OUR LILY GARDEN.
PRACTICAL AIDS TO THE CULTURE OF LILIES.
By CHARLES PETERS.
There are but few lilies left for us to describe, and these are of very little importance to the flower-grower.
Lilium Auratum.
Lilium Concolor and Lilium Davidii are usually considered under the Isolirion group, but they present such numerous deviations from that group of lilies that we have decided to make a group of them alone.
Lilium Concolor is a pretty, little, very variable lily. It is more suitable for a button-hole decoration than for anything else, but it has a pleasing effect when grown in great masses. This species has a very small bulb with few, acute, oblong scales. The plant grows to about a foot high, and bears from one to three flowers about an inch and a half across, and of a deep crimson colour spotted with black. The flowers open very wide, and the filaments are shorter than in any other lily. Of the great number of varieties of this lily we will describe two. The first, named Buschianum, or Sinicum, grows taller, has larger leaves, and larger and more numerous blossoms, which are of a fine crimson.
The second variety, Coridion, is by far the handsomest of the group, bearing large flowers of a bright yellow spotted with brown. Concolor is a native of Western Asia. Its culture is very simple, and it is perfectly hardy.
Of Lilium Davidii, we only know that it was discovered by David in Thibet; that it grows about two feet high, and bears bright yellow flowers spotted with brown. We also know that there is a plate of this species in Elwes’s Monograph. The plant is practically unknown to everybody.
The last group of lilies, Notholirion, contains two or, as we have it, three species which are not very well known, and it is a little doubtful whether they are lilies at all. Formerly they were considered to be fritillaries, and certainly they bear more superficial resemblance to those plants than they do to the lilies.
Most authors include Lilium Oxypetalum among the Archelirions, because its flowers are widely expanded. But as in every other particular it differs completely from that group of lilies, we have separated it from L. Auratum and L. Speciosum, and placed it among the Notholirions, to which it bears considerable resemblance.
This little-known lily was formerly called Fritillaria oxypetala, and bears more resemblance to the fritillaries than it does to the lilies. The bulb is oblong, with but few lance-shaped scales. The stem grows to the height of about fifteen inches, and bears about twenty or thirty leaves, resembling those of our native snake’s-head fritillary in every particular. One or two blossoms are borne on each stem. They are pale lilac, star-like blossoms, with numerous little hairs on the bases of the segments. The petals are acutely pointed. The anthers are scarlet.
This plant is a native of the Western Himalayas. It is very uncommon in gardens. We have never possessed it, and know nothing of its culture.
The two lilies Lilium Roseum and Lilium Hookeri are now included in this genus, but they have been referred first to the lilies, then to the fritillaries, then back again to the lilies, and so on. And it is very doubtful if they are even now in their last resting-place.
The bulbs of these lilies are invested in dense membranous tunics like those of the daffodil. Lilium Roseum grows to about two feet high; L. Hookeri rarely reaches half this height. The leaves are said to bear bulblets in their axils. Six to thirty little nodding bell-like blossoms of a deep lilac colour are produced by L. Roseum, but L. Hookeri rarely produces more than eight blossoms. But little is known of these lilies. They are both natives of the Himalayas, and are said to be somewhat tender. They may be grown in a mixture of rubble, old bricks, sand, and leaf mould.
We have never grown them ourselves, as it is practically impossible to obtain bulbs. We have seen L. Roseum in blossom, and were not particularly impressed by it.
Had we been describing roses, chrysanthemums, hyacinths, or any other flowers which are highly cultivated, we would have dismissed the natural species with a very brief description, and turned our chief attention to the artificial varieties and hybrids.
But with lilies it is different. As we have seen, there are very many natural species. Indeed, the species almost outnumber the varieties, and these latter are rarely very different from the parent species. As regards double-flowered varieties, we have seen that only four lilies bear them, whereas nine-tenths of the cultivated varieties of roses and chrysanthemums are double.
[Photo by F. Hanfstaengl.
NIGHT.
(From the painting by Gabriel Max.)
