Flower ID Please

Hey guys and gals :) I found this pic out on the World Wide Web and was hoping someone here could give me a possible ID. Not sure if it's been PS'd but it's gorgeous and would love to have one if I could find one. TIA

Lilium auratum platyphyllum?

Gorgeous. Hey Donna, how about an 'english' name? Or does it have a more common name at all. It isn't Gold Band. Too bright and with the dark speckles. I bought it this year as I loved that combination of gold flares. Would that be the term?

The reason I use the scientific name is that there are a lot of plants with similar names. I have been offered all kinds of plants with names that were wrong or referred to a different plant. English names are not always specific enough.

I was taking into consideration the alterations that take place with bright light. It appears to me that the image has been a bit distorted with the use of sunlight, which would exaggerate.

Here is the image of Lilium auratum platyphyllum 'Gold Band' on the Old House Garden web site. I think that is what it is.

Closeup.

http://www.oldhousegardens.com/display.aspx?cat=Lily



http://www.oldhousegardens.com/display.aspx?photo=GoldBandLily.jpg

That makes sense.
Oh buy. OHG says it is good down to zone 5a. It may not make it here. I have stopped getting zone 5 plants as too many simply cannot survive. I thought most all lilies were pretty hardy. I guess we will see. Maybe if I mulch it well?

This is the kind of lily I grow in pots. Like your beautiful speciosum. It would probably be fine in the ground but I don't like to take the chance. So I put your lilies in pots to bloom last year, and this last winter I put them in the rear of my unheated garage under a light quilt. Then once a month I would give them a bit of water. When it was warm enough, I put them back outside. I am thrilled to see multiple bulbs in the pot.

I purchased Scott's lilies on discount for fall delivery. Like speciosum, I will probably put auratum in a pot to get the right level of acidity. I noticed in past years my speciosum Uchidas would bloom beautifully for a year, perhaps two, and peter out. My alkaline soil in Lake County.

What I really like doing is moving the potted lilies from the back yard to the front patio, which is on the south side but enclosed. Or actually moving them inside the house.

And at the end of the season, back into the garage. Great when you are filling the ground with so many plants that you start running out of room!

So I should plant my Yellow Banded auratum in pots and check the ph and acidify if needed? I can do that.

Last winter, or rather this spring, the iris I had in the garage in pots were covered with aphids. I battled them all spring and they spread to my dahlias and even some on my vegie starts. An ideas on that. Surely don't want to go through that again. I wonder if I could just put the pots outside when the weather is reasonable. Worried about freezing the tubers as they are so exposed being in pots, not just the tops but the entire roots.

Oh gross!

The only plant that ever got aphids during the winter was Rose Enfant du France. I just took a sharp spray to it.

Do remember that our winter was awful - well maybe not as bad as yours, but the temperatures reached -20. Maybe you should use insecticidal soap on your irises at the end of the season. I actually used soil conditioner on the lilies to lower the ph. And a bit of acid based fertilizer.

Hmph... never thought to spray them in the fall. But it makes sense. Why lower the ph in fall?

Sorry - I should explain. It took me years to realize this.

One of the reasons Orientals are so "temperamental" - I remember how many I lost - is that they prefer their soil to be more acidic. In alkaline soil like I had in Lake County they would either fail to show up or bloom for one year. So I did some research. They really like mildly acidic soil better, or so I've read, so I started added soil conditioner, which tends to make all soils more neutral. I think I read that speciosum likes neutral soil. Rather than using an acid fertilizer I just use something that makes the soil more neutral. I use the stuff on this list called "Black Forest Soil Conditioner".

http://www.platthillnursery.com/soilamendments.html

Just a handful. I also plant with a handful of the blended compost. I don't use much, and it comes in big bags that last for more than one season. I find that they make a HUGE difference in my lily yields, and in the way plants like rhodies respond.

Make sense?

Ahh. Well my soil is acid so that might explain the speciosum failure to bloom. On the other hand all others do really well. I will add some compost around both lilies (that I can find .. lol ) and my rhody and azaleas. I was using coffee grounds to acidify further but perhaps that isn't necessary. Azomite on the peonies for minerals. Especially after damaging so many last spring, especially the intersectionals. Two of the peonies that started rather puny this year due to less than wonderful placement for snow melt went nuts yesterday (MacKinac Grand and Garden Treasure sending up mondo huge pips. Should be lots of blooms. Some that were really wimpy last year are at least sending up reasonable growth, although a few won't have flowers. That is okay, next year.

Thanks for the info on the lilies. Now that the green house beds are planted I can pay more attention to the stuff int he ground.

Isn't that funny - sort of - how fussy speciosum is. In alkaline soil they peter out, in acid they fail to bloom, but close to neutral, perhaps a tad on the acid side, makes them happy.

I remember how frustrated I was with the orientals, when the problem was that I didn't understand what they wanted. But then, I drowned my first lily, Montreux. Happily, with it I planted the absolutely foolproof Regale. But I lost many an oriental figuring it out. There are some that are VERY forgiving. Casa Blanca is one, and Sorbonne another.

Can't wait to see Mackinac Grand. That is one gorgeous peony.

Yes it is. Very robust like Red Charm but looks more like a rose in form.

I want all the forgiving plant cultvars. Then I can add the fussy ones as I'm able. This applies to camellias, too, since I'm growing the cold tolerant ones in my basement with better results than the usual japonicas. So far the orienpets, casa blanca, regale, black beauty star gazer and rubrum should qualify.

In the piece of cake category (lots of neglect, lots of beauty), Red Alert, Hiawatha (for a splash of red), Crystal Blanca (a shorter Casa Blanca with a sturdier stem, which I was able to grow successfully in alkaline soil).

I also noticed that both The Lily Garden and B&D suggest Sorbonne to people who have had problems with orientals. That is one wonderful lily. Really easy, and such a fresh pink. I have been cutting them singly and bringing them into the house. The scent is wonderful - not too strong (the scent of some orientals can knock one upon one's patootie!) Bob Gibson says it's Dianna's favorite pink oriental.

It is certainly pretty. I am trying to fill in colors I am either missing or have few of. I seem to avoid pink. Probably because I have a lot of pink in the perennial flowers. I steer to blues and whites in them to offset the others. I finally got brave enough to put in some lupine. Damien said it was very invasive. I love the tall spires. Very robust and lovely colors. I think the really invasive ones are the wild ones you see along the road which are all purple. I grew mine from seeds (only got one into the ground ) and bought three from nurseries when that effort looked to be a bust.

Sorbonne is on my want list now!