A neat lily for this time of year

Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com
Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:54:06 PDT
Aaron Floden wrote: " My form [Lilium henryi] always blooms at about 1m.
Does anyone grow taller forms?"

Aaron, I would say that a 1 m Lilium henryi is atypical. Typically, even
under poor culture this species goes easily up to six feet. Even plants
which do not carry a heavy bud count will be tall. And I've read of plants
over 10 feet high (and heard from a friend about a 13 foot plant!). 

Aaron also mentioned tall lilies with lots of flowers. 

Those of you looking for such lilies have a lot to select from. The modern
hybrids known as 'Black Beauty', 'Scheherazade', 'Silk Road', 'Leslie
Woodriff' are all readily available and not expensive. These plants easily
go to six to eight feet tall with lots of blooms per stem - lots as in
twenty-five to thirty, even more if coddled (fewer for 'Silk Road', but it's
still hugely impressive when growing well). And they are fragrant. 

I've had 'Black Beauty' with fifty buds and fragrant blooms in my garden -
and I don't coddle my plants. 

There are lots of others, too. But the ones mentioned above have been
successfully grown wherever lilies are grown. The only criticism I've heard
of these plants is that some of them are shorter in the extreme north (i.e.
Canada). 

Jim McKenney
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where Iris dichotoma is
opening its first flowers of the year as I type. 




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