How To Choose A Lily - The Most Common Groups Of Lilies

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Lilies - from purchase to cut

Even for a beginner and completely inexperienced gardener for the first time to grow lilies on his site does not present any particular difficulties. If you do everything right away according to the rules, you will get a flowering plant in the first year of planting and get exactly what you hoped for, and maybe even much more.

We will teach you how to grow this wonderful flower from the very beginning - from the choice of planting material, the correct planting in the ground and to the ritual of the autumn farewell to it.

Gardener's guide

Plant nurseries Stores of goods for summer cottages Landscape design studios

But first, a little history. Just a little to understand the powerful flow of information that falls on everyone who has to make a choice from a huge number of varieties of these divine flowers.

The first lilies to appear in Europe were the species lilies from North America. Then they began to find, isolate and bring them from the Caucasus, from the Far East. Even the crusaders brought to Europe from their campaigns a snow-white beauty lily of candidum, she is called that - a snow-white lily.

Then, in the 19th century, lilies of specialozum (beautiful lily) were obtained from the country of Japan, which was very closed until then, and after another 30 years - lilies auratum (golden lily). The flower growers-collectors were amazed at the beauty of these regal plants. But species lilies did not grow well in gardens, since they were adapted only to their local natural conditions, and the slightest deviations from these growing conditions led to the death of the bulbs.

But the process began, and it could no longer be stopped, and by the end of the 19th century, lilies became more in demand among gardeners. Serious works of botany were devoted to them, new species of these amazing plants were discovered. And at the same time in the United States, the first exhibition was held, at which the flowering hybrids of the botanist Parkman were shown for the first time, which showed new colors and shapes of flowers, different from the parent species.

Parkman crossed the Spezum lily with the Auratum lily, but, unfortunately, these hybrids did not last long, they all died from a viral infection. But the deed was done - these short-lived hybrids gave a powerful incentive for further work aimed at obtaining viable hybrids of lilies, new in their decorative properties and resistance to diseases.

Lilies existing today - almost all are hybrids, except, of course, species. Each species or hybrid is included in a certain group, taking into account their origin, the ability to hybridize (cross) with each other. There are groups of hybrids obtained as a result of crossing species and varieties belonging to different groups and outwardly dissimilar to each other, but compatible when crossed.

The sheer assortment of lilies now offered by shops and nurseries is often discouraging for a novice gardener. What's better? How to choose? What to focus on?

Let's try to help novice growers understand the names of the groups, their abbreviations. And you can always see the specific varieties included in these groups in the photographs posted on the websites of companies engaged in the cultivation and sale of lily bulbs. At the same time, we will not list all the species involved in the creation of these hybrids for a long and boring way. To whom it is interesting - the road to the Internet.

So, the most common groups of lilies today:

1. We are all familiar with Asian hybrids since childhood - flowering in the North-West is the earliest, from about mid-June. The flowers are medium-sized, odorless, the plants are very winter-hardy. Colors - as monochromatic - from almost black (Landini, Mapira varieties) to snow-white, from pale pink to maroon. There are also "motley" varieties - with specks, shaded edges, stripes, tone-to-tone transitions, for example, Lainhardt, Pietoni varieties.

Among the lilies of this species there are also terry plants, they appeared quite recently and are not yet so common in the gardens of florists. Asian hybrids reproduce by dividing the bulbs, you can propagate them by scales, but they also have their own way of reproduction - dark, almost black bulbs growing in the leaf axils and separating from the mother plant as they mature. The bulbs, along with small roots, fall into the ground, where they germinate the next year. After 2-3 years, an independent flowering plant is obtained from the bulbs, which it is desirable to plant separately from the mother, so that it does not "eat" the parent. The group of Asian hybrids is also divided by the inclination of flowers relative to the stem: up, to the side or down. Well, that's how anyone likes it.

Notice board

Kittens for sale Puppies for sale Horses for sale

2. LA-hybrids - the second in terms of flowering lilies. Obtained from crossing Longiflorums ("longiflorum") and Asian hybrids. They are more powerful, much higher than the Asian hybrids, the petals of large and very large flowers are hard, "waxy", the flowers themselves look up.

