only to the veins and backs of petals, and 
out come trumpet lilies in new colors and 
in giant sizes—the OLympic Hysrips, the 
GreEN Mountain Hysrips, the GrreEn 
Dracon Strain and others. Offered and 
sold in broad groupings, based on flower- 
ing time, coloring and form, these are 
garden lilies that are taking the world 
by storm—overshadowing the parents 
that are pale, weak and small in com- 
parison. 
Cross the purple and the white L. mar- 
TAGON with L. HANSONI, link the likes 
and dislikes of the Yugoslavian with the 
Japanese, mix up their colors, shapes 
and season, and out come what, in honor 
of Mrs. R. O. Backhouse of daffodil fame 
who made numerous such crosses, are 
known as the BAcKHOousE Lity Hysrips. 
Sturdy and sure-footed, like the peasants 
of the Balkans, they also have the color 
and refinement of Japan’s prettiest Geisha 
girls. Like little lanterns in magic colors, 
they hold us spellbound. Gracefully 
poised, powdered with delicate colors, 
spotted like precious bird eggs, they 
seem to illuminate the garden. No gar- 
dener can resist their charm. Unfortu- 
nately, they are still rare and slow, hence 
expensive to produce. The most recent 
hybrids, however, have shown greater 
vigor. 
And there are more of such crosses, 
many more. But even then the story does 
not end, for these are just the primary 
crosses, only the beginning of this fas- 
cinating kaleidoscope of nature. 
What would you say if into this array 
of new colors and shapes we introduced 
still further refinements, still greater im- 
provements? A dash of L. pavip1 pollen 
put on the stigma of certain of the Mip- 
CENTURY beauties and we have the Hot- 
Lywoop Hysrips, another new race, to- 
tally different lilies with delicately 
star-shaped flowers, borne on tall, wiry 
stems. Each one of these is to have a real 
flesh and blood Hollywood starlet as its 
godmother. 
Add a dash of that sweet little lilac- 
violet shaded L. cERNUUM to these HOLLy- 
woop Hysrivs and the colors change 
again. Cross the gorgeously colored L. 
SPECIOSUM with the no less beautiful L. 
AURATUM and intermediates will grow, 
hardier and stronger than either parent. 
Backcross them and still more variations 
and still newer and better qualities ap- 
pear. Mix in L. saponicum, that deli- 
cately-hued pink trumpet lily, and there 
emerge visions of beauty too refined, it 
seems, too beautiful for mere mortals to 
own, 
In every direction, new, enticing roads 
beckon. Not only beauty is the goal, but 
also greater adaptability to garden condi- 
tions, greater hardiness and greater re- 
sistance to disease. 
In the light of progress already made, 
it is time for a re-appraisal of the lily as 
a garden plant, and also for revision of 
so-called planting instructions. 
Lily catalogues and lily books abound 
in information about proper depth of 
planting of lilies. As I have discovered 
during the past few years, much of this 
information is entirely erroneous. On the 
basis of recent experiments and_ re- 
search, we can now say that lilies prefer 
shallow to deep planting. The roots are, 
apparently, contractile and pull the bulb 
down to its favorite level. The opposite is 
not true and, once planted too deep, the 
lily will suffer and may eventually fail 
completely. 
Broadly speaking, lilies can be divided 
into three categories. L. cANDIDUM and 
its hybrids like shallow planting and 
should just barely be covered with soil. 
The stem-rooting lilies should be planted 
deép enough for the stem-roots to develop 
and take hold. All other lilies should not 
be deeper than the height of the bulb 
itself. In other words, if a bulb measures 
4 inches from the root-plate to the top, 
then it is a safe bet to cover it with 4 
inches of soil. This rule also holds good 
for most stem-rooting lilies. 
Far more important than the exact 
depth of planting, however, is the selec- 
tion of the right location and the right 
soil. Lilies need an airy, well ventilated, 
cool location with lots of sunshine. Fur- 
thermore, they need drainage and a 
porous, well aerated soil with an ample 
supply of moisture. Obviously, these 
conditions can be best met by planting 
the bulbs on a hillside or slope with a 
southern exposure. Remember, also, to 
plant the bulbs straight up, as otherwise 
the heavy stems will topple over during - 
the flowering season. 
Continue to study your own lilies and, 
as well, observe those in other gardens. 
If, on the one hand, we continué to im- 
prove our treatment of the lily in the 
garden and, on the other hand, better 
lilies continue to become available, then 
the end result of both trends will be still 
finer lilies and still prettier gardens. 
Reprinted from September 1949 FLowEer Grower, The Home Gardener’s Magazine, Albany, N. Y. 
(Copyright 1949 by Williams Press, {nc,) 
