FLOWER GARDEN

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20669, 6 March 1937, Page 15 (Supplement)

FLOWER GARDEN

LILIES Lilies are the true aristocrats of the hardy plants, and though they have been cultivated in gardens for a long time, it was with the introduction of Lilium regale, the “Regale Lily,” that they became everybody’s flower. This splendid plant is easy to grow and easy to propagate by means of seed, hence its popularity. The possession of this one lily lias no doubt stimulated the desire to grow others, and lilies generally are now becoming quite popular. It is now quite easy to obtain a collection of, say, two dozen species, varieties, and hybrids for a reasonable sum, and once obtained they increase naturally, some kinds more rapidly than others, of course. Lilies can be grown in any kind of soil, provided it is deeply cultivated and well drained, but they prefer a moist soil rich in organic matter, such as old bush soil, and as many are strong growers they have no objections to liberal. dressings of cow or stable manure, which should be kept well down below the base of the bulbs, or applied as a mulch on the surface. They require plenty of water when growing, but as the bulbs need to be kept fairly dry during the winter, extra good drainage is essential. To keep the soil cool during the summer they should be mulched with lawn mowings, leaf mould or well-rotted manure, or they should be planted among dwarf growing shrubs, such as rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias, ericas or other similar shrubs which require exactly the same soil conditions as the lilies. The foliage of the shrubs shade the soil, keeping it cool, the lilies rise above them providing colour and interest when they are past their best. They are also effective in thin woodland, in groups in the herbaceous border or by the side of fstreams or ponds.

Though they are bulbous plants they are not meant to be dried off at any time, and when they have to be lifted, which should only be when they are becoming overcrowded or when they are not doing well, they should be replanted at once or stored in moist sand until the positions are ready for them. Most of them are stem rooting, that is, roots form up the flower stem, hence the reason for fairly deep planting and liberal mulcching to feed the stem roots and keep the surface soil cool. Where the soil is a stiff retentive clay and is entirely unsuitable, holes or borders should be prepared, with brickbats or clinkers in the bottom for drainage, and the soil be made up of loam, leafmould and sharp sand or lime rubble. A mixture of crushed bricks and lime rubble is very useful for keeping a stiff soil open. The bulbs increase naturally by division, but this method is comparatively slow, and they are also propagated by means of bulb scales. The more robust and, therefore, the most desirable kinds, are readily raised from seed, which can be sown in borders in the open, in bc-tes, or, if only a small quantity, in pots. Heat is not necessary, though it may stimulate the germination of imported seed.

The easiest way is to sow thinly on a specially-prepared bed, similar to that recommended for ranunculus and anemones, and to leave the seedlings undisturbed for a year. They will then form nice little bulbs which can be lined out in nursery rows or planted out where they are to grow, and most regale seedlings will flower the second season from sowing.

When sown in pots or boxes the seedlings can be pricked out as soon as they are large enough to handle into boxes like ordinary annuals, and grown on in a sheltered, cool place during the summer. L. regale produces quantities of good seed, and it is quite a common thing to find self-grown seedlings coming up among' the old plants. Though the original wild Species are very perfect plants, some flne new hybrids have been raised, and as the parts of the flowers are very obvious and easily accessible, pollenation is very simple, and the raising of seedlings interesting, with the chance of producing something quite new and distinct.

The following are a few of the easier to manage and more robust species which an amateur could begin with:—L. regale, a native of China, and of comparatively recent introduction, is one of the most desirable. It grows to a height of from 3ft to sft. each stiff stem bearing from two to 29 flowers. These are funnel-shaped, deliciously scented, snow-white, suffused with yellow in throat and stained with wine-purple on the outside. The terns are sufficiently strong to do