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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER .  September  19,  1901. 
A  Chat  About  Lilies.* 
This  most  beautiful  genus  requires  no  praise  from  me;  their  ; 
distinctive  elegance,  charming  colours,  and,  in  many  cases,  agreeable 
fragrance,  combined  with  great  diversity  of  character,  has  proved 
eulogy  enough  to  insure  some  member  or  other  of  this  great  family 
beirig  found  in  every  garden.  Where  the  proper  treatment  is  afforded 
they  frequently  become  the  show  plants  of  the  garden.  Nor  is  it 
difficult  to  succeed  with  the  majority  of  the  species,  if  only  a  little 
thought  is  given  from  time  to  time,  and  that  the  best  available  spot  is 
chosen  with  reference  to 
the  requirements  of  the 
particular  plant. 
We  have  Lilies  sent 
us  from  the  sometime 
parched  valleys  and  plains 
of  California  ;  from  the 
swamps  of  Canada  and 
nooks  in  the  Rockies  ; 
from  India,  Burmab, 
Siberia,  China,  and 
Japan ;  whilst  some  few 
are  indigenous  to  Europe. 
When  these  different  and 
s  1  widely  distributed 
habitats  are  considered,  it 
is  not  too  much  to  ask 
cultivators  to  remember 
that  whilst  one  form 
luxuriates  in  the  open 
sunshine  another  will 
only  be  really  happy 
when  partially  shaded. 
And,  again,  by  long  cul¬ 
tivation  many  sorts  will 
grow  in  ordinary  garden 
soil  in  the  herbacequa 
border  or  in  special  beds, 
with  little  or  no  attention 
after  'planting,  having 
adapted  themselves  to  the 
changes  with  great  readi¬ 
ness,  whilst  some,  more 
fastidious,  will  not  readliy 
break  their  generations  of 
customs. 
Now  to  examine  some 
typical  cases  in  this  con¬ 
nection,  and  we  shall 
perhaps  see  more  clearly 
now  easy  it  is  to  give 
something  equivalent  to 
what  is  missing  ;  not  that 
we  can  bring  natural 
conditions  to  them,  but 
imitate  it  as  nearly  as 
possible.  Half  of  the 
failures  which  annually 
occur  in  trying  to  esta¬ 
blish  Lilies  might  be 
avoided  if  a  little  more 
thought  were  used  in 
the  starting,  both  as  to 
position  and  planting. 
As  an  instance,  the  noble 
L.  giganteum,  whose 
dimensions  when  quite  at 
home  often  exceed  10  feet 
in  height  with  leaves  a  foot  or  more  across,  producing  as  many  as 
twenty  large  flowers.  This  splendid  plant  is  found  growing  in  vaile}s 
amongst  the  Himalayas  at  an  altitude  of  over  5000  feet,  amon:  st 
b,  ushwood  and  dwarf  trees,  in  a  mixture  of  decayed  vegetable  matter 
mixed  with  the  washings  Irom  the  surrounding  mountains,  aid  having 
abundant  moisture,  whilst  the  root  is  screened  from  the  powerful  rays 
of  the  sun  by  the  overhanging  boughs.  Select  a  damp  spot  wheie  plenty 
of  drainage  can  be  assured,  take  out  2  to  3  feet  of  the  soil,  break  up 
ti  e  bottom  and  mix  with  it  a  third  of  its  bulk,  composed  of  well 
decayed  leaf  mould,  loam,  and  sharp  grit  or  coarse  silver  sand  ; 
fill  the  hole  with  this  and  press  firmly  till  the  ma68  is  sunken 
DIC  HOB,  1  SANDRA  THYRSIFLORA. 
