For August, 1Q21 



665 



Native Lilies for Fall Planting 



HERBERT DURAND 



GENERALLY speaking, no other plant equals 

 the Lily for unique and stately beauty, com- 

 bined with exquisite grace. Yet it is safe to 

 say that this regal flower is wanting in most gardens 

 and is represented in many others by only a few of 

 the commoner kinds, principally the Tiger Lily, the 

 Madonna, or Ascension Lily (L. Candiduiii). and two 

 favorites from Japan, aiiratiiui and L. spcciositiii. 



Our superb American species are almost entirely 

 neglected, but I feel confident that their merits will 

 soon becoine better known and. when this has come 

 to pass, they will be planted on an extensive scale. In 

 fact, the discouraging news of the last week or two, 

 from both Europe and Japan, telling of short crops 

 and doubled prices, may lead to early consideration 

 of our own species and establish them in their right- 

 ful place in popular esteem. 



The species mentioned in this article come, some of 

 them, from our eastern woods and meadows, some 

 from the Allegheny Mountains and some from the 

 Rockies and the Pacific Coast. All of them are ex- 

 tremely desiralde for the hardy border if set, among 

 tall growing perennials; or among undershrubs, of suf- 

 ficiently low growth to permit the nodding blossoms 

 to show well above the mounds of foliage. It is in 

 similar situations of stem protection and flower ex- 

 posure that most lilies thrive, in their natural haunts. 

 They are also strikingly beautiful grouped in front 

 of and contrasting with the rich greens of Rhododen- 

 drons, Mountain Laurel and coniferous evergreens. 

 And nothing is so well suited as lilies for naturalizing 

 in wild or uncultivated meadows, and open wood- 

 lands. An ideal location is under, but far enough 

 away from trees and tall shrubs to prevent the roots 

 from robbing the lilies of nutriment and moisture. 

 The best time of the year to plant the bulbs is during 

 September and October, or as soon as possible after 

 the seed has ripened and the foliage has yellowed and 

 withered. 



One of the many excellent characteristics of Lilies 

 is their immunity from attacks of insects. They have 

 no foes among the bugs. \\'ire worms and mice oc- 

 casionally get access to and gnaw the bulbs, but in 

 the aggregate the loss from such depredations is in- 

 significant. The worst enemy of the plant is a fungous 

 disease, which first shows itself as buff or rust- 

 colored spots on leaves or buds and is followed by a 

 gra3-ish mold. If this disease puts in an appearance, 

 affected parts should be ruthlessly cut off and burned 

 and all the lilies in the vicinity should be vvell sprayed 

 with Bordeaux Mixture. If Bordeaux fails, there is 

 nothing to do but to pidl them up and destroy them, 

 stem, bidl) and all. 



For cultural ])urposcs the native lilies, suitable and 

 obtainable for eastern gardens are divided into two 

 groups. In group number one I include four kinds, 

 all of which, while they are happiest in a woodland 

 glade, wilt thrive in any locality that is sheltered and 

 partialh- shaded by deciduous trees or shrubs, or tall- 

 growing ferns. They are also specially fine planted 

 among Peonies, where, during the summer months, 

 they supply brilliant color that would otherwise be 

 lacking. They should be set so the tops of the bulbs 

 will be f"ur inches below the surface. The soil should 



be light and well drained and it is good practice to 

 surround the bulbs with an inch layer of clean sand. 

 L. IVash'mgtonianmn is perhaps the finest of the quar- 

 tette. It is popularly known on the coast as "The Shasta 

 Lily." Just imagine as many as twenty-five exquisitely 

 fragrant and exquisitely beautiful bells, atop a six-foot 

 swaging stem, its white, or pink, or wine-red coloring 

 brought out in dazzling contrast, by a screen of rich green 

 foliage behind, and you will realize what a queen IVash- 

 iiigtoiiiamiin is. Next in height, and even more striking 

 in color, is Huinboldtii, var. m-agnifiaim. This Califor- 

 nian blaze of orange, red and crimson, might better be 

 called "The Torch Lily," than another plant (not a lily) 

 that is now so known. Huinboldtii, under favorable con- 

 ditions, reaches a height of four to five feet and well re- 

 pays whoever is fortunate enough to secure it. Kellogii 

 is a close relative of Huinboldtii, but clothes itself in 

 daintier apparel, its fragrant, reflexed petals being of a 

 most delicate shade of pink. Its slender, wand-like stem 

 is only three or four feet high, but each one produces 

 from three to fifteen flowers. The fourth place in this 

 group I have assigned to our own eastern red wood lily, 

 L. Philadclpliiciiin, whose flaming chalice is familiar to 

 everyone who loves to wander over our forest-clad hills 

 and mountains. This lily is unique in that it holds its 

 large cup-shaped blossom perfectly upright at the sum- 

 mit of its sturdy two-foot stem. Its color is best de- 

 scribed as a dazzling vermilion scarlet and when one 

 comes across it in the wild, its Ijrilliancy is actually 

 startling. 



My second group is made up of five lilies that are 

 [lerhaps, most thoroughly at home on the margin of 

 ponds or brooks, or in moist meadows, or damp open- 

 ings in the woods. They thrive equally well, how- 

 ever, among ferns, or in the Rhododendron bed, 

 provided the soil is kept constantly moist, as it should 

 be. The bulbs should be planted' about three inches 

 deep in a rich, sandy loam, but at least six inches 

 above the water table, or level. 



Personally, I like our eastern Meadow Lily (L. cana- 

 dcnsc) best of all. It is the kind whose imposing can- 

 delabras of nodding red or yellow bells make our mead- 

 ows glorious during July. It grows to a height of from 

 two to four feet — enough so the tallest grasses are never 

 able to veil its beauty. L. pardalinum, known as "The 

 Leopard Lily," may also be styled the IMeadow Lily of the 

 Pacific Coast. Its stems are from three to six feet high 

 and its flowers are very large and showy, of a rich, glow- 

 ing orange color, each petal tipped and spotted with crim- 

 son. L. Rocrjlii is a rare western species, closelv related 

 to pardalinum. but with deep, blood-red flowers and very 

 slender foliage. L. Parryii is unquestionably one of the 

 finest lilies in the world. Its slender, leafy stem is from 

 three to five feet high and carries from two or three to 

 as many as twenty-five long, trumpet-shaped. lemon-yel- 

 low flowers, that are sweetly fragrant. Certainly an ideal 

 combination of attractiveness, My final selection, but by 

 no means the least desirable, is the gorgeous L. Supcrbuin 

 or "Turk's Cap Lily,'' of New England and the Atlantic 

 seaboard. I have on my place this Summer stalks of this 

 superb species over six feet high, and with from twenty 

 to thirty-five of the brilliant, recurved blossoms to the 

 stalk. 1 have seen it eight feet high with fifty blossoms ! 

 The ground color is a bright orange-yellow, spotted with 

 brown and each ]ictal is tip[)cd with vermilion. 



