914 



LILIUM 



LlLIDM (ancient Latin name). LiUdcea. Lilt. The 

 Lilies have always been loolced upon as amongst the 

 noblest of garden plants. Their conspicnous flowers, 

 striking colors, and their stately forms appeal strongly 

 to the eye and to the imagination as well. They are 

 among those good "old-fashioned" plants which fre- 

 quently and justly come newly into vogue. Lilies are 

 less understood and less discriminatingly appreciated 

 than almost any other plants of prominence. The Tiger 

 Lily is a favorite and old-fashioned flower, to be found 

 in many of the most homely and unpretending gardens. 

 Now and then one finds a good group of the Madonna 



free h inded clients -with i 



pr( 



<of theGfld Innded Lih 



pulh > liil I I 1 111 mil 111 I 111 I I II 1 11 ill 

 unknt « II 



In the opinion of the writer the three best Lilies for 

 e\erjbodyto f,row are// fw/xMwm, var splendens L 

 speci t ion \u mliiiin in 1 L I iniif Iiiim To these 

 the f n -1 _ I 1 1 I 111 II « ith\ of 



gen II I 1 order 



gn.n I I 1 nee) 



L I iirolor 



delphum. p.l nhlliinllil. siiprrl.^m II , M-. /„»,», 



Grayi, Wallichianiim, Philadil/! < ."'"M/kw, 



Jfeilijherrense. All these will m, . ■ II, and 



many of them are of the easii'>t i- i - i uli mv. 



Liii.-- :iii "i,;:iiiH iiii.Ih I1-. i:i: I- ' .■i|.;>llr for their 

 flow. !■ ■ i . : . Liiracter to assist 



in air. . . M .1 .• I. i ' .1 ' I V-rtain species 



bear iIm^, i ^ m ..inii iju; \ i ^uch pronounced 



colors iliui ili.-y iiiakt- \i-i> filL-.-uvu masses. Such 

 strokes of color can best be worked into the garden 

 picture at carefully chosen points in the borders, espe- 

 cially where the rich sunlight of early morning or late 

 afternoon takes its rest. For fine mass effects of this 

 kind the ilivt-rs varii-tii-s nf L. i/xrinis, particularly 

 var. fill,/, IIS. an- i\rrll.-iit. /,. Ii,iri ini in . var. splendens 

 1111.1 /,. I,ii,iif„l,,ii,i an- ai-.. sti-ikin-; while other sorts 

 whic-li Iliads will, but an- of more modest colors, are 

 X. speciosum. auratum, Chaicedouictnit, concolor, and 

 Drownii. Lilies of many sorts are highly agreeable 

 ■when scattered— not massed— somewhat freely through 

 shrubbery borders, or with large hardy perennials. 



1 placed, but the 



eastern ami M.utlnTii China ami Huriiia, ami tin- adja- 

 cent islands, are found <lozeus of the most gorgeous 

 species. 



The genus Lilium is the type of the order Liliaceie, 

 a family crowded with plants of garden value. The 

 family has over 2,000 well-known species, and of the 

 187 genera probably half are in cultivation. There are 

 many monographs of the genus Lilium in rare and 

 costly works and in various languages. The latest and 

 most sumptuous one is "A Monograph of the Genus 

 Lilium," by Elwes, published in 1880, with magnificent 

 colored plates. It is referred to below by the abbre- 

 viation El. Unfortunately, there is no recent book 

 on Lilies in the English language which combines 

 the horticultural and botanical points of view. The 

 latest botanical review of the whole genus will be found 

 in the "Botanical Gazette" 27:2.'i5 (1899), to which the 

 student is referred for fuller descriptions than those 

 given below. K. a. Waugh. 



Culture. — In the growing of a large collection of Lilies 

 in the open air, the best results can be obtained only 



LILIUM 



with a variety of soils and conditions. Heavy soils are 

 not suited to many of the Lily tribe. A few species, like 

 L. sttperbum, CuikkIciisp and tiijrimim, may do well in 

 heavy soil, but a li-lit -oil wirli sand and gravel inter- 

 mixed, one from wlnrli any .xi-.ss of moisture runs off, 

 is much better for a laiL'.- ii.lUition. Drainage is of 

 great importance. Tin- slojie of a hill, if not too steep, 

 affords, a chance for varied liegrees of drainage; the 



^T^^ 



upper portion- ar.- suited to such as prefer the driest 

 ground, as /.. l'liil,i,l,l,,l,lciim.concolor and Washiiu,- 

 tnnidiiiiM. wliili at till- l.ottom. if the drainage be good. 

 L. tiuriil„i„. /,,'-,.,..„.. ..iiididum and others would 

 thrive. N" ■ii.:.!] i .,. l.ir tin- cuitiiro .'oiilil be given 

 for all. A , :i. I ■ :■ -.. Ill- lo 1„. «rll siiiini lo some 

 Lilies. /,. /'■'./. //)//i.'i(///. <,/■.,„,. tin- varie- 

 ties of .7..,.'. . II . :, , ' iinllil.i.lll„ii,liim,C„lll„ih;- 



iiiiiiiii.M,,, ;- .. ami others seem to like such soils, 



ami with .1. . p |ilaniiii^- will stand more drought than in 



Lili.s iiko sonir slnltcr from severe winds as well as 

 midday siiii. Tliey <lo tinely among Rhododendrons. 

 The point is not so much to shade the stems and foliage 

 as to keep the ground over the bulbs cool and moist. An 

 open frame is an admirable place for planting Lilies, 

 with 3-1 in. of peat or leaf-mold over the bed, which 

 keeps them cool. Peat is very beneficial also when 

 mixed with the soil about the roots. 



The scales of Lily bulbs shrink by exposure to air. 

 and in this way the bulb is weakened. Bulbs with 

 sbniTiken or flabby outside scales are less valuable than 

 with tiriu and plump ones. They may be kept in damp 

 soil, boxed tightly for some time, but many of the store 

 bulbs have lost much of their vitality by the time they 

 na.li till- purchaser. It is not rare for such bulbs to 

 fail to (.'low until thr second srason. L. moiwdelphum, 

 tiiii,-iihil,iiii ami Uriiiriiii lni|iieiitly do not appear above 

 grouml until the sr.oml siason, if their scales have 

 been dried to any considerable degree. 



Among the kinds which seem to do well in any ordi- 

 nary light soils, and which, as a rule, may be "grown 

 with least effort, are £/. aurafttm^ Chnlcedotiicum, cau- 

 didum, elegans and its common varieties, testaceum. 

 tnaculatumyffen7'yi,tigrinum,Maiiagon,Maa-iwowiczii, 

 longiflorum, monadelphum, and the varieties of spe- 

 ciosum^ L. superbttHi and Canadense are also easily 

 grown and do well with considerable shade. L. Philip- 

 pense, Catesh(pi and Neilgherrense are not suittMl to out- 

 door culture in the North. L. Nepaiensi and .iiili,liiin niii 

 may be grown in Vermont with fairly good re-iilts, but 

 .should not be allowed to freeze during wintir. All Lilies 

 are better if their bulbs are not frozen. Most of thein 

 will stand .some frost at a good depth, but frost seems to 

 weaken them and Lily diseases attack the weaker plants 

 first. 



The Lily blight or disease, which seems to affect Lilies 

 in much the same way that the potato rust does the 

 potato, is more damaging to some species than to others. 

 Those from the Pacific coast seem to be more subject to 



