the result of a cross between L. henryi 
and L. centifolium, was named L. kew- 
ense. It was illustrated in color in the 
Gardener’s Chronicle in 1901 and, as if 
overcome by sudden fame, died soon 
afterward, 
Yet, during its short lifetime, it 
aroused the interest of other lily growers. 
In 1925 a Frenchman, M. Debras of Or- 
leans, succeeded in duplicating the cross. 
Again one of the resulting seedlings was 
a true intermediate between L. henryi 
and the trumpet lily he used. Named 
L. aurelianense (Aurelia is the Latin 
name for Orleans), this child of two 
strong parents was endowed with great 
vigor and exquisite coloring. 
Thus, from the unknown gardener of 
Kew an jdea traveled to France, where 
it took root and matured. From there it 
went to our Far West. Again the cross 
was duplicated, this time on a larger 
scale. In the same period a New Jersey 
gardener, Tom Barry, tried his hand at 
lily breeding. Crossing the rare species 
lily, L. sulphureum, or L. myriophyllum 
superbum, with L. henryi, he produced 
the beautiful L. T. A. Havemeyer. 
Further crosses by gardeners on the 
Pacific Coast, aided by some of the orig- 
inal stocks from M. Debras and Tom 
Barry, gave rise to a larger and larger 
group of fine lilies. 
With our American impatience with 
long names, Aurelianense was shortened 
io Aurelian. This new group of lilies, 
now appropriately christened, is now 
ready to be tested in the gardens of our 
country. Although they are still ex- 
pensive, as the quantity is limited and 
the production costly, these lilies doubt- 
less will become outstanding garden 
ornaments of our decade, perfectly 
adapted to general garden decoration 
and ideal for flower arrangements, 
corsages and bouquets. 
The lily shown on this month’s cover 
is a Sunburst lily. This one and many 
others like it are the true intermediates 
between the golden yellow L. henryi and 
the various trumpet lilies with which 
it has been crossed. There are other 
hybrids that still retain the trumpet form 
but have the orange henryi color on the 
inside of the flower, deep in the throat. 
These we call the Heart’s Desire lilies. 
Huge trumpet flowers, with deep orange 
centers, are borne on truly majestic 
stems. They have the vigor of the strong- 
growing trumpet lily parent added to 
that of the Henry lily, which gives them 
long, straight stems and enormous flower 
heads. 
Newer strains in the offing include 
Sunburst lilies with broader petals and 
in still more refined and unusual colors, 
Heart’s Desire lilies with more intense 
color and Golden Clarion lilies (com- 
pletely golden yellow trumpet lilies). 
These golden lilies are still too rare to 
be seen in gardens. All of these new 
lilies will soon be on the market. 
The Olympic hybrids are perhaps even 
more spectacular than the Aurelian hy- 
brids of L. henryi, if less varied in color- 
ing. These are the children of another 
large hybrid family, the true trumpet 
lilies. Most readers are familiar with 
the hardy Regal lily, discovered by Pro- 
fessor E. H. Wilson in 1903, for its vigor 
and easy culture have lured many gar- 
deners into the fold of lily amateurs. 
The new trumpet lilies, already of 
proven merit for American gardens, are 
successors to the Regal lily and stem 
from a noble group of plants. One of their 
ancestors is L. sargentiae, a tall, late- 
blooming lily with large, funnel-shaped 
flowers and numerous bulbils in the axils 
of the leaves. Another relative is L. 
sulphureum, a lovely wild lily with long, 
trumpet-shaped flowers varying in color 
from ivory to sulphur-yellow. The third 
lily involved in the creation of these fine 
new trumpet lilies is L. centifolium. This 
lily, which has beautifully shaped trumpet 
flowers, added two other characteristics: 
the pyramidal form of its inflorescence 
and a delicious scent. 
Hybrids between these three wild 
lilies, grown in large numbers and se- 
lected for form and beauty, produced in 
time a recognizable strain called L. 
centifolium Olympic hybrids. These 
noble garden lilies owe their beauty and 
perfection to a number of lily breeders, 
among them the late Dr. David Griffiths 
and the late Dr. Horsford Abel. Combin- 
ing a hardiness and resistance to adverse 
conditions (built up by each breeder in 
his lilies) with an innate strength (de- 
rived from their native parents), the 
resulting strain of Olympic hybrids is per- 
fectly adapted to American garden condi- 
tions. Trials in some 25 different loca- 
tions as far apart as California, northern 
New York State, Saskatchewan, Texas 
and other states have all been uniformly 
successful. 
