Among the most spectacular of perennials, Oriental lilies
(Lilium orientalis) grow from 2 to 6 feet tall and offer prettily
speckled flowers, heavy fragrance and an ability to bloom in late summer
when most other bulbs have long since finished. Oriental lilies
are hybrids, hence they don't come true from seed, but those propagated
from bulb scales should be clones of their mother. The Oriental Lilies
prefer acid soil and temperate, moist summers. These conditions can be
provided by shade, mulching or container culture if necessary. Their
enormous flowers, heavenly fragrance and late summer bloom time are
worth the extra efforts!
Oriental Lily Care.
i. Choose a position where Oriental lilies will
receive morning sun and afternoon shade. Plant the bulbs in the fall, 8
inches deep and 6 to 12 inches apart, in soil that is half organic
matter, such as compost. Make part of that organic matter peat, if the
soil is alkaline; as Oriental lilies prefer a pH lower than 6.5.
ii. Add bulb fertilizer to the planting hole, using the amount
specified on the bag and covering it with a little soil before placing
the bulbs.
iii. Make sure the bulbs get at least 1 inch of water per week,
and add 5 or 6 inches of mulch to help keep the soil damp. Dig up and
divide your lilies every three years or so in autumn after the stalks
have died back.
Oriental
hybrid flowers bloom for two to three weeks in July and August,
producing 6- to 8-inch fragrant flowers that are white, pink, purple or
red depending upon the variety, and growing from 2 to 6 feet tall.
Stargazer
is the best known lily in the world, with up facing crimson flowers
with a white edge. For more than 25 years, it has remained a cut flower
of choice, and makes a terrific garden plant, too! Its 3 foot stems are
an excellent choice for containers.
Perennial Bulbs
Oriental
hybrid lilies develop from herbaceous perennial bulbs, meaning the
plant dies back in the winter and the bulb grows new stems in the
spring. Spreading about 4 inches of mulch over the planted bulbs during
the winter months protects them from varying colder temperatures.
Propagation by Scales
i. Dig some of your
lily bulbs in fall after the foliage has withered, and peel off the
largest scales from the outside of each bulb. Retain a bit of the flat
base of the bulb on each scale. Replant what is left of the original
bulbs.
ii. Fill a terra cotta bulb pot with a mix of half peat and half
sand. Insert the scales into the mix so that their lower halves are
covered and their pointed upper halves protrude. Place the pot in a cold
frame or unheated greenhouse
iii. Make sure the soil stays damp over the fall and winter so
that the scales can make bulb lets (tiny bulbs) in the warmer months and
send up leaves during the cooler months. Transplant the seedlings into
individual 3-inch seedling pots in the spring. Set the pots of seedlings
outdoors in a partially shaded location over the summer months,
watering them as needed and fertilizing them every two weeks with a
water-soluble plant food.
iv. Set the bulb lets in the ground in autumn, at a depth three times their diameter. Expect them to bloom two years later.
Lily flowers can be stored for 4 to 6 weeks after harvesting and
have a vase life of 7 to 14 days if harvested at the right stage and
given the proper treatment.
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