632 LILIUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LILIUM. 



Lilies may be grown in various ways : 



1. Under glass you may have Lilies in 

 flower all the year round. 



2. In the open border you may enjoy 

 their beauty each in its own season. 



3. You may take them up when coming 

 into flower in the border, and plunging 

 them roots and all into a sufficiently large 

 pot with suitable soil, shade them for 

 two or three days, and then transfer them 

 to bloom in a conservatory or balcony, 

 without damage, providing they are kept 

 well-watered. 



Culture is important, but arrangement 

 and grouping are even more so. There 

 are Lilies which will grow in any ordinary 

 soil ; a good, rich loamy soil suits the greater 

 number ; others want plenty of sand, so 

 as to keep the soil free ; while others 

 can be easily grown in ordinary soil if it 

 is mixed with leaf-mould or peat. It will 

 thus be seen that there are no great 

 difficulties in the way of growing a large 

 number of kinds. In nearly all cases 

 Lilies are more vigorous and brilliant 

 where partially protected from severe 

 frosts ; and the flowers last longer when | 

 sheltered from the scorching rays of the 

 mid-day sun. The shrubbery border, 

 among Rhododendrons (for those re- \ 

 quiring peat), and the mixed border 

 between shrubs and herbaceous plants, [ 

 where the young shoots get a slight pro- j 

 tection from the early frosts, are among | 

 the best situations. A very safe place is 

 near the edge of a Rhododendron bed ; 

 soil that will grow Rhododendrons will 

 grow most sorts of Lilies, and afford pro- 

 tection from " blight and spot," which in 

 some seasons, notably when cold and wet 

 follow drought, greatly injure the growth 

 and flowering of some species, even though 

 the bulbs be unhurt. It should be re- 

 membered that bulbs of nearly all Lilies 

 occasionally lie dormant a whole season, 

 and push out luxuriantly the following 

 summer, especially the Martagon tribe. 



1 Manure should never be dug in with 

 the bulbs, though they accept it gratefully 

 if liberally applied as a top dressing 

 after they have been established a year. 

 The only manure to be dug in at planting 

 is rich peat and sand, in the proportion 



1 Experience has shown me that manure may be 

 applied, more liberally than I thought, to the Speciosum 

 group ; while Giganteum literally revels in "muck." I 

 have given with much advantage to pot Lilies (Longi- 

 florum, Speciosum, and Henryi) Clay's Fertilizer, 

 Albert's Concentrated and Fish Manure, so that I 

 begin to believe that, given sound healthy bulbs, manure, 

 especially in the liquid forms, may be given to a much 

 greater extent than was originally supposed. I have 

 seen an acre of Speciosum and Longiflorum Lilies in 

 full luxuriant bloom, whose bulbs were planted at the 

 top of farmyard manure dug in to receive them. 

 ALEXANDER WALLACE. 



of two parts of peat to one of sand. 1 This 

 is advisedly called manure. In light 

 soils L. auratum and some others are all 

 the better for a top-dressing of dry clay 

 broken small. Though to each brief 

 description below we have appended a 

 word or two upon cultivation, it is per- 

 haps advisable to add a few general 

 remarks. It should be borne in mind 

 that, however beautiful nearly all the 

 known Lilies are, some are extremely fas- 

 tidious ; but there is a rare choice of 

 beauty among those that are easily 

 cultivated. Lilies may be divided into 

 three classes first, those that are best 

 grown in pots, such as neilgherrense, 

 Wallichianum, philippinense, and nepal- 

 ense ; also Wallichianum superbum (sul- 

 phureum), Lowi primulinum, Bakeri, new 

 Burmese Lilies ; and, in many soils and 

 climates, speciosum, auratum, and longi- 

 florum ; secondly, those that are best grown 

 out-of-doors in loamy soil ; thirdly, those 

 that are best grown out-of-doors in peaty 

 soil. On light soils the following kinds 

 do remarkably well : L. candidum, longi- 

 florum and its varieties, chalcedonicum, 

 excelsum, and the speciosum section ; 

 all of the umbellatum, croceum, and 

 elegans type ; also tigrinum sinense. For 

 deep loamy soil the best kinds are L. 

 auratum, Szovitzianum, Humboldti, the 

 Tiger family, most of the Martagon group ; 

 while in an intermediate soil of leaf-mould, 

 loam, and sand, we advise the planting of 

 Buschianum, philadelphicum, pulchellum, 

 Browni, giganteum, tenuifolium, Krameri, 

 etc. The North American forms require 

 more peat and more moisture than the 

 other groups. Lilies require, so far as 

 their roots are concerned, a cool bottom, 

 abundant moisture, and, for most kinds 

 a free drainage. The slope of a hill 

 facing south-east or south-west, for in- 

 stance, with water from above percolating 

 through the sub-soil, so as to always 

 afford a supply, without stagnation, would 

 be an admirable site. 



PROPAGATION. This is generally and 

 most readily effected by separating the 

 bulblets or offsets from the parent bulbs, 

 and these, detached and grown in the 

 same way as the parent, in the course of 

 a year or two make good flowering plants. 

 The scales of the bulbs afford a means of 

 propagation ; but this is a slower method. 

 Raising Lilies from seed is somewhat 

 tedious, though many kinds in this country 

 perfect seed in plenty, and in the case of 

 such kinds as L. tenuifolium the seedlings 



1 Sea-sand, where it can be procured, is by far the 

 best kind to use ; all bulbs take to it kindly, as it always 

 attracts moisture. 