They have a faint wonderful smell, received from their parent: longiflorums smell like lilies of the valley or violets, so LA hybrids have this light, barely perceptible aroma. They received winter hardiness and, in general, "resistance" to all the hardships of life from their second parent - Asian hybrids. They reproduce in a slightly different way: along the entire length of the stem, which is in the soil, white bulbs, similar to cloves of garlic, grow.

Sometimes in the first year, these bulbs are already large enough to bloom on their own the next year. Each variety gives a different number of such children, but there are still many of them, and it is also desirable to transplant them from the parent plant so as not to weaken it.

Scaling, i.e. the separation of fleshy scales from an adult, well-formed bulb, followed by placing the scales in the ground, is suitable for reproduction of all groups of lilies. The flowering time of La hybrids slightly overlaps with the flowering time of Asian hybrids, and if you want the lilies in the garden to bloom continuously until autumn, then you need to plant all groups, and their listing and description is below.

3. Oriental hybrids or Oriental hybrids. There are many parents involved in the creation of this group, curious growers can look on the Internet. These lilies are divided according to the shape of the flower: goblet, flowers directed to the side, turbid flowers. More recently, terry varieties have also appeared. They are distinguished by long flowering - almost 1.5 months.

The beauty and elegance of terry Oriental hybrids is beyond competition (varieties Lilak Cloud, Soft Music and others). All lilies of this type are exquisite and unique. Among them there are flowers in "one color", and with a border, and with a speck, and with a strip, and with a neck, and with all these features combined. Their aroma is strong, harmonious and different. Oriental hybrids - for lovers of scented gardens. In hot weather, guests will find your site without a special reference to the addresses - it will lure them in with the wonderful aroma of Oriental hybrids, the flowering of which will begin in July, replacing LA hybrids.

4. LO hybrids (longiflorum hybrids + oriental hybrids) is a fairly new group of lilies. These are long-tube lilies with various flower colors - yellow, pink of all shades, white with stripes or white with a dark pink throat (for example, the Triumfator variety). Large, elongated flowers are directed to the sides. The aroma is delicate, unobtrusive.

5. OT hybrids or Orienpet hybrids (Oriental hybrids + Tubular hybrids) - the creation of such a group of lilies is a real treat for lovers of these flowers. Powerful stems up to 1.5 m in height, and sometimes even more, very large flowers, various colors for every taste, various shapes of petals and, again, a wonderful aroma, quite strong and harmonious. The flowers can be directed up and to the sides, and droop beautifully.

The buds are long, large, painted in a dark lilac color, like in Tubular, and when the inside of the petals unfold, it remains lilac silk, and from the inside, the flower can be surprisingly bright, multi-colored (Holland Butti variety - Dutch beauty) and shimmering golden, like grade Soltarello - Cinderella. In some varieties, the tips of the petals curl outward, in others they are wide and rounded, and the flower resembles a large round plate of Saxon porcelain, hand-painted by a master. Flowering - all August. You can contrive, hold off the planting of bulbs until early June, then you will get flowering by early September, prolong the pleasure.

These lilies multiply by dividing the bulb, only you need to understand that the bulb must share itself, and not with a knife or shovel, and scales. But this process is not fast, you have to wait for more than one year, so these beauties are not cheap on sale. With proper planting, OT hybrids winter wonderfully in our climate and do not disappear. About the landing a little lower.

6. Tubular hybrids - tall, powerful "candelabra" with long funnel-shaped flowers, looking up and to the side. People who are allergic to the smell of lilies should not plant them - these flowers have the strongest aroma, sometimes harsh and provocative. They look great in group plantings in the background. We are used to Tubular Hybrid varieties such as the snow-white Regalia, the mauve African Queen, and the yellow-orange Golden Splendor. But there are also novelties - these are tubular lilies of three varieties: Pink Planet, Orange Planet and White Planet, these varieties should bloom amazingly large flowers looking up. For tubular hybrids, this is a very interesting solution.

7. Other groups: Martagon hybrids, Candidum hybrids, American hybrids, Tiger hybrids, Oriental-Asiatic (OA-hybrids), Aurelian-Asiatic (A-A-hybrids), etc. etc.

Read the next part. The main criteria when buying lily bulbs →

Irina Tuzova, leading specialist of the NIKA kennel

tel. 7 (812) 640 85 13, (812) 952 09 15, www.nikaland.ru