LILIES TO PUNT NOW

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 78, 2 April 1938, Page 13

LILIES TO PUNT NOW

Persistent advocacy by horticultural niters has helped to an appreciation >f the fact that all lilies should not be ireated alike. Some need planting in advance of others. The first to claim attention is candidum. The bulbs take only a brief rest and commence to sprout again a few weeks after the last petal has fallen, and the bulbs should be planted as soon as they can

I be obtained. The bulbs of candidum should not be planted deeply, two 1 I inches below the surface will suflice. ' i The Russian lily, L. monadclphum | is a good drought resister, and the 1 I variety Szovitizianum is even better ' than that type. The bulbs may be ! planted near a hedge where, in summer, the soil is bone dry, and yet give a good account of themselves. This lily is rather slower to establish than many others but is well worth waiting for. Colonie of plants more than six feet in height are a glorious sigh!. The bulbs should be planted five inches deep to the tip of the bulb, and planted as soon as in the autumn as they can be obtained. Lilium testaceum is another fine lily that may be planted in March. Care is needed in the choice of a place for this species as the stem leaves are peculiarly sensitive to the cutting winds often experienced in spring, when this lily is starting into growth. The tender leaves on the lower part of the stem shrivel and turn brown when the wind blows cold, giving the plant a miserable appearance. To avoid this, as far as possible the lily should be placed where the wind will not rasp it continually. In high exposed gardens, this is not so easy as it sounds, and in such places the bulbs should be planted among evergreen shrubs a yard in height. They offer | this lily the shelter it needs. A retentive soil with lime suits L. testaceum, which is rarely happy in sandy or peaty ground. A depth of four inches is suflicient when planting. The Pyrenean lily (L. pyrenaicum) wakes up in the autumn after the summer rest and should be plantea before it has made much headway. The behaviour of this fine, old garden plant depends on its cultivation, but there are few gardens where it will refuse to grow. It is naturally a plant of shady places and those who have a piece of bush handy to the garden should plant it there. Though it will not grow’ more than

about 18 inches in sun-exposed spots, there are gardens where it gives a better account *Ol itself if the soil is generous. Plant Ihe bulbs five inches deep.