Fragrant....

Hey guys. I thought this is probably the place to ask for lily advice from the PROFESSIONALS!!!;) I need fragrance. Someone told me stargazers, another was "something" hybris and so on.....HELP. Never tried these before so zonal issues are there too. I do have some seed pods from my Grey's Lily if anyone wants to trade me some smelly ones..LOL

Tina

It would be easy to say that X lily is very fragrant, but if you went out and got it, you may end up being disappointed. There are many types of lilies, many different heights, and many different bloom times. You're in an excellent zone for lilies, but I suggest you try to zero in on what you really want. For instance, Silk Road is very fragrant, but at maturity it can get up to eight feet tall. Is this what you want? Orientals are very fragrant, but some of them don't get very tall and some do. So you need to focus on more than fragrance.

I suggest you browse some of the lily websites such as The Lily Nook, B&D Lilies and The Lily Garden. They usually indicate which plants are fragrant. Some even have a web page indicating most fragrant, longest bloom, etc. You could also check the NALS website. I believe they have a popularity poll that you might find helpful.

When you find some lilies that interest you and you're still unsure which to buy, come back and ask for recommendations. There will be plenty.

Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of lilies. Here's a link to NALS.

http://www.lilies.org/

Thanks so much for the great ingo beaker.

Tina

The scents of the Orientals and Trumpets are enough to knock me out sometimes as I stroll past them.

Its a done deal then. If its good enough for Wanda.....;)

I have and appreciate all the lilies but Orientals are my 'must have' for fragrance.

I agree with Moby that nothng smells like an Oriental, but Orienpets are a close second and a good choice for those of us with hot summer climates.

I agree with Moby and Steve,

to make it very simple, simply buy either Orientals or Trumpets.

Lilies typically comes as "Asiatic", "Orientals", "Trumpets", "Species", etc.

If you buy "Orientals" (very commonly found at home dept, walmart, garden centers, etc in spring) then you can not go wrong. Personally, I love trumpets, but it is a matter of personal choice.

Stargazer is among the most popular of the "Oriental" types, so this is probably why this one was recommended.

Once in a while, you can be unlucky to get an oriental lily with a horrible smell (e.g. Lilium Siberia for example, this one I do not like the smell of).

Good luck.

P.S. most packages should state whether it is an asiatic or oriental lily.
If in doubt, look for Stargazers. You can not go wrong with them. They are one of the most fragrant and sweet choices you can find.

But you can't beat the Asiatics for being TOUGH. The Orientals wilt in a late frost and don't come back. The Orientpets have wonderful scent, shorter, tougher than orientals, but a little pricier.

Hi all - just got on since last weekend - hi, Wanda - thanks for the message -

I haven't tried Orientpets yet and wondered how they are - Fragrant? which do you like? What colors are the most striking, do you think? What heights are they generally? Would appreciate any info - Dax

HI dax,

I am sure Wanda will chip in but I wanted to add my two cents about the Orienpets since I grow lot of them. They are similar in height to most Orientals, and maybe a little taller for me. Their shape is kinda of between a trumpet and an Oriental - and that varies by variety - but most are fairly flat. Silk Road is more trumpet shaped and downfacing and Conca d'Or is much flatter, almost like an Oriental. Futura is a solid butter-yellow that is between the two. Futura and Conca d'Or are both outfacing. I also tried Satisfaction last year for the first time, which is a rose-pink that is just beautiful - and I planted about 50 more this fall. All are extremely fragrant but less spicy-vanilla like than Orientals - it's almost as intense just a different type of scent. They seem to tolerate the hot sun much better than Orientals and don't wilt or burn nearly as easily, and mine have had great return-power the following year. Mine bloom in early to mid June and I would expect yours to be 2 or 3 weeks later.

Below is Satisfaction:

Conca d'Or

Silk Road

Futura

Have any of you tried any of the L.langkongense hybrids that are said to have fragrance? I'm addicted to Orientals, trumpets, and Orienpets already, but would love to have some fragrant lilies for earlier in the season. They have those down facing blooms with recurved petals I really love to. I'm also hoping to find some LA hybrids this spring with fragrance.
Neal.

Steve, all stunning, but Futura is exceptional. Very yellow for an Orienpet. Do the yellows show the same strong qualities as the others?
Neal.

I agree with Gemini, Steve, just stunning!! And I would like to try a few for sure since I have a couple of places that have an intense heat with little shade in the summer. Does anyone have a recommendation for place to order from? And I'm also interested in earlier blooming varieties - I'd love to have lilies in bloom from May - October if I could - Dax

Thanks gemini, and I agree with you on the Futura - probably my favorite lily with Silk Road a close second. I am surprised that Futura does not get more attention than it does, and it can be hard to find. I ordered a bunch more from Fogbelt this fall as I had some from previous years but obviously not enough! And no, I have not seen a solid yellow oustide of the Asiatic range that can touch it.

