TIGER LILIES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 13

TIGER LILIES

The old-fashioned tiger lilies (Lilium tigrinum) are again in flower, brightening up the garden wonderfully. Considering how easily they are propagated from the bulbils in the axils of the leaves, it is a wonder that so little use is made of them in public gardens. The double varity is also beautiful, and being a little later in flowering it prolongs the period. There are various improved forms of the tiger lily, notably Fortunei and Splcndens, differing from the usual in strength of plant, size of flower, and time of blooming. (Fortunei is three or four weeks later than Spiendens.) The various tiger lilies thrive in an open, sunny border with rich, loamy soil. Being stem-rooters (bearing roots above the bulb as well as below), they should be planted six to nine inches deep. Because of their height, they should be set well back in the herbaceous border. If the bulbils are not planted as soon as they are ready to fall (February usually), they will become shrivelled and will thereby suffer a check. Owing to the weed nuisance, it is better to plant them in deep boxes with good drainage, and cover them with only two inches of soil. If planted out after fifteen months they will become properly established and flower in another year. The alternative to the box method is to set them in shallow drills in the garden and keep them weeded throughout the year.