"A'  An  essay  delivered  before  the  Shirley  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement 
Association  by  Mr.  B.  Ladhams  of  Shirley  Nurseries,  Southampton.  / 
10  inches  or  so,  when  the  bulbs  can  be  placed  on  the  top,  having 
a  handful  of  pure  grit  under  the  bulb.  Now  fill  in  with  the 
remainder  of  the  compost,  treading  fairly  hard,  but  not  too  much  so, 
leaving  the  surface  a  very  little  sunken.  The  position  chosen  should 
be  where  the  sun’s  rays  are  broken  by  adjacent  shrubs,  a  nook  cut  out 
of  a  shrubbery  answers  admirably.  Then  we  have  a  site  equal  to  the 
position  they  themselves  would  have  chosen,  so  that  when  once 
established  they  will  rival  their  relatives  still  growing  at  home  in  the 
mountains.  &  _ 'a 
Then  there  are  varieties  which  need  absolutely  no  special  culture 
or  position,  provided  they  get  a  sufficiency  of  moisture.  L.  lancifolium, 
and  most  of  the  forms ;  L.  croceum,  L.  elegans,  L.  tigrinum,  alt  the 
forms,  L.  candidum,  all 
will  grow  well  where  a 
Cabbage  or  common 
annual  will  grow.  Should 
they  have  their  roots 
shaded  by  other  plants, 
but  not  crowded  out, 
they  will  be  all  the  finer 
when  flowering,  other¬ 
wise  full  sunshine  suits 
them  very  well.  Not  so 
the  elegant  and  graceful 
L.  canadense,  and,,  its 
allies  pardalinum  and 
parvum  ;  these,  when 
found  naturally,  are 
growing  in  close  vicinity 
to  brooks  and  streams 
in  swampy  soil  composed 
mainly  of  vegetable  mat¬ 
ter,  and  entwined  in  the 
thick  masses  of  other 
swamp- loving  plants; 
here  they  are  found  in 
large  groups,  sometimes 
many  yards  in  extent, 
plainly  telling  us  that  to 
be  happy  iu  gardens  a 
shady  position  and  plenty 
of  moisture  must  be 
found  for  them,  combined 
with  perfect  drainage. 
Lilium  auratum,  when 
growing  naturally,  is 
generally  found  in  black 
volcanic  earth  on  hill 
sides,  thus  insuring  per¬ 
fect  drainage,  so  that 
under  cultivation  a  some¬ 
what  drier  site  should 
be  selected  than  in  the 
case  of  L.  canadense,  and 
shade  to  the  roots,  which 
is  so  very  essential  to 
most  other  Lilies  as  well 
as  this,  being  afforded  by 
the  coarse  grass,  dwarf 
Bamboos,  and  dwarfed 
shrubs  of  the  locality. 
This  may  be  substituted 
by  planting  dwarf  shrubs 
near  and  amongst  them, 
such  as  Rhododendrons,. 
Azaleas,  Berberis  of  the 
neater  kinds,  &c. 
Most  Lilies  are  found 
in  what  is  equivalent 
to  one  of  these  three 
natural  conditions,  and  when  in  planting  them  it  is  determined  to 
which  group  they  belong,  their  successful  cultivation  will  be 
considerably  helped.  I  now  take  the  most  useful  in  a  general  way, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  in  the  garden  call  that  group  No.  I., 
and  for  all  practical  purposes  the  same  treatment  will  suffice  for  all 
the  members  of  it.  This  will  include  amongst  others  the  species 
elegans.  About  twenty  forms  of  it  are  in  commerce,  varying  from 
apricof,  gold,  to  crimson,  and  having  umbels  of  erect  showy  flowers 
growing  vigorously  in  ordinary  soil  from  1^  to  2£  feet  in  height. 
L.  davuricum  is  somewhat  in  this  way,  growing  somewhat  taller,  the 
family  containing  over  a  dozen  distinct  forms.  L.  lancifolium  or 
speciosum,  a  well  known  species  grown  very  largely  by  market  growers, 
and  containing  some  fine  forms,  the  best  of  which  are  album  Krsetzerir 
1 1  Domene,  and  rubrum  ;  the  older  white  form  is  aso  a  good  variety 
