This year, the seventh that we offer our Mid- 
Century Hybrid Lilies to you, we find ourselves at 
the turning point in their production. No longer are 
they precious novelties. We grow them now in 
quantity and our prices have been reduced to a level 
that puts them within the reach of all gardeners. 
Some of them are still too scarce and too high priced 
for the general catalog. Others, such as Enchant- 
ment and Valencia, should be listed by all progres- 
sive seed-stores and bulb dealers. 
The Mid-Century Hybrids are, as is probably 
well-known by now, the result of a rather involved 
hybridization process that has included such popu- 
lar lilies as L. tigrinum on the one side and hybrids 
between L. dauricum, L. concolor, L. awrantiacum 
and several others on the other side. Crossing and 
backcrossing these lilies and their offspring, we have 
evolved the strain which we introduced to the trade 
in 1950. From their parents these lilies have in- 
herited the hardiness, the coloring and the resistance 
to disease that is to be found in at least some of 
them. The bulbil-bearing characteristic comes, for 
instance, not only from L. tigrinum but also trom 
L. bulbiferum. The soft, pinkish-orange tones that 
Lily Descriptions and Prices (Continued) 
MID-CENTURY HYBRIDS 
influence of L. tigrinum. The mahogany shades and 
the rich reds of “Fireflame” come directly from L. 
umbellatum. 
Only one of these lilies, Enchantment, is patented 
(U.S. Plant Patent 862). It may not be grown com- 
mercially without our express consent. No parallel 
can be drawn between these hybrids and any other 
group of lilies ever introduced. The colors range 
from palest straw-yellow to deepest maroon-red. The 
habit varies from pendant, as in the Tiger lily, to 
large outward-facing flowers, never before seen, to 
enormous, vivid colored, upright lilies. They also 
vary in flowering time, in height and in their rate 
of increase. With all these variants, we feel that some 
twenty different named varieties are not too many. 
The bulbs of all these lilies should be planted 
about four to six inches deep. They will thrive in 
any good, well-drained, porous garden soil, prefer- 
ably in the full sun. They can be increased very 
easily from scales, underground bulblets, by bulbils 
that form in the axils of the leaves and by ordinary, 
natural division of the bulb. We repeat that our 
“Enchantment” is patented and that it may not be 
propagated commercially without special license. 
Mid-Century Hybrids —— Outward Facing 
Four of our Mid-Century introductions have flowers that face outwards. All these lilies will, under certain 
conditions, produce bulbils in the axils of the leaves. They do not depend on this means of propagation, 
however, as they come quite readily from scales taken at flowering time or shortly after. ‘The stems, in our 
nursery rows, are usually not over three feet tall. A small experimental planting in my garden of bulbs that 
had not been scaled, reached a height of four feet six inches and it is very possible that these lilies, when 
full-grown, will be taller yet. We have selected the most contrasting colors and the widest variations in habit 
and flowering time for naming and cloning. The lilies we offer below were the outstanding ones in our trials. 
“Fireflame”—Is a short, sturdy lily which may have 
exceptional value as a pot plant in the greenhouse 
of the commercial grower or amateur, as well as 
in the garden where it can be planted in the fore- 
ground of the herbaceous border. The color is a 
solid mahogany-red, slightly spotted with black or 
deep maroon. Planted in the full sun in our nurs- 
ery it grew to a height of 25 inches from scaled 
bulbs. The very large flowers face out and have 
broad, heavily textured petals. As many as eight 
flowers to a head, all of them well spaced on good 
pedicles, the buds open over a period of several days. 
each, $0.36 
Prosperity—An entirely new color in the Mid-Cen- 
tury Hybrid Lilies is being introduced with this 
lovely, cool, lemon-yellow, outward-facing flower. 
The plants stand in our nursery better than four 
feet tall and made large clumps, through natural 
division. Extremely vigorous, hardy and, apparently 
disease resistant, this Lily will be a sensational gar- 
Page 36 
den plant for years to come. Special introductory 
price, $1.00 each. Supply is very limited and before 
listing it in any catalog, please check with us as to 
availability. 
“Tangelo”—This curious name, derived from a fruit 
that is a hybrid between a Tangerine and an orange, 
suggests the vivid orange coloring of this beautiful 
lily. Tangelo is medium early, has slightly star- 
shaped, outward facing flowers and scored high in 
many of our trials. each, $0.24 
“Valencia”—Is the last of our outward-facing lilies 
to be introduced this year. It is a mid-season lily of 
fine rich yellow coloring. We consider it of very 
fine habit, placement and form and have rated it 
very high during the four seasons we have been 
privileged to observe it. “Brilliant,” “clear,” “clean,” 
“sparkling” are some of the adjectives noted down 
by us during the flowering season. The very large, 
rather flat flowers have a slight midrib of orange. 
each, $0.24 
