It's Lily Time II

Hi all,

I was enjoying looking at everyone's lily beds....mine are really starting to bloom again and lots of daylilies as well.

This is "Shocking"

I can't remember the name of this Asiatic

African Queen

Lilium "Pisa"

Some kind of Trumpet

"Chianti"

This is either "African Queen" or "Copper King" - they look so similar

Golden Splendors

Silk Roads - one of them is over 7 ft tall!

Fantastic as always Steve! I'd love to see that 7 footer ~

Hi Steve, lovely lilies. I noticed those tall Silk Roads don't seem to require any staking. Are there any in your collection that appear top heavy and that you have had to stake? Also, the yellow you weren't sure about, I don't think it is either African Queen or Copper King as they are both suppose to have a dark reverse. However , it is a beautiful flower. Please post pics of Silk Roads when it blooms.

Thanks Moby and Beaker!

On the African Queen, I planted both of those and have not ordered any other orangish trumpet lilies. I'll see if I can find a picture before they opened fully to see if the reverse was darker. It has been very hot here and sometimes the sun bleaches the color.

Actually Beaker, I did stake the Silk Roads about halfway up or so as I was more worried about high winds with storms than them just falling over. Last year they were somewhat shorter but still pretty tall, and started to lean when the flowers opened because of the weight, but not terribly so. I HAVE found that many of the trumpets have more wiry stems than the others, and if they do get very tall, they tend to lean badly when the flowers open, so I usually stake them. The others have thicker sstems and don't seem to really need it, but we tend to get a lot of wind here.

You may have an African Queen strain, as I do. When purchased it from B&D, I don't remember them stating the 'strain' part. No matter, pretty just the same. :)

You know, that's one thing I haven't done any research on. What is the difference between the real thing and strain? Is it the way they are cultured? I can see in Moby's pic a bit of the dark reverse; almost like a shadow. Very pretty. Are your trumpets blooming already, Moby?

The same thing happened with me. I thought I had ordered Midnight and received Midnight strain.

Strains are a group of seedlings that are so similar to the parent that they are virtually indistinguishable.

A strain is a selection of lilies (or other plants), similar in habit, which when grouped together resemble one another, but are not identical, as opposed to a clone, which is a genetic duplicate.

This seems to be very common in trumpets, and the better lily vendors, such as B&D, and The Lily Garden specify which they are.

Personally, I like the strains. To see three or five of the same lily strain with their subtle difference is enchanting.

Polly

Oh Moby, you posted while I was thinking about my answer, sorry about that. Polly

LOL That's no problem! Your answer was a good one and a bit more extensive than mine.

No lily blooms yet. Might have my first Asiatic blooms in a week or so.

Me either, but the buds are getting huge. I think it will be a good lily year.

I had a strange thing happen. I purchased some lilies from Van Engelen. I planted them in September 2004. Then we had a very warm fall, and the stems were up about 6 inches before they got frosted. And I had planted them very deep.

I contacted Van Engelen to see if this would be a problem, and they told me no way the bulbs should have sprouted that much (almost like they did not believe me). I told them I did not want my money back, I just wanted to know if I should do anything. They told me the bulbs would be fine.

2005, absolutely none of them showed up. I figured they were goners.

This year they have come back, and increased 5-10fold. Huge increases. Asiatics and Orientals.

And then I had some from Ednie that were coming up beautifully, and we got a freeze, around 26 degrees. They looked like someone had hit them with a blowtorch. But since then the tops have grown, and they have buds on them, plus they are putting up new lilies all around them, that look like they will bloom this year. The middle still looks like it was hit with a blowtorch, but I'm not complaining.

So I guess they are really tougher than we expect.

I just can't wait.....

Steve, your lilies are always so huge and healthy looking. Do you have any secrets to share. I have my very first lily open today. It is Ceres, a double Asiatic.

Susan

Here it is again from the side. This is my first year to grow it. so far, I like it. Not very tall this year.

Susan

That's gorgeous Susan! Is it darker in the center of the petal or is that just the lighting?

The color does fade ftowards the edges. Not exactly the color it looked in the catalog. Almost a red in the center.

Thanks Susan - well I fertilize with high phosphorus fertilizers, water, and of course have great soil! (not natural of course- I had to pay $$$$ to truck it in!! Turned out to be one of my best investments ever)

That is a beattiful Asiatic you have with Ceres. I love rose colored flowers and have not seen too many doubles on the market. That is probably the prettiest I have seen.

Conca d'Or opened today!!

Shocking is still going strong...this is another one that hold up to heat well

Satisfaction is still blooming

And at last Silk Road!!

Here's my 7 ft tall Silk Road starting to bloom!

One more Silk Road shot

Steve, breath taking as usual! Thank you for priming us northerners!

Steve that Silk Road is breathtaking!

I can't wait to see a full length shot of Silk Road with all of those blooms ~ that's going to be something!

How old is your Silk Road? My is not near that tall. Here is Ceres again. As the blooms age, the edges get even whiter. I like that look, but did not notice it in the photos I've seen.

That's pretty cool ~ it even ages well.

Steve - Your "some kind of trumpet" looks to me like Lilium formosanum?

It's (almost) the only kind of lily I've had success with!

Thanks all :-) I love Silk Roads and they do so well here. The big ones have been in the ground for more than three years...they seem to really thrive here.

Mike, you may be right...I thought I remembered buying several lilies of that type two or three years back....and I have them all over the place now. I can't identify them as anything else. I would think in your climate all kinds of lilies would do well.

Well Moby they're not all open yet...but here is a wider shot I took today....

One of my back yard Silk Roads

This message was edited Jun 1, 2006 6:39 PM

Conca d'Or opening up more flowers

Hi Steve,

What kind of lily is 'Shocking'? It's breathtakingly beautiful!

GH