Lilium

Lilium is a large genus in the Liliaceae family. More than 100 species are found in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. There are thousands of cultivars as well. The majority of lilies are easy to grow with heads in the sun and feet in the shade. Good drainage is essential. With the exception of Lilium candidum, they should be planted twice as deep as the height of the bulb. Lilium candidum should be barely covered with soil and is best planted in late summer. The colors of pastel shades are best with a little shade so they do not lose their color in the sun.

Species Lilies was the topic of the week for the PBS List in June 2003. Some of the information below was furnished by John Bryan. His complete Introduction can be found here.

Major reference works devoted to lilies include:

• Synge, Lilies
• Haw, Lilies of China
• Edward McRae, Lilies, 1998
• Woodcock et. al. Lilies of the World, 1950

For details of bulbs see Lilium bulbs. For seeds and propagation see Lilium seeds. For details of flowers see Lilium Flowers. For growing from seed see Lily Germination and Lily Germination By Species.
Iain Brodie of Auchgourish Botanic Garden, Boat of Garten, Scotland who has a mission to conserve the species of Lilium has kindly provided a paper on his successful method of seed germination. You can also find more Lilium information on the website of the North American Lily Society and that of the RHS Lily Group.

Pests and diseases that can be a problem include Lily beetle, Vine weevil and botrytis (see Lilium candidum for picture). Botrytis typically gains a hold if the foliage becomes too wet. In a bad year and with susceptible species, it can lead to the complete collapse of the stem, but usually the bulb will recover the next year. Treatment with systemic fungicide is possible.

Gardeners refer to groups of lily species which form hybrids by names like "Asiatic" which derive from a classification scheme.
Show horticultural classification...

Lilium has been divided into the following sections on the PBS wiki - American Section a-m - American Section n-z - Asiatic Section a-c - Asiatic Section d-k - Asiatic Section l-o - Asiatic Section p-z - Candidum Section - Dauricum Section - Martagon Section - Nomocharis - Oriental Section - Trumpet Section

Lilium hybrids shows pictures of hybrids. Lilium black hearts is about a type of Aurelian hybrid.

Click on the name in the table below to find more information and/or to see photographs of the named species or cultivar.

Lilium Species
Lilium akkusianum	Lilium albanicum	*Lilium alexandrae	Lilium amabile	Lilium amoenum
Lilium apertum	Lilium auratum	Lilium bakerianum	Lilium bolanderi	Lilium bosnaicum
Lilium brownii	Lilium bulbiferum	Lilium callosum	Lilium canadense	Lilium candidum
Lilium carniolicum	Lilium catesbaei	Lilium cernuum	Lilium chalcedonicum	Lilium ciliatum
Lilium columbianum	Lilium concolor	*Lilium dauricum	Lilium davidii	Lilium distichum
Lilium duchartrei	Lilium fargesii	Lilium formosanum	Lilium grayi	Lilium gongshanense
Lilium hansonii	Lilium henrici	Lilium henryi	Lilium humboldtii	Lilium iridollae
Lilium japonicum	Lilium kelloggii	Lilium kelleyanum	Lilium kesselringianum	Lilium lancifolium
Lilium lankongense	Lilium ledebourii	Lilium leichtlinii	Lilium leucanthum	Lilium lijiangense
Lilium longiflorum	Lilium lophophorum	Lilium mackliniae	Lilium maculatum	Lilium matangense
*Lilium majoense	Lilium maritimum	Lilium martagon	Lilium medeoloides	Lilium meleagrina
Lilium michauxii	Lilium michiganense	Lilium monadelphum	Lilium nanum	Lilium nepalense
Lilium nobilissimum	Lilium occidentale	Lilium oxypetalum	Lilium papilliferum	Lilium pardalinum
Lilium pardanthinum	Lilium parryi	Lilium parvum	Lilium pensylvanicum	Lilium philadelphicum
Lilium philippinense	*Lilium pitkinense	Lilium poilanei	Lilium polyphyllum	Lilium pomponium
Lilium ponticum	Lilium primulinum	Lilium pumilum	Lilium ponticum	Lilium pyrenaicum
Lilium pyrophilum	Lilium regale	Lilium rhodopaeum	Lilium rosthornii	Lilium rubellum
Lilium rubescens	Lilium sargentiae	Lilium saluenense	Lilium sealyi	*Lilium shastense
Lilium souliei	Lilium speciosum	Lilium stewartianum	Lilium sulphureum	Lilium superbum
Lilium szovitsianum	Lilium taliense	Lilium tsingtauense	*Lilium vollmeri	Lilium wallichianum
Lilium wardii	Lilium washingtonianum	*Lilium wenshanense	*Lilium wigginsii	*Lilium xanthellum
Lilium yapingense

Lilium hybrids
'African Queen'	'Anastasia'	'Black Beauty'	'Black Heart White'	'Brunello'
'Casa Blanca'	'Chiara'	'Citronella'	'Conca D'or'	'Eudoxia'
'Extravaganza'	'Golden Splendour'	'Golden Stargazer'	'Leslie Woodriff''	'Manisa'
'Mrs. R. O. Backhouse'	'Muscadet'	'Novonna'	'Pearl Lorraine'	'Pink Perfection'
'Preston Yellow'	'Robina'	'Royal Gold'	'Scheherazade'	'Siberia'
'Silk Road'	'Sorbonne'	'Stargazer'	'Supreme'	'Susan Elizabeth'
'Tarrango'	'Triumphator'

For more information about Lilium see Dr. Markus Hohenegger's Lilium site.

American Section a-m - American Section n-z - Asiatic Section a-c - Asiatic Section d-k - Asiatic Section l-o - Asiatic Section p-z - Candidum Section - Dauricum Section - Martagon Section - Nomocharis - Oriental Section - Trumpet Section - Lilium hybrids