PRACTICAL AIDS TO THE CULTURE OF LILIES.
ByCHARLES PETERS.
Whatgarden is complete without the good old tiger-lily? Other lilies are finer and more graceful, no doubt, but the old-fashioned tiger-lily will always hold its own in the struggle for popularity.
Although we call it an old-fashioned flower, it has not been grown in England for so very long, being unknown before this century. It made a bit of a stir, too, when it first blossomed in England. And no wonder that it did, when we see what a grand sight a bed of these lilies really is.
Lilium Tigrinumis a native of China, but it has long been cultivated in Japan, and it is from the latter country that we obtain most of our foreign bulbs.
A curious fact, which we have frequently noticed in connection with this lily, is that the size of the annual portion of the plant seems to bear no relation to the size of the bulb. In most lilies large bulbs produce fine plants, though we have seen that this is by no means always the case. But withL. Tigrinumthe shoot apparently bears no relation whatever to the size of the bulb. If planted in very good soil, all the bulbs ofL. Tigrinumseem to do equally well; whereas in an unsuitable soil all seem to fare equally poorly.
The bulbs are heavy and white, with the scales very dense and closely packed.
In growth this lily resemblesL. Auratumin some respects, and the members of theIsoliriongroup in others. The leaves are very green and glossy, and are present in larger numbers than is commonly the case with lilies.
L. Tigrinumis one of the two lilies which constantly bear bulblets in the axils of their leaves. We have seen that under certain circumstances several of the other lilies produce these aërial bulblets, but the tiger-lily invariably does so. The bulblets are deep glossy purple in colour, and are often produced in great numbers. If planted as soon as they are ripe, they will grow freely and produce flowering spikes in their second or third year.
Everyone knows the blossom of the tiger-lily. The pyramidal shape of the inflorescence, with its nodding bell-like blossoms, irresistibly suggests a Chinese pagoda, and when looking at the plant one can almost feel that it hails from China.
The segments of the blossoms of the tiger-lily are much re-curved, their tips touching their points of origin. The colour of this lily, reddish orange, is very different from that of any that we have already described, but as we shall see later, it is a very common colour among the lilies. In the type of the tiger-lily the colour is a very fine orange, and the spots, which are very numerous, are deep purple.
The tiger-lily often bears seed in this country if the bulblets are removed. As, however, seed is the least satisfactory mode of propagating lilies, it is far better to utilise the bulblets for this purpose.
Individually, the tiger-lily is a fine plant, but its full effect is only to be obtained by growing it in great clumps. A bed of tiger-lilies is a grand sight, and it blossoms in September and October, a time when showy plants are not very numerous.
There are several varieties of the tiger-lily. That which is most commonly grown is calledsplendens, because it is very floriferous, and the flowers are of large size, fine colour, and are thickly spotted.
Another variety, calledFortunei, is also very fine. It grows to the height of six feet, and the stem and buds are covered with white silky down. The flowers are very numerous, often exceeding thirty in number. They are large, less reflexed than in the type, and only sparingly spotted with large spots.
The tiger is the second lily we have met with of which there is a double-flowered variety. There are only four double lilies, and none of them possesses the elegance of the single form. The old double tiger-lily is very full and is interesting, though far inferior in beauty to the type.
There is little to be said about the cultivation of the tiger-lily. It is perfectly hardy and will grow anywhere. It prefers a rich soil, and in poor or damp spots it often degenerates.
There is a lily which resembles the tiger-lily so closely that very few people could distinguish between them unless they were placed side by side. And yet most writers on the subject have separated this lily from the tiger-lily and placed it among theMartagongroup, a group of lilies differing extremely from the one which we are now considering.
The lily which we refer to is calledLilium MaximowicziiorPseudo-Tigrinum. It resembles the tiger-lily very closely, but is not so sturdy in growth, and the flowers are smaller and poorer than those of the tiger-lily. There are several named varieties known.
Another lily of the same class isLilium Leichtlini, the exact counterpart of the last species, only differing from it in the colour of its flowers, which are lemon yellow instead of orange. It is thickly spotted with small mahogany spots and streaks. It is a very desirable lily because of its uncommon colour, and it is not by any means difficult to grow.
