HORTICULTURAL SPECIALIST 
1 
LILIUMS 
are our leading specialty. We grow these in thousands 
in Weymouth in full sunshine, and our collection is 
without a rival in New England. From a very small 
beginning a few years ago a large business has been 
built up in these glorious hardy bulbs, and shipments 
are made to all parts of the United States as well as 
Canada, Great Britain and other countries. Virtually 
every variety listed may be found growing here and 
unlike the majority of dealers we are not dependent 
on bought in stock, except in the case of a few vari¬ 
eties. The superior advantages of home grown bulbs 
with their greater plumpness must be apparent to 
every grower of these beautiful bulbous plants. 
Some varieties like oandidum and testaceum are 
ready in August, a very large number are to be had 
in September, and this month and October are the 
best in the year for the planting of the great majority 
of Lilies. The auratums, speciosums, sulphureums, 
and a few other varieties can be planted later and it 
is better to get these in during late fall rather than 
wait until spring. Some of our most successful plant¬ 
ings of Lilies have been made in late December and 
January, removing a crust of frost to get them into 
the ground. Very little winter covering is necessary 
for Lilies, our own beds get virtually nothing at all. 
So long as drainage is good there need be no fear of 
Lilies winter killing. To extend the flowering season 
plantings of such varieties as speciosum, auratum, 
Henryi, regale, sulphureum, elegans, tigrinum and 
some others can be made in spring. 
Our first Lilies to open in 1936 were tenuifolium 
and monadelphum, both during late May, the greater 
number of Lilies bloom during June and July but 
quite a number flower later and we usually have 
speciosums, Formosanums and sulphureums until 
mid-October which makes a fairly long season. 
Plant candidum only IV 2 —2 inches deep, testaceum 
and chalcedonicum not over 3 inches. All varieties 
making roots only from below the bulbs should be 
planted shallow. Stem rooters like regale, auratum, 
speciosum, Henryi, sulphureum, Sargentiae, and 
Willmottiae require covering 8 inches and even more 
is better should soil be very light. European varieties 
like candidum, chalcedonicum, monadelphum, marta- 
gon, testaceum and Pyrenaicum like a well sweetened 
soil while the Asiatic varieties either prefer one 
which is alkaline or neutral. Regale seems to grow 
equally well in an acidy as a sweet soil. Some vari¬ 
eties like candidum, testaceum, chalcedonicum, mar- 
tagon, Japonicum and rubellum are best laid on their 
sides at planting time, all should be bedded in sand 
and covered with it before being filled in. 
Very retentive soils may be improved by adding 
peat moss, sharp sand and fine coal ashes. As a sum¬ 
mer mulch peat moss is excellent, but do not use it 
for the European varieties. Where the more tender 
and doubtful varieties are being tried it will assist 
very much to lay strips of tar paper over the plant¬ 
ings to shed water in winter. 
Lilies are effective in perennial borders, but when 
planted there should not go too near husky growing 
plants, when mulching beds with manure avoid scat¬ 
tering it over the Lilies. In beds or borders by them¬ 
selves with a background of evergreen or not too 
robust deciduous shrubs Lilies do remarkably well, a 
groundwork of violas, or Nepeta Mussini may be used 
if desired. In rhododendron or azalea beds auratum, 
superbum, paradalinum, Canadense, Henryi and Grayi 
do well but do not use any of the large bulb rooting 
