914 



LILIUM 



LILIUM 



LtLITJM (ancient Latin name). LiJiacecp. Lily. The 

 Lilies have always been loolied upon as amongst the 

 noblest of garden plants. Their conspicuous tiowers, 

 striiiing colors, and their stately forms appeal stronglj^ 

 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 mosc homely and unpretending gardens. 

 Now and then one flnds a good group of the Madonna 

 Lily, very rarely a cluster of the beautiful little Coral 

 Lily, and sometimes the landscape gardeners furnish 

 free-handed clients with masses of the Gold-banded Lily 

 in the shrubbery borders. The Easter Lily is largely 

 forced by the florists, as are also certain varieties of the 

 Speciosura group. But aside from these, no Lilies can at 

 present he classed as real favorites of the American 

 public, while dozens of magnificent kinds are practically 

 Tinknown. 



In the opinion of the writer, the three best Lilies for 

 everybody to grow are L. figrinum, var. splendens; L. 

 speciosnm, var. riihrum: and I/. tenuifoJ'iiim. To these 

 the following species may be added as well worthy of 

 general culture, at least in the eastern states (the order 

 given is approximately that of the writer's preference) : 

 JL/. elcgans (many varieties, all good ), auratum , concolor 

 and its Y^r. partheneion (the Coridion IjiXj) y Brow nii , 

 Senryi, Chalcedonicutn, testaceum, candidum, rnaculK- 

 turn, pahcrulum, Japonicum var. roseiim, lovgifloriu}} , 

 jiomvoniiim. The connoisseur should not be without L. 

 Maximowicsll, Canadense, Parriji, IVepalense, mona- 

 dclphum, pardaUnum, sitperhum, Washinr/foiiiaujii}/ , 

 Grayi, Wallicliianum, Philadelphicutn, Columhianxim, 

 Ncihjlterrense. All these will succeed fairly well, and 

 many of them are of the easiest possible culture. 



Lilies are ornamentally useful principally for their 

 flowers. Their foliage is seldom of a character to assist 

 in any sclienie of garden decoration. Certain species 

 bear flowers in such quantity and of such pronounced 

 colors that they make very effective 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 divers varieties of L, elegans, particularly 

 var. fnlgens, are excellent. L. iigrinnm, var. splendens 

 and L. tenuifolium are also striking; while other sorts 

 which mass well, but are of more modest colors, are 

 L. speciosum. awraium, Chalcedonicum, concolor, and 

 Brownii. Lilies of many sorts are highly agreeal>le 

 when scattered — not massed — somewhat freely through 

 shrubbery borders, or with large hardy perennials. 

 Almost any Lily is satisfactory when so placed, but the 

 varieties must not be mixed, and there should be enough 

 plants to avoid a feeling of thinness and isolation. 



Lilies are native to the north temperate zone. The 

 majority of our best garden Lilies, such as L. tigrintnn, 

 auratum, speciosum, and the fine new Benriji , conic from 

 western Asia, whereas none of the American species is 

 especially successful in our gardens. Throughout -Japan, 

 eastern and southern China and Burma, and the adja- 

 cent islands, are found dozens of the most gorgeous 

 species. 



The genus Lilium is the type of the order Liliace;e, 

 a family crowded with plants of garden value. Tlie 

 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" 27:2:15 (1899), to which the 

 student is referred for fuller descriptions than those 

 given below. F. A. Waugh. 



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

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



with a variety of soils and conditions. Heavy soils are 

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

 Jj. superbum, CiDiadense and iigrinmn, may do well in 

 heavy soil, but a light soil with sand and gravel inter- 

 mixed, one from which any excess of moisture runs olf 

 is much better for a iarge collection. Drainage is of 

 great importance. The slope of a hill^if not too steep, 

 atTords a chance for varied degrees of drainage; the 



1277. 

 LiUum Neilgherrense. 



upper portions are suited, to such as prefer the driest 

 ground, as 1j. Philadelphicum, concolor and Washing- 

 (oiuanuin, while at the bottom, if the drainage be good, 

 L. aurtrtiDii, testa ceton. candidum and others would 

 thrive. No general rule for the culture could be given 

 for all. A slate ridge seems to be well suited to some 

 Lilies. B. concolor, Philadelphicum, Grayi, the varie- 

 ties of elegans, Washingtonianii7n,puberulitm, Colnmhi- 

 anum, MaximowiczH and others seem to like such soils, 

 and with deep planting will stand more drought than in 

 lighter soils. 



Lilies like some shelter from severe winds as well as 

 midday sun. They do finely 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 3-4 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 

 shrunken or flabby outside scales are less valuable than 

 with firm 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 

 reach the purchaser. It is not rare for such bulbs to 

 fail to grow until the second season. B. monadelphum, 

 mdcuJatuni and Brownii frequently do not appear above 

 ground until the second season, 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 B. auratum^ Chalcedonicum, can- 

 dldnm, elegans and its common varieties, testaceum, 

 rnaeulaf um, Henry i ,tigrinum,Martagov,Ma^imoiviczii, 

 lougiflorunt, monadelphnm., and the varieties of spe- 

 ciosum. B. superbum- and Canadense are also easily 

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

 pense, Cateshan and Neilgherrense are not suited to out- 

 door culture in the North. L. Nepalense and snlphurenm 

 may be grown in Vermont with fairly good results, but 

 should not be allowed to freeze duringwinter. All Lilies 

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

 will stand some frost at a good depth, but frost seeraa to 

 weaken them and Lily diseases attack the weaker plants 

 first. 



The Lily blight or disease, wliich 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- 



