumbo-flowered varieties like 'Camelot' and 'Hercules'.

Colors still include good oranges ('Eloise') and yellows ('Joanna'), but they also take in whites ('Nepal' is a good one) and reds (try 'Hello Dolly' and 'Tristar'). You'll even find gorgeous pink varieties like 'Bright Eyes' and 'Sorbet' with speckled white centers.

For an Asiatic with great virus resistance and down-facing blooms, try 'Ariadne', with spotted dusty rose flowers.

ORIENTALS

Orientals grow a foot or two taller than Asiatics, and they bear large, richly fragrant flowers in the pink, rose, and white range. Most Orientals have blooms that face downward, although breeders have developed upward- and outward-facing varieties, too.

For all-around performance, it's hard to beat 'Casa Blanca'; its fragrant, 10-inch white blooms make fine cut flowers. 'Sans Souci' (pink-spotted white) stays short enough to use in big containers. The Imperial strain bears dinner plate size flowers in crimson. silver, gold, or pink. 'Mona Lisa' has outward-facing, soft-pink flowers with white edges.

If you like a touch of red in your lilies, try 'Fellowship', whose white petals each have a red stripe down the center, or 'Friendship', whose dark red, white-edged flowers face up at you.

There are other Orientals with upward-facing flowers: 'Star Gazer', which was the first one bred, has spotted, red-orange petals that shade to pink at the edges; reddish pink 'Strawberry Shortcake' and pale purple 'Heartbeat' have similar flowers on smaller plants.

Oriental hybrids seem to be more susceptible to viruses than Asiatic hybrids, so virus-resistant varieties are well worth seeking out. The deep red 'Black Beauty' (a classic cross with L. henryi) is wonderfully vigorous and floriferous.

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PLANTING TIPS

Lilies grow everywhere in the West. You can order bulbs of all kinds now for planting in fall (in most mild-winter areas), winter (in Southern California, low and intermediate deserts, and South Texas), or spring (in cold-winter areas). However, in the Southwest, where mild winters and alkaline soil work against lilies, buy short Asiatic varieties and plant them in containers filled with good potting soil; or plant L. speciosum, a parent of the Orientals, which seems to do well in this area.

Lilies grow best in full sun or filtered shade in hot-summer climates. To stay healthy, they need a moderate amount of winter chill and fast-draining soil with plenty of organic matter.

In warm-winter areas, where freezing temperatures are rare, plant prechilled bulbs. After the first year, your refrigerator can supply the "winter" chill: just dig up lily bulbs after foliage dies down, shake the dirt off the bulbs, and refrigerate them in a plastic bag with damp peat moss or sand until roots start to sprout. Replant in January.

In the garden, plant bulbs of both Asiatics and Orientals 8 inches deep (deeper in lighter soil, shallower in heavier soil). To provide a cool root run for lilies, many gardeners plant them where they can push up through heathers or ferns. Lilies and shrub roses also make excellent companions because they bloom at the same time.

In containers, plant five bulbs under 4 to 6 inches of fast-draining mix in pots at least 1 foot deep and 16 inches in diameter. Provide protection against frost for container plantings in cold-winter areas.