LILIES FOR ALL GARDENS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20906, 21 December 1929, Page 7

LILIES FOR ALL GARDENS.

VARIETIES OF CHARM. Before embarking upon the cultivation of lilies, we do well to remind ourselves how widespread this family is throughout the world. Lilies are to be found in the flower-strewn fields of Japan, the wide plains of China, and Tibet's mouu tainous boundaries, spreading on into Europe's more favoured States, and finally breaking out all over the tern perate regions of the great North American continent. '

As is only to be expected, with a race of plants growing in such a variety of climes and situations, when, we bring them into our gardens, they demand al most equally varied methods of treatment. Conditions, for example, which will suit the towering Lilium giganteum hailing from the open forests of the Himalayas, will by no means do for L pardalinum, which inhabits damp meadows in the brilliant sunshine of California,

_ All are not equally suitable for cultivation outdoors in this country. Indeed, I would go further, and say that the majority are not,,- or at any rate should be, left to the enthusiast who has money to spend upon experiments. Still, there are a few—quite a goodly handful when one comes to jot them down—which will' thrive under quite ordinary conditions.

They comprise varieties which can charm us with a succession of stately blooms from December to April. Colon* ranges from the pure glistening white of L; candidum, and warmer tints of L regale, to the vivid scarlet of L. chal cedonicum, appropriately styled by Parkinson the Red Inly of Constantinople, and now much less aptly named the Scarlet Turk’s Cap lily. For those dangling blooms, with their stout, reflexed waxy petals, bear little or no resemblance to the pot-shaped red fez worn by the Turk. Amongst the best of these “lilies for all gardens ” must be reckoned L. regale', a comparative newcomer from Western China. When fully , established it at tains a height of five feet or more, throw ing up graceful stems, slightly bending.. yet sufficiently strong to withstand a deal of buffeting. These are clothed with slender grass-like foliage, and bear a cluster of great trumpet-shaped flowers, rather in the style of L. aura turn, though Without that variety’s truly eastern splendour. Inside they are glis tening white, suffused at the base vitli soft yellow, while the outer surface f the petals is marked with ruby-red. They are very sweet-scented.

This is a lily which should find a place in every garden.' It is stem-rooting—-that is to say, roots are thrown out above the bulb from the base of the flower stem, in addition to being formed at the base in the ordinary way, and should, consequently, be planted a little more deeply than is usual for bulbs o! this size. As the stem grows up, it mav be slightly earthed up, like potato haulm, to encourage the production of yet more of these roots.

Lilium regale revels in full sun, but like many another, does not appreciate having its roots baked and dried. A planting around its base of low-growing azaleas or . the dwarf rhododendron species, will be appreciated, and will result in finer blooms, and a more rapid increase of bulbs.

Lilia croceum and tigrinum arc two gorgeously-coloured varieties that will succeed almost anywhere, as may be proved by the thriving clumps that can be seen in many a cottage garden. Here they hob-nob with Michaelmas daisies and pteonies, cabbage and kale, appear ing thoroughly to relish being left alom to fight their own battles, and show what they really can do. Indeed, I venture to suggest that two great causeof much failure and disappointment with lilies are over-propagation and too much fussing and disturbance on the part of the gardener. Once they have got going lilies need to be left alone thoroughly to establish themselves. A' top-dressing ‘n winter of old leaf-soil is all the attention that need be given to the majority. I have already mentioned Lilium auraturn, but must return to it in order to offer a few hints on the culture of this, the most stately and exotic-looking jf all lilies. It cannot be described as an easy variety, as it demands certain con ditions which are not found naturally in the majority of gardens. But, granted those conditions, no lily can make a more satisfying display. Like L. regale, it appreciates having its head in the sun and its feet in the shade, but it is more insistent in this demand than tha* variety. Lilium auratum should be natu raliscd amongst lime-hating evergreens —for it is a lily that will not tolerate lime in any quantity—and must hi* deeply planted and annually tnulchec with leaf-mould, so that its roots may never lack a cool, moist, yet not overrich medium in which to find a congenial home. Make sure that the bulbs are obtained from a reliable source, for disease has worked much havoc amongst them, and do not be tempted to pur chase bulbs which arc merely large, but rather select those that are heavy and have a solid feel. The overgrown, flabbj fellows arc not to be compared with these.