BothL. MaximowicziiandL. Leichtlinirequire a moist peaty soil. Plenty of peat, plenty of sand, plenty of water and very little direct sunshine, are the keystones of the successful cultivation of these lilies.
At an auction last year we gave seven and sixpence for two very small bulbs ofLilium Henryi, a lily which has only lately been introduced, but one which is fast rising into prominence from its curious colour, its bold growth and its hardiness.
Lilium Henryiis usually called the “orangeSpeciosum,” but in it we can see far more resemblance to the tiger-lily than we can toL. Speciosum. It seems to connect theL. TigrinumandL. Speciosum. Its growth, its leaves, its flower buds and its habits suggest a close resemblance to the tiger-lily. But the raised tubercles and spines of the blossom recallL. Speciosum. The shape of the blossom is nearer to that ofL. Tigrinumthan it is toL. Speciosum, and the colour is totally different from either.
Dr. Henry’s lily blossoms late in September, or in the beginning of October. Fine examples grow six to eight feet high and produce sixteen to forty blossoms. The flowers are bright orange without spots.
Our two specimens failed to reach the height of eighteen inches, but both produced blossoms—one a solitary one, the other a pair. This is all that can be expected from bulbs at three and ninepence a-piece. We expect to do much better this year.
The hardiness of this lily is unquestionable, and it needs no special cultivation.
This lily is a native of China and is at present extremely scarce. Unless you are prepared to give ten shillings for a single bulb it is not worth while to grow it. If the bulbs ever get to be as cheap as a shilling or eighteenpence each, it will be well worth growing, but at ten shillings a bulb! It is monstrous to pay such a sum for a lily which at its best is only of inferior beauty.
The lilies which we have considered so far are all remarkable for the elegance of their forms and the striking colours of their flowers. If the reader has dreamed that all lilies are equally beautiful, or, at all events, that all are of great beauty and elegance, we are sorry to have to awaken him to the sad reality that there are many lilies which are not beautiful in colour and which are extremely inelegant in form.
The next group of lilies,Isolirion, contains many species, in all of which the flowers are erect and the segments little if at all reflexed. They are of low growth, and the blossoms are mostly orange in colour.
This group of lilies contains many old garden favourites which, though they possess but little individual beauty, are yet pleasing in the flower bed from the brightness and size of their blossoms, and for the early period at which they flower.
There is a great sameness about the members of the groupIsolirion, and as there are many garden varieties of most of the species, some of which are possibly hybrids, it is a most difficult task to separate the various species from one another.
We associate the lily with elegance. What, then, should we imagineLilium Elegans,theelegant lily to be like? And what is the reality? A low-growing clumsy stalk bearing two or three top-heavy enormous blossoms sticking bolt upright, chiefly of crude colours! As inelegant a plant as it is possible to conceive, having about as much right to the title ofelegansas has the hippopotamus! Where did this lily get its name from? It has another title,Lilium Thunbergianum, or Thunberg’s lily. Which of these names shall we use? Which is the less objectionable? The name which records the chief characteristic which the plant lacks, or that concocted of a Latinised version of the name of a human being? Formerly this lily was calledLilium Lancifolium, or the lance-leafed lily, a name which, though it might be equally well applied to nearly every known species of lily, is yet better than either of its modern names. But we cannot use this name, for florists will persist in applying the nameLancifoliumtoL. Speciosum.
L. Elegansgrows about a foot high, and each stem bears from one to four blossoms. The blossoms are very large, very inelegant, and short-lived. But they make up to a certain extent in colour what they lack in form.
There are innumerable varieties ofL. Elegans, differing chiefly in the colour of the flowers. Some of the colours are very fine, others are harsh and crude.
We append a table of the colours of the best known varieties. An asterisk is placed before the most desirable forms.
L. Elegansproduces both a double and a semi-double variety. We should have thought that a “semi-double” flower was the same as a single one. But it is not so. A semi-double equals a one-and-a-half blossom! That is, a double corolla of which the inner part is abortive.
Lilium Croceum.The old orange lily resemblesLilium Elegans, but it grows taller, and produces a far larger number of blossoms. This is the finest of the upright orange lilies. The blossoms are large and reddish-orange in colour, spotted with black. The plant grows to about three feet high, and is very showy.
