LILIES MADE TO ORDER 



HOWARD ELLSWORTH G1LKEY 



Horticultural Dept., University of California 



The Magic Spell of the Lily that has Captured Every Great Hybridist 

 Still Offers a Rich Field for Experiment in Everyman's Garden 



T'HE Lily is 

 lovely enough as 

 it is." Perhaps! 

 But is the family 

 hardy enough in all 

 its members? Is it 

 sufficiently fragrant? 

 Does it cam - enough 

 blossoms? There are 

 lots of excellent quali- 

 ties present in the differ- 

 ent members of the family, 

 and it is possible that they 

 might be recombined to form 

 something infinitely more lovely. 

 Lily crossing is not impossible; but 

 often a certain cross will fail again and 

 again — only to prove a success when almost 

 despaired of! On the other hand there are 

 several crosses which result in abundant seed. QUEEN OF ALL-THE REGAL LILY 

 All the Lilies that we grow in any quantity Pure glistening white melting to pure 



are true original species. It is surprising lemon in the de P ths of tne throat 

 that there are so few hybrids in a family 



for crossing are al- 

 most within geo- 

 graphical limits. An 

 evolutionist would 

 say that all the forms 

 common to one re- 

 gion were descended 

 from one common an- 

 cestor, and had arisen 

 as mutations from the 

 common source; hence 

 the degree of affinity ex- 

 isting between the individ- 

 uals native to the same 

 country. It is interesting 

 to note that each form has a par- 

 allel in the other group; all have 

 Turk's-cap types as well as trumpet-shaped 

 types. 



Of the European Lilies, we really grow but 

 one, the Madonna Lily (Lilium candidum). 

 The Turk's-cap Lily (L. martagon), and its 

 beautiful white variety, album; the brilliant 



of plants so replete with distinct and charming species. 



For the amateur would-be hybridist the Lily family has de- 

 cided attractions because the large size of the parts of the 

 flower makes the necessary manipulation quite easy. Perhaps 

 some others will find this family as alluring as I have. The 

 first time I ever made any Lily hybrids, I 

 had neither parent of the cross I proposed to 

 make, but a friend was the proud possessor 

 of a fine bed of Leopard Lilies, growing right 

 in the open in full sunlight and he altowed 

 me to make use of his plants. The other 

 parent was L. Parry ii. Cut flowers were sent 

 from the mountains and had to be expressed 

 seventy-five miles. 



It took four years for those hybrid seedlings 

 to bloom; but it doesn't take a great stock of 

 patience to wait that long, when you have 

 plenty of other garden treasure to care for. 

 When the hybrids blossomed, they proved to 

 be great, golden-yellow, sweet-scented Leopard 

 Lilies remarkably uniform and seemingly a 

 perfect blend of the two parent species. The 

 segments curved back at the tips less than in 

 L. pardalinum, and much of the trumpet shape 

 of L. Parryii was retained; their glory was 

 their wonderful fragrance. 



Lilies are all natives of the Northern Hemis- 

 phere, and fall readily into two groups, those 

 native to the Old World, and those native 

 to the New World. These groups may again 

 be subdivided roughly into European and 

 Asian, and Eastern and Western American 

 divisions respectively. Of course there are 

 intergradations and occasions where an Asian 

 Lily, for example L. tenuifolium, has more 

 real affinity for its European relatives than 

 for its Asian allies, but in general the affinities 



EMASCULATING THE UNOPENED 

 BUDS 



In the lower flowers, treated several days 

 earlier and since opened, the absence 

 of the anthers is plainly discernible 



L. chalcedonicum, the reddest of the big Lilies; and the grace- 

 ful little Siberian Coral Lily (L. tenuifolium) are among the 

 most alluring. Raise the last from seed. It will bloom in 

 from one to two years. The Nankeen Lily (L. testaceum), re- 

 puted to be a natural cross between L. martagon and L. chalce- 

 donicum is perhaps the rarest as to color and 

 should prove almost as hardy as the Madonna 

 Lily. The cross has never been repeated. 

 Someone should try to duplicate it. 



Lilium marhan, a hybrid between L. mar- 

 tagon and L. Hansonii, is becoming more 

 common, but the cross should be; easy to dup- 

 licate. And perhaps you may get something 

 quite distinct, for the same cross does not al- 

 ways result in the same way! L. tenuifolium 

 var. Colden Gleam would scarcely be recog- 

 nized as a hybrid. Yet according to the 

 records it came from seeds produced by pol- 

 linating L. tenuifolium with L. martagon. 

 It may be that the gardener in the east has a 

 good opportunity, right at his own door, for 

 experimenting with the Lilies native to his 

 own locality. With such a variety as is 

 afforded by L. superbum, L. carolinianum, L. 

 philadelphicum, L. canadense and L. Grayii 

 there should be results worth trying for; that 

 is, if seeds can be had from the trials. 



The Lilies of Western America form an in- 

 teresting and charming group. The majority 

 of them thrive in our gardens, if stable man- 

 ure is kept away from them. For barbaric 

 splendor plant the Leopard Lily (L. par- 

 dalinum), and the Humboldt Lib'. Their 

 warmth of gold and copper and vermilion 

 give a dash of color and life to a shaded, 

 somber hillside that is worth any effort. If 

 you have a bit of canon, plant them both. 



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