LILIUM 



LILIUM 



1865 



the seedlings to become large enough to bloom varies 

 greatly. L. philadelphicum, L. tenuifolium and a few 

 others will often bloom the second summer after the 

 seeds germinate, while L. giganteum seldom blooms 

 before five or six years have passed. Most species, 

 however, require three or four years. The seeds should 

 be sown thinly in boxes of light sandy soil, in rows 

 about 2 inches apart and covered about J- inch deep 

 with finely sifted sphagnum moss. The boxes should 

 be kept in the house or greenhouse until the seedlings 

 appear, when they may be set outdoors, in a shady 

 place, during the summer. When the young plants 

 are 2 or 3 inches high, they should be transplanted into 

 coldframes or prepared beds in the open ground, later 

 removing them to their permanent location. 



Insects and diseases. 



Lilies are seldom troubled by insect foes of any kind. 

 Worms will sometimes eat the bulbs, but if they are 

 surrounded with sand, as previously suggested, and 

 fresh manure is never used, they will not be likely to 

 be attacked. Mice will also eat the bulbs and the only 

 way to get rid of them is by poisoning or trapping. 

 Aphis or green -flies occasionally attack the plants, 

 especially when under glass, but they may be readily 

 destroyed by spraying the plants with kerosene emul- 

 sion. 



There are several fungous diseases that are very 

 destructive to lilies. Probably the worst and most 

 common one is a species of Botrytis. It attacks 

 all kinds of lilies, without any exception, either wild 

 or cultivated, and may appear at any stage of their 

 growth. It is first noticed as buff or rust-colored spots 

 or blotches on the leaves or buds, which soon become 

 covered with a grayish mold. When the disease first 

 appears, all affected parts should be cut off and burned, 

 while the attacked plants, as well as healthy ones grow- 

 ing near them, should be sprayed with some good fungi- 

 cide, like bordeaux mixture. Then, if the disease per- 

 sists in spreading, the only thing to do is to dig up the 

 plants, bulbs, roots and all, and burn them. 



Another fungous disease, known as Rhizopus necans, 

 is very destructive to imported Japanese bulbs, especi- 

 ally those of L. auratum. It attacks the base of the 

 scales, causing them to decay, and the bulbs, if left 

 exposed to the air for a few days, become soft and 

 rotten and covered with a long white silky fungous 

 growth. As soon as the bulbs are received, they should 

 be carefully examined and those that show the least 

 signs of the disease burned at once, as they seldom 

 recover. Those which appear perfectly sound are often 

 covered with the spores of the fungus and to destroy 

 them the bulbs should be soaked for several hours in a 

 solution of one part carbolic acid to forty parts water. 

 Another method, practised by some growers to pre- 

 vent the disease from being introduced into their gar- 

 dens, is to plant the apparently sound bulbs singly in 

 pots or tin cans, and later, those which are healthy and 

 well-rooted should be transplanted to the open ground, 

 while diseased ones should be burned and the soil in 

 the pots sterilized. 



The American florists' lily trade. (David Lumsden.) 



The lily has become one of the popular plants of the 

 American trade. Its popularity is due not alone to the 

 fact that Lilium longiflorum is the acknowledged Easter 

 lily of commerce, but it is a plant particularly well 

 adapted for church, wedding and other decorations at 

 any season of the year. Lilies are also exceptionally 

 useful as cut-flowers for design work and for Memorial 

 Day trade. 



Many million bulbs of L. longiflorum and its varie- 

 ties are imported from Japan, Formosa and Bermuda 

 each year. It is an exceedingly important commercial 

 crop, and several of the larger eastern and western 



growers force as many as 200,000 bulbs in a single 

 season. 



Lilium longiflorum var. eximium, which is grown 

 under the trade name of L. Harrisii, was for years the 

 principal variety grown for early blooms and for Easter 

 sale. Unfortunately, the variety is attacked by a 

 bacterial disease, and healthy stock is almost impossible 

 to obtain. The lily disease is prevalent in all sections 

 and countries from which the bulbs are imported, and 

 growers find, under forcing conditions, that from 3 

 per cent to 33J/3 per cent of the bulbs are affected. L. 

 longiflorum var. eximium is especially susceptible to 

 the disease, but all varieties are now attacked to a 

 greater or less degree. Within the last few years, how- 

 ever, more careful propagation and better cultural 

 conditions have eliminated the disease to a consider- 

 able extent, and as a result, there has been an improve- 

 ment in the crop. 



During the earlier period of forcing Easter lilies, 

 they were placed on the market only in the late winter 

 or early spring months. Within recent years, improved 

 methods of cold storage have made possible the pro- 

 duction of blooms of the so-called Easter lilies at any 

 season of the year. However, the larger number of 

 blooms are placed on the market in Easter week, for 

 in the minds of the flower-loving public no other 

 flower is so suggestive of the Easter spirit. 



The species of lilies forced under glass may be 

 divided into three groups: 



GROUP I. Lilium longiflorum, Easter lily. 



(a) Lilium longiflorum. 



(b) Lilium longiflorum, Formosa type. 



(c) Lilium longiflorum var. eximium (L. Harrisii). 



(d) Lilium longiflorum var. giganteum. 



(e) Lilium longiflorum var. multiflorum. 



Lilium longiflorum var. giganteum is now the most 

 popular for Easter trade; it is also the lily used almost 

 exclusively for cold storage. L. longiflorum, Formosa 

 type, L. longiflorum var. multiflorum, and L. longi- 

 florum var. eximium, are used more especially for 

 earlier flowering. 



GROUP II. Lilium speciosum (L. lancifolium). 

 (a) Lilium speciosum var. album. 

 (6) Lilium speciosum var. rubrum. 



(c) Lilium speciosum var. roseum. 



(d) Lilium speciosum var. Melpomene. 



Lilium speciosum ranks next to L. longiflorum as the 

 most valuable for forcing. The varieties album, 

 roseum, and rubrum are the most in demand. They 

 are now forced in winter and spring by using bulbs that 

 have been retarded in the cold storage. The natural 

 blooming period of this species is July and August, and 

 the flowers are then useful for floral designs and cut- 

 flowers. 



GROUP III. Lilium candidum (Madonna lily). 



There are two forms of L. candidum; one with thin, 

 star-like petals, not much recurved; the other having 

 the broad, stoutly ribbed petals strongly recurved. 

 This latter type is the one most commonly used for 

 forcing. Bulbs of L. candidum are now imported from 

 northern France. Recently, the lily disease has been so 

 prevalent in the Marseilles district that the stock from 

 that section has been less used for forcing purposes. 



Forcing of lilies under glass. 



When the bulbs are received, they should be potted 

 into suitable-sized well-drained flower-pots, using a 

 compost of three parts of good fibrous loam to one 

 part of well-decayed horse- or cow-manure. There is a 

 difference of opinion as to potting methods. Some 

 growers prefer to place the bulbs first in 4-inch flower- 

 pots, and when a strong root-system has developed, 