Thanks Dax - well I order most of mine from B & D and recently got some from Fogbelt. I have always had good luck with B & D lilies. Good luck in your lily hunting!

Here's a beautiful yellow LA, Rodin

and Deliana, an LO

Herald Angels Yellow - Trumpet

Golden Splendor, another Trumpet

American Meadows still has a lily sale going. It was 50% off, but it might be down to 25% by now.

Love those upright trumpets! I'm seeing some fun lily varieties offered on ebay, but not Futura yet.

Hey - thanks Beaker and Steve - I've heard that B&D is excellent, but haven't ordered anything yet. However, I looked and I didn't see any Orienpets with them. Thanks for the SALE advice, I'll try American Meadows next. Just having the names of these beauties helps for the Google Search - Dax

Very pretty, beaker - do trumpets overwinter where you are?

Yes, they do, even orientals. I plant a bit deeper and lotz of mulch.

I was realy pleased at the scent of my Orienpets this summer---not as tall but just as fragrant! I've got my Plantskydd ready to chase all the bunnies away.

Wanda, did last year's hard freeze get your lilies? I know it got my Black beauty and Oriental girl, but I forgot to write down the results of the rest of my orientals. I'm hoping they come back this year. I also lost my apple blossoms. So depressing, so Iowa. Wasn't the rain wonderful yesterday? I forgot to put my raingauge out, but it came down pretty good off and on. Thunder is my favorite sound.

We had sun and 65 degrees yesterday. Sound like your rain is going to hit me today. I spent all day yesterday out covering up daylilies and uncovering iris. Two clumps of seedling Asiatic lilies were up too.

Did the April 28 and April 30 hard freeze get my Orientals last year? Couldn't you hear me screaming all the way to Nichols??? The freeze came down into my garden and sat. It killed the bottom 15 foot of leaves on all my backyard trees, it turned all the Orientals but the ones by the house to mush, it melted all my evergreen daylilies, it killed all the buds on all the iris in my west flowerbeds--many I've yet to see bloom! The after scarring effected every scape on every daylily I saw for the rest of the summer. Many of my Asiatics had "burned buds" that never opened. And the bunny brigade wiped out the buds & stalks of most of the others. Not a banner year foir my lilies despite the fact that I'd added over 50 colors the fall before!

I'm mulching the devil out of my lilies right now. BIG piles of mulch on each to slow emergence. I've also got a BIG bottle of Plantskydd ready to slow the bunny appetite. Oh, and I moved all the Orientals to either by the house or along a protected fence line. We'll see if that helps. (Unfortuately, bunnies breed under the shed on the neighbor's side of THAT fence.)

Wow! We froze May 3rd and 4th. Lost the blossoms on the fruit trees, lost the bottoms of the large walnut trees, and nicked most of my oriental lilies. I was lucky to have almost everything bloom. I can't believe there's that much difference in our weather.

Hey guys, Billyporter is a newbie and planning to come to the Iowa Round Up. Everone say "Hi" now!

Born & raised in here--- Ain't Iowa fun?



This message was edited Mar 21, 2006 7:18 PM

Wanda, I don't think I'll make it this year. Sorry! I'd like to come tho. Hi to everyone anyway.

Hi Billy!


Hey Gemini (or anyone), can you list any lankongense cross cultivars? And if you know the parents, that would be helpful too.

P.S. I'm a Gemini too. Born on Donald Duck's Birthday.
Rick

Hi Rick, I did'nt know Donald Duck was a gemini to, lol.

The only place I've seen a selection of L.langkongense hybrid has been The Lily Garden. There are several hybrids by Dr. North, like 'Karen North', 'Angela North', 'Eros', and 'Ariadne'. Then there are several of Judith Freeman's hybrids like 'Chippendale', 'Rosepoint Lace', 'White Lace', and 'Heirloom Lace'. There is also a hybrid of 'Ariadne' called 'Eurydice'. I have none of these and want them all, so indecision still has me at 0, lol.

OOH! Those are some of my favorites! I had Karen North, Eurydice and Ariadne from last year and this spring am looking forward to Angela North, White Lace and Heirloom Lace....all highly recommended.
Actually Ariadne is very subtle...very softly pink...KN, Eurydice were stunning and much more bold.

McRae's lliy book also lists...Adonis, Iona, Theseus, from Dr North.
It notes that Freeman used embryo rescue to develop those hybrids you list above!
Lots of work, but marvelous outcomes...

Here is Ariadne

Here is Eurydice

esw, those are beautiful! Have you detected a fragrance from them?

Funny, I don't recall exactly (at least I didn't write it down) I know a couple of the asiatic hybrids that I got last year did have a hint of fragrance though....very nice and subtle but sweet and not cloying.
The Lily Garden lists Ariadne as having a light fragrance, it doesn't say anything about Eurydice, for or against. I will have to pay attention this year.
Sue