In Ireland this lily is the national emblem of the Orangemen; and when travelling in that country you can tell, so we have been assured, the political opinion of the owner of a house by observing what lilies he grows in his garden. The Orangemen are said to grow none but the orange lily, while the rest of the population cultivate only the Madonna lily (L. Candidum).
A variety ofL. CroceumnamedChauixiis of a bright yellow colour, and is finer than the type.
This lily is found wild in various parts of Central Europe. It has been in cultivation for centuries; but lately it has almost lost its place as a garden lily, having been discarded in favour of some of the varieties ofL. Davuricum, which are much cheaper, but nothing like so fine.
The termL. Umbellatumis applied to certain varieties and possibly hybrids ofL. CroceumandL. Davuricum.
A very similar species isLilium Davuricum, a native of Siberia. The wild plant rarely bears more than two blossoms on each stem; but in cultivation flower-spikes of twenty or more blossoms are not uncommon.
L. Davuricumis frequently grown in gardens. There is a large number of named varieties of this lily, but all the forms are very similar, and in no way deserve separate names. The plant grows to about four feet high, and produces from four to thirty flowers of a dirty orange colour.
Lilium Bulbiferumvery much resembles the lilies we have just mentioned, but it may be at once distinguished from any otherIsolirionby the bulblets which are formed in the axils of the leaves. These bulblets are large and purple in colour. Not very uncommonly bulblets form in the axils of the leaves ofL. DavuricumorL. Elegans; but when they do, they are small and green.
The blossoms ofL. Bulbiferumare like those ofL. Davuricumon a smaller scale. The same upright position, the same poorness of form, and the same dirty orange colour, which is so persistent among the members of the groupIsolirion, are present in both. But the blossoms ofL. Bulbiferumare distinctly smaller than are those ofL. Davuricum.
If the lilies we have just described are not particularly remarkable for beauty, they are, nevertheless, very desirable subjects for the flower garden. They are showy, extremely hardy, flower in early June, when showy flowers are rare, and readily increase when once established.L. Eleganslooks best planted in rows and borders, its low growth suiting it admirably for such treatment.
These lilies will grow anywhere, in any soil. A little peat and sand should be mixed with the soil in which these lilies are planted.
Although they will grow well enough in pots, these lilies are quite worthless for pot culture.
One of the best of theIsoliriongroup of lilies isLilium Batemanniae. This plant resemblesL. Elegansin some particulars, but its blossoms are quite distinct. They are of a rich unspotted apricot colour. The perianth is more reflexed than is commonly the case in this group. It flowers in the late summer. It should be grown in a good peaty soil.
Lilium Wallacei, a very similar species, has the flowers of a rich apricot, densely spotted with black. The bulbs of this species are very small. It requires similar treatment to the last.
Lilium Philadelphicumis an American species, and has a rhizomotose bulb. The stem produces a single blossom, dirty orange colour spotted with black and yellow. It requires a wet, very peaty soil.
Another American species isLilium Catesbaei, a very curious and interesting plant. The bulb is unlike that of any other lily exceptL. Avenaceum. It somewhat resembles a fir-cone. This plant grows to the height of about a foot. It produces a single blossom, about five inches across. The segments are curiously curved and curled. Its colour is reddish orange and yellow. It should be grown in a peaty soil, but it is a somewhat tender species, and is not really suitable for outdoor culture in this country.
We have hurried through this group of lilies because the species are not remarkable either for form or for colour. They are certainly inferior to any other of the genuslilium.
Variety.Colour of Flower.Other Peculiarities.TypeDirty orange, spotted.....*Van HoutteiDeep red, spotted black.The best of the red varieties.*HorsmanniDeep red, spotted black.Very rare and difficult to obtain.*Aurantiacum VerumPale terra-cotta, very slightly spotted.Best of terra-cotta varieties.RobustumDirty orange, spotted.Very early. Stem covered with down.*Atro-SanguineumVery deep red, slightly spotted.Fine variety.*Prince of OrangeTerra-cotta, slightly spotted.Inferior toAurantiacum Verum.WilsoniLemon-yellow, spotted.....*Alice WilsonClear lemon-yellow.Very curious. The best of the yellow varieties.BicolorOrange.A poor form.BrevifoliumDirty orange, spotted.A poor form.*IncomparabilisDeep red, spotted.Inferior to the other deep red varieties, but bearing larger blossoms.