There arc numerous varieties of Lilium nuratum. The best for the amateur is that named platyphyllum. It is hardl) so tall as the type, has broader foliage and larger flowers, and is of particularly sturdy constitution.

It is not all lilies that detest the presence of lime in the soil. Much trouble has been caused by this belief, and many are only just waking up to the fact that same varieties are definitely benefited by lime, and require its presence for their perfect health. The beautiful Nankeen lily, L. testaceum, for example, which, though it has been in cultivation for many years, has become comparatively scarce, is one for which preparation should be made by liming the soil. Lilium Henryi is another which appreciates the presence of a liberal quantity of lime, while I firmly believe that Lilium chalcedonicum would not prove so coy in many a garden if the owners had the courage to rectify any deficiency of this character in their land. It is pretty obvious that Lilia

martagon, tigrinum, croceum, and can didum are unharmed, even if not actually helped by its presence from the variety of situations, many obviously not limefree—in which they may be observed thriving. . . By the way, Lilium candidum is one of the few varieties which should be planted really early. February is not too soon to get the bulbs in, as they are dormant for only a short period, and feel the check of a shift more severely afterwards If they have not already been put in, it is best to wait until the turn of the year, and transplant them early in September, disturbing them as little as possible in the process. The Madonna lily is not a stem-rooting variety, and should be planted shallowly. A couple of inches of soil over the crowns of the bulbs it ample. ' A very lovely lily, and one which 1 have found has a greater reputation for difficulty than it appears to deserve, is L. Pardalinum. Its habitat in moist Californian mountain meadows would lead one to suppose that it would demand an abundance of water. It certainly appears to appreciate a liberal supply of moisture until it has flowered, and to thrive all the better for it, but I have seen it doing amazingly well in a comparatively dry border, where it had been established for many years. Here it made a huge clump, which annually in January sent up sheaves of flower spikes, each bearing numbers of the nodding martagott-like flowers of orange-scarlet, heavily spotted with brown, I have it many armfuls of bloom from this clump, and very lovely they are, arranged with the scarlet L. chalcedonicum and a few graceful grasses, as Eulalia gracilliraa or E. sacarifer.

Apart from being a very beautiful and easily cultivated variety, Lilium Hansom is of interest as one of the parents of the well-known Backhouse hybrids It delights in a leafy soil and slight shade, and can be relied on as a thoroughly hardy and free-growing species. Yet another which any who have tried lilies and been disappointed should ob tain, is L. umbellatum. A European species which may be associated with other hardy flowers in the mixed border, it flowers in December, and is comparatively dwarf in statule. Another small variety, which is very distinct and exceedingly charming, is L. rubellum. This is by no means so easy as the others I have mentioned, and can scarcely he considered a lily which every one should attempt to cultivate, but ! am constrained to write of it because it is such a gem. The blooms are of very distinct shape and shell-pink colour. It is a delightful plant for the rock garden ,if established in leafy, well drained soil, which may contain a liberal admixture of coarse sand or stone chippings. v Two lilies which are usually reserved for pot culture, but are quite satisfactory out of doors in the milder districts, are L. speciosum and L. longifldrum. Both are stem-rooting, so should be covered with at least six inches of soil. They appreciate a compost rich in humus, an l may be given similar {treatment to thai afforded rhododendrons and heaths. A sheltered corner, or the protection of surrounding shrubs, is advisable, as they flower late, and the blooms are liable to suffer much damage from frost and rain. —Dingle, in Amateur Gardening.