The third broad group of hybrid lilies, 
the Mid-Century strain, is based on two 
of the most widely grown and best known 
lilies, the Tiger lily and the Candlestick 
lily. These two garden lilies were long 
thought to be incompatible, but were 
finally successfully crossed to give rise 
to this new race. The hybrid lilies in 
this Mid-Century group are so distinct, 
so different from one another in color, 
form, shape, size, habit and season, that 
many are sold as named varieties. 
The Tiger lily has flowers which hang 
down, pinkish orange in color, heavily 
spotted with maroon-black dots. The 
Candlestick lilies, or L. umbellatum 
varieties, have large cup-shaped flowers 
standing straight up, in yellow, orange 
and mahogany-red shades. The Mid- 
Century lilies are intermediate, borrow- 
ing something from each of the parents 
and adding enormous hybrid vigor. In 
color they range from palest straw-yellow 
to deepest maroon; in height they vary 
from 2 to 5 feet; as to flowering habit, 
there are both large, wide-open outward- 
facing flowers and upright, cup-shaped 
flewers. All of them have a tinge of the 
Tiger lily’s peculiar pinkish shade. Many 
of them, like the Tiger lily, form bulbils 
ia the axils of the leaves. 
Of the outward-facing lilies, Serenade, 
a good clear orange with large, wide- 
petaled flowers, is a good representative. 
Valencia, with rich coppery gold flowers, 
is another. There are two outstanding 
upright lilies. One, Enchantment, with 
vivid nasturtium red flowers, is in a 
class by itself. Its coloring is so bright 
that the plants can be seen from miles 
away; its vigor is such that it can be 
multiplied at an almost unbelievable 
rate; and its attractive form made it an 
immediate universal favorite. 
Another upright lily of great merit is 
Pagoda. With flowers of a subdued 
orange-chrome, nicely offset by a dark 
stem and glossy, deep green foliage, it 
is a garden lily and cut flower that will 
be hard to beat. Not as prolific a grower 
as Enchantment, it is nevertheless a good 
“doer” and a favorite of many who have 
seen these new lilies in trial grounds. ' 
The last group, the Fiesta hybrids, is 
of rather uncertain origin. This is a 
group of lilies with strong 4- to 6-foot 
stems and numerous, bell-shaped pendant 
flowers, ranging in color from golden 
yellow, through brightest orange to 
lacquer red and deepest maroon. Slightly 
spotted, as if dusted with pepper, they 
are an unusually gay and bright breed, 
strong accents of color in the garden. 
Because of their cheerful appearance, 
they were called Fiesta hybrids, sun-lov- 
ing, charming and happy plants, equally 
at home in sunny California and in New 
England or Long Island. 
Within these five broad groupings of 
new hybrid lilies, there is untold variety 
of form and color, of plant size and 
height. Each one is vigorous and will 
succeed where wild lilies and the older 
named varieties might have failed. To 
grow them successfully, it is necessary 
only to follow a few simple rules and 
to provide the right growing conditions. 
Planting Reminders 
Lilies must have perfect drainage. 
Plant them, if possible, on a slope. Lilies 
need sunshine; they are children of the 
open slopes, the mountains and _ hills. 
Some of them will tolerate light shade. 
Remember not to plant the bulbs too 
deep. L. candidum should barely be 
covered with soil. All other lilies thrive 
when planted with not more than 5 
inches of soil over the top. Small bulbs 
can be planted even shallower, for they 
will soon find the level best suited to 
them under the conditions prevailing. 
Drainage, sun, a deep, porous soil 
which is slightly acid (a pH value of 
from 6 to 7) are essential. If you obtain 
clean, healthy bulbs with good root sys- 
tems and plant them in the fall soon 
after they are dug or buy stock expertly 
stored for spring planting, success with 
the new lilies will be inevitable. 
