What are your FAVORITE lilies?

Hi all,

Help a newbie out and share what your favorite lilies are and why. There is no minimum or maximum number you need to come up with, but let's try to come up with some lists (photos are good, too!).

I am new to growing lilies, but I have admired Lilium regale in many gardens so far. It is what inspired me to start searching for lilies bulbs this fall and sparked the resulting lily obsession I am now experiencing.

So, c'mon and share your favorites! :-)

Cheers,
Corey

Hi Corey,

It's not my absolute favorite, but the lily that most surprised me with it's beauty and charm Crystal Blanca, the shorter cousin of Casa Blanca, which I grow with white borage....

And it a pot. Truly haunting in moonlight.

Donna, your 'Crystal Blanca' is beautiful. I love white lilies in general. I can only imagine how nice the fragrance was when this was in bloom for you.

Casablanca is nice and looks great in a moonlight garden.

I would have to say one of my very favorites is Golden Stargazer. The fragrance is amazing as well....

I planted Conca D'Or orientpet lilies in 2009, in semi shade under a huge oak tree in a hosta bed. They bloomed that year with 6 inch flowers, and were around 3 1/2 feet tall. This year they were 7 feet tall with 9 inch blooms and wonderful fragrance. They bloomed for nearly a month--what's not to love? I second Casa Blanca, it's another lovely variety. A friend has a huge clump of Triumphator, 7 feet tall and around 7-8 feet in diameter. It's in full sun right next to her pond, and a real show stopper. I just added Triumphator this year, and look forward to seeing it grow. I was also quite pleased with several varieties from the "Tiny" series of small asiatics planted last year. They bloomed profusely this year, and were slightly taller than expected at around 20-22 inches.

Wow, dhaven, those Triumphators sound enormous! They way you describe it, it sounds more like a shrub than a lily.

Casa Blanca and Conca d'Or seem to make almost everyone's list of excellence, and both have been elevated to the NALS Lily Hall of Fame due to their endurance and garden worthiness (Casa Blanca in 1994 and Conca d'Or in 2011).

Haha! Someone should tell B&D about Triumphator. Their listing says 3 to 4 ft tall. Mine was while in a pot, but the second year in the ground it hit 7'

Last year was my first year with Triumphator. I am expecting 6-7 ft next year. Can't wait!

Is that the California effect? I know that Steve from Greenwood had giants when he lived in the Ft. Worth area.

Could be. dhaven is in Iowa though. Didn't say where the friend was.

Don't think it is CA - same thing happened with my Conca D'or.... Are these the ones that are advertised as 'lily trees'?

The friend with the 7 foot Triumphator is also in Iowa. That clump looks more like a sculpture than a shrub--it's completely vertical, with no bushiness at all, just straight up to the blooms. It's located right next to a small pond, and surrounded by black lava rock, very striking.The Triumphator clump is in full sun, while my 7 foot Conca D'Or are in dappled shade all day, with no direct sun at all. So apparently soil preparation, drainage, and general husbandry (watering, weeding) are more important than light levels. Neither of these varieties are the ones called lily trees, but given good conditions, they will reach 6-7 feet. I've seen both Triumphator and Conca D'Or listed from a variety of sources, including wholesalers, and the height is given as 3-4 feet. For the average gardener, who will plant the bulbs with no special preparation and then completely ignore them, that may well be an accurate height.

d haven, I think your last point is a very good one. It explains a great deal.

Donna

Triumphator doesn't hit 5' for me but it's mainly due to the fact that the sun doesn't get to the lily field until around noon here in June and July. They did expand beyond all expectations and the fragrance is lovely. No staking needed!

Boy pirl, you sure got that right! They multiply like bunnies! They should come with a warning. Lilies, in general don't do well here, but Triumphator has broken all the rules for me. Mine hit 7' last year, and all my neighbors commented on how pretty they are. They are already up about 8" this year, while no signs of any of the others.

What a stunning picture, pink on pink with the hydrangeas and coneflowers, with very different textures, and the counterpoint of the achillea. I LOVE pictures like this!

This is artistry.

Pirl, what is the big floppy-looking white/ pink lily in the upper left corner?

pirl, your picture is just gorgeous. I already have Conca d' Or which was planted last spring, and Crystal Blanca that was planted in the fall. Now, I'm going to have to add Triumphator to my wish list for spring.

OC: Glad you're enjoying them as well.

Thanks, Donna!

Moby - the one directly above the cone flower? If so, it's a tired Triumphator ready to shed its petals.

Annette - you'll love it!

Ahh, I see ~ that's why it looks so big.

This message was edited Jan 16, 2012 11:38 PM

So true!

Bonbini is another winner here.

I love every one of mine and cant pick a favorite.
Brindisi is large bloomed and goes well with summer pastel Yarrows

Nice pictures pirl and ge. pirl what is the other plant in the picture with Bonbini? It's quite striking.

I also like Garden Treasure

Oh JoAnn - very nice. How tall are they? I really love them with the monarda.

Arlene - I too was wondering what you have growing with Bonbini....

I believe they are OT's and about 4 -5 feeet.
Purple Prince with Echies ( purple coneflowers )

I also like Altari

Jo Ann - that's a terrific photo of Garden Treasure. Great color echoes!

Thanks, Annette and Carolyn. That's an astilbe behind Bonbini.

I don't know how old your Purple Prince are, Jo Ann, but mine got huge last year. They were close to 6'.

Mine were just a second season,something to look forward to if the voles leave them alone

Tons of blooms!

I love the cololr Pirl

More lilies
Tiger Baby

Menorcas

I love African Queen

I just planted Bonbini last fall along with the others ordered from Faraway Flowers. I hope all the new ones start forming clumps like yours. The taller ones I have like Conc d'Or and Ice Caves seem to just send up one huge tree (stem is at least 1" thick) with no babies around.

Mary

Oriental lilies are not going to clump like Asiatic lilies. Conca D'Or is an Oriental - I am not familiar with Ice Caves.

Ice Caves I got from The Lily Garden:
Tetra! ‘Ice Caves’ () has fragrant, snowy white flowers, with a semi-recurving “sunburst” form that emphasizes icy green throats. This tetraploid strain has long-lasting flowers with tremendous substance!
4 to 5 feet (and eventually taller), early to mid July.

It bloomed last year but I am hoping it will be even bigger this year. I will have to see which ones I have and whether they are oriental or asiatic.

Here are the stems on Conca d'Or. I love them so much that I ordered more for another garden. They were huge and this was only their second year. I moved them so they'd show off even more than they did.

I love the ones I planted in'09