Tough old tiger lilies have a lot to offer

Press, 9 January 1987, Page 10

Tough old tiger lilies have a lot to offer

Lilies may be had in flower from spring to autumn, but the great majority flower in midsummer — about now — and for those whose gardening year does not include massed displays of garishly coloured annuals lilies are welcome for their arrival at a time when the sun has washed away the first main wave of summer colour. Lilies come in a range of colours from which only blue is omitted' (one species, the rare Lilium philippinense, has blue anthers), at all heights from 30cm to more than 2m, and a multitude of flower shapes and sizes, from tiny turk’s caps with petals folded back over each other to huge trumpets. There are myriad hybrids, many named varieties, and numerous seed strains which resemble each other in type but vary in colour. Each year more — and more expensive — new hybrids appear on the market, and no doubt those who go to the lily show in the Horticultural Hall this weekend will see many of these. My tastes in lilies are more conservative — I prefer to stick to the species, and the tried-and-true hybrids.

Some gardeners have difficulty with lilies, partly, perhaps, because they plant them in unsuitable places (lilies like to have their feet in light, well-drained soil containing plenty of organic matter of vegetable origin, and their heads in the sun), and partly, perhaps, because they choose lilies unsuitable for their situation or climate. The problem of virus can be troublesome, too. This is transmitted by aphids and causes weak or stunted growth and distorted flowers; once a lily is infected there is no practical way in which a gardener can cure it.

Lilies vary in their susceptibility to virus. The auratums (with the exception of the lovely white variety, platyphyllum) are very vulnerable in my garden, and so are the speciosums, but some of the aurelian hybrids thrive for years and show no signs of damage.

Some lilies can be infected (betrayed by striping or mottling on the foliage) but continue to grow and flower vigorously. Some lily growers will

try to put you off the latter (which include the old “cottage” favourite, the so-called tiger lily, Lilium lancifolium, and its double form). But if you are just an ordinary sort of gardener these tough old plants have a lot to offer.

Ecological risks aside, few gardeners want, or can afford, to go around their properties once a week spraying everything in sight with pesticide. Unsprayed tiger lilies have coped with virus and insects for a good many years now, and I for one shouldn’t like to be without these plants. They rarely, perhaps never, set seed but spread by bulbils, which form in the leaf axils.

The tiger lily has naturalised in this way and its orange flowers are a familiar sight in several parts of the country which were formerly goldfields. In parts of Asia the bulbs of this lily are eaten, and, most likely, Chinese goldminers introduced them to New Zealand via their vegetable plots at the diggings. Most gardeners, and a good number of reference books, regard tiger lily as

a species, but in actuality it is a very old hybrid, probably of Japanese origin; this explains why it is sterile, and sets no seed. Variations do occur, however, as a result of mutations (“sporting" in garden talk), and apart from the double form familiar sports include var. fortunei (salmon orange) and var. splendens (salmon red). “Pink Tiger” is a more recent arrival, perhaps not related.

Other variations sometimes occur within gardens — for example, I have never planted the single tiger lily but I have a couple of plants, and their flowers are a soft bronze-orange, rather than the usual reddishorange. These must have arisen from bulbils shed by the double form. More recent hybrids which I have found reliable, healthy, and durable include “Nutmegger” and “Connecticut Yankee.” The latter is of American origin and has quite large, clear orange florets in big, well-branched heads, and is a good increaser.

“Nutmegger” has been around for many years and has clear yellow flowers with some dark spots, in very large, branching heads. It increases well, is exceptionally free flowering, and if it has been infected by virus it has not been affected by it.

As far as I know, commercial lily breeders have not made much use of “Nutmegger,” but amateurs have had some success with it. One “Nutmegger” seedling raised in a Canterbury garden has circulated to a few enthusiasts and is showing promise of being an even better garden lily than its parent. It is quite different from the original — stockier, with more strongly reflexed and heavier textured flowers. Its flowering extends over a good many weeks and its stout stems resist wind, a big plus in breezy Canterbury.