Hardy Perennials 
21 
A Held of Liliurn elegans taken in our Nurseries. 
Lilies 
It would be bard to select a more important group among all the cultivated bulbs than that of the Lily. 
The majority of species are hardy in well-cultivated garden soil, yet by experience we find that a little 
covering to exclude light and sudden changes are very beneficial. There are kinds which seem to do even 
with shallow planting and little or no covering for winter, and I have seen bulbs of some of the varieties of 
Elegans lie on the top of the bed fully exposed all winter and apparently all right in spring; but Auratums, 
speciosums, and in fact all with the exception of the tiger, Elegans, Davuricum, and Croceum do better for 
covering. Our Meadow Lily, growing as it does usually, has a covering of grass or leaves or brush over 
the bulb which keeps out light and sudden changes in winter. The Auratums and Speciosums when not 
covered may not be killed, but if they freeze too hard the outer scales will decay and the plant be much weak¬ 
ened. Too low a degree of temperature will, I believe, kill any Lily no matter whether under ground or 
packed in boxes. In December, 1902, I lost a large lot of Lilies during transit from New York. The 
very cold wave froze them solid in the cases and not one bulb survived. 
In protecting Lilies and other bulbs which are not perfectly hardy, I have found three inches of straw 
manure over the beds very good. Another method I have adopted for the more tender kinds is three 
inches of forest leaves first, then two inches of the straw manure over the leaves, which prevents the leaves 
being blown off by winds. 
A most important item in the growing of all Lilies is the combination of good drainage with plenty of 
moisture. They require much moisture during the blooming season; still, a soil not well drained seldom 
seems to suit them. Much good can be done in the adding of sand, leaf-mold or turf loam (which is always 
good for the Lily), but if good drainage is not given many species will not thrive. 
Lilies often thrive much better the second year after planting, for the reason that if they are not taken 
fresh from the ground, some or all of the roots have been lost, or dried, and their scales, also, may have 
become shriveled. This is too often the case with imported or store bulbs if the storing has not been in a 
cellar and in soil. Lilies imported in their natural soil, or in damp sphagnum, not allowed to become dry, 
and not deprived of their roots, are much more likely to bloom the first year. In purchasing Lilies, it is 
well to insist upon having only firm and solid bulbs. If they have been wintered in a cellar, it should have 
been in sand or loam, in tight boxes, so that the bulbs could not have shrunken or dried. Bulbs wintered 
in this way are often about as solid as when wintered in the ground. They may be better than if set in the 
ground in autumn and exposed to the rains, which often injure late-planted bulbs. 
The best time to set Lilies is in autumn, it is generally believed, but I have had quite as good success 
with spring setting. If they are taken fresh from the nursery before they have advanced too far in growth, 
they do nicely. The reason why so many believe that Lilies should be set out only in autumn is because the 
main supply has been from store bulbs. Few dealers keep their stocks in the ground, and when stocks are 
not kept in beds or in the ground, unless stored in damp soil in tight boxes, by spring the bulbs become 
so dried and shrunken that a season is required for them to regain their normal strength. Two or three 
exceptions, perhaps, should be made for spring setting. The Candidums. as a rule, do better set not later 
than September 15, and even August 15 is better. Longiflorum and its varieties, also, when set in spring- 
must be planted very early. Imported or «store” bulbs, which usually have no roots, should be set in early 
autumn for the best results the following season. Always bear in mind when setting Lilies that they not 
only send out roots to a good depth below the bulbs, but in most species from where the stem joins the 
bulb to very near the surface of the bed roots will form, and these need feeding as much as those at the 
