Lilium

Lilium ciliatum

A rare native of the Turkish Black Sea coast. Makes a stem from 30-60cm tall although exceptionally in shade it can be double that. The stem is densely clothed with leaves that become progressively hairier towards the top of the plant, so that the upper leaves are densely clothed in silvery hairs.

The flowers are deep yellow, turkscap in shape and spotted in purple, which becomes confluent in the throat. Green filaments bearing orange-yellow anthers protrude.

Grows readily here outside eventually making nice bulbs but it does need a year to settle. Half shade in a fertile, well-drained, leafy soil.

Lilium ciliatumlilcilcil	£18.50		1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Lilium dauricum

(maculatum dauricum, philadelphicum) Stout stems clothed in narrow dark green leaves. At the summit there are one to four, woolly buds which open, in June, to bowl-shaped, up-facing flowers of red-orange. There is some purple spotting in the throat. Bright cinnabar filaments carry ruby-red anthers in the centre of the flower and this sympathetic darker colouring is picked up on the outside of the flower.

This is the more normally seen form, although even then it is not a common plant in cultivation. Does well in a humus-rich soil, with good drainage, in light shade. This is very cold hardy lily.

Seed-raised, to avoid virus, the seed itself is from inter-crossing (in cultivation) of several forms including AGSES wild seed stock.

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Lilium martagon

This is a widespread and easily grown Eurasian lily. It has strong stems from 60-150cm tall which have whorls of deep green foliage and slightly hairy buds.

From these buds open hanging Turks-cap flowers of pink to pink-purple, the petals of which are flecked with violet-purple inside. The flowers are strongly perfumed, some say pungently so, but I find this pleasant.

The plant is variable and in addition to the usual range of pinks, this seed raised stock will also contain a few white plants as an added bonus.

Lilium pumilum

Stems from 20-70cm tall are clothed with thin and narrow leaves and topped by a raceme of between one and ten bright-red flowers. The shade of these varies between slightly orange-red and bright vermilion plants but is always intense. The flowers of all forms are virtually unspotted and the petal colour matches the anther colour, making for a very pleasing effect with the shiny petals contributing even more. In addition they are sweetly scented.

Readily grown and with few peculiarities this is an excellent, strong-growing and floriferous lily for the garden. Perfection is a well-drained, humus-rich soil in very light shade, or with the plants growing through small, open, dwarf shrubs.

With thanks to Ixitixel at Wikimedia for the image.

Lilium pyrenaicum

Dense whorls of slightly silver-frosted, compact leaves on short, stout stems which are topped by glorious, bright, vivid yellow flowers in June. The interior of each Turks-cap is rust-speckled especially in the throat. A stout plant with the whole seldom over 60cm here.

Tolerant of both lime and acid soils and this is an excellent garden plant with stout stems and a good floral display. It has become inexplicably hard to obtain recently.

Lilium regale

A superb and easy garden lily, originally discovered, just once, in the wild by E. H. ('Chinese') Wilson. 'Tis God's present to our gardens' he wrote, 'Anybody might have found it, but — His whisper came to me.' This is surely once of his most remarkable introductions.

Large white flowers,late in summer, on quite short plants which are crowded with narrow, disease-resistant leaves. The flowers are pure white, highly fragrant trumpets with a contrasting yellow throat and purple infused exterior.

Although quite widely available in the trade we are offering a nice batch of flowering-sized (and flowered) bulbs, raised here from seed received as L. primulinum!

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home raised, flowering sized, flowered bulbs, ready October on Large view

Lilium sargentiae

This very fine trumpet lily makes stems from 45 to 100cm tall. These bear scattered leaves all the way to the terminal cluster of 2-4 flowers. Each fragrant bloom is around 15cm long, of pure white shading to green at the base. Flowering August to September here.

Easy and tolerant and readily propagated as it makes bulbils along the stem, in its leaf axils. These are its downfall, as continued vegetative propagation has led to many stocks being carriers of virus. These are propagated carefully to try and avoid or minimise this problem. The stock from which ours are raised was originally found by Peter Cox. Our picture is now of this stock.

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Nice flowering sized bulbs Large view