And when we pass on to consider the hybrid lilies, we are likewise astonished at their paucity. Why are hybrid lilies so uncommon? Let us see if we can fathom the mystery.
One reason is that the majority of lilies never bear seed in England. Many, even in their native climes, bear seed but rarely, the natural method of increase being by bulblets. Another reason with us is the exceeding difficulty of raising lily-seed. They take so long to germinate that most seeds are destroyed before they show any sign of life.
Still, we believe that there is a great future for the hybridisation on lilies. Perhaps you would like to try it yourself. Then proceed as follows.
Let us cross Lilium Auratum with Lilium Speciosum. Choose well-grown specimens of each lily. Let the buds develop till they begin to change colour. Then remove every bud except one—the best—from each plant. The remaining bud of the L. Auratum must then be slipped open, and the anthers removed. It may then be allowed to open naturally, but it must be carefully protected from insects of any kind, lest one of these should bring to it a pollen grain from another blossom of its own species. When the L. Speciosum has matured its pollen, cut off the anthers, and rub the pollen upon the style of the L. Auratum.
Three things may now happen. The first, the most likely, is that the flower will die, and will not produce seed. The second is that the plant will produce seed, but these, when they have been grown into flowering bulbs, will reproduce unaltered L. Auratum. The third—last and least likely possibility—is that the plant will produce seed which, when grown and flowered, will produce blossoms which partake of the characters of its two parents. In other words, these last are genuine hybrids.
It is extremely unlikely that more than one per cent. of the seeds will produce a blossom which bears the marks of both parents. The majority will either die, or else be simple L. Auratum, without anything to show that they are hybrids.
Even with those rare plants which definitely show their hybrid origin, a great diversity of colouring may be observed. But the colour of the parents is very variable, and after a few years the hybrid lily looses the characteristics of the L. Speciosum and becomes merely a reddish variety of L. Auratum.
But there are two hybrid lilies which are quite constant, and as they are two of the finest of the whole group, they are well worth growing.
Lilium Alexandræ, the Japanese “Uki Ure” or “Hill Lily,” is in all probability a hybrid between Lilium Auratum and Lilium Longiflorum. We say “in all probability,” for we are not quite certain that it is not a true species.
There are some persons who think that one white lily is much like another. But put side by side L. Alexandræ, L. Longiflorum, and L. Candidum. Are they alike? Could anyone mistake one for another? Surely not! They differ in every detail—even in colour. The long trumpet of L. Longiflorum is delicate greenish-white. The Madonna lily is like porcelain; and the hill lily possesses a rich milky hue, somewhat resembling the colour of L. Brownii, which we so much admired.
And in shape how different they are. One is a long and regular trumpet, another is a shallow cup, and the lily we are specially considering is widely opened with its segments slightly curved, the whole blossom resembling a gigantic white star.
Lilium Alexandræ is not a big lily. It grows about two feet high and bears from one to four blossoms. These blossoms are very large, of a rich milky white, resembling in shape those of L. Auratum. The pollen is chocolate colour. The fragrance of this lily is very great. On the evening of a hot day in the middle of August last year we could detect the scent of a bed of these lilies, then in full bloom, at the distance of over one hundred yards. Its scent is rich and full, something between that of jasmine and vanilla.
The culture of this hybrid is not difficult. It is best grown in pots, for it is very sensitive to rain at its flowering period. In rigorous districts this lily should be grown in a cool greenhouse, but in the south of England it will grow to perfection out of doors. The soil should consist of equal parts of peat, very finely broken, leaf-mould, and sharp sand. It wants a very large quantity of water.
Few lilies have given us greater pleasure than L. Alexandræ. It is one of those plants which are so striking that it is impossible to forget them when you have once seen them. It is so very delicate, so pure and so fragrant.
Doubtless most of our readers are acquainted with the old Nankeen lily. This is a very old favourite, and is usually thought to be a true species, but for all that it is almost for certain a hybrid between L. Candidum and L. Chalcedoniam. This plant rejoices in a goodly number of names, of which L. Testaceum, L. Isabellinum, and L. Excelsum are the commonest.
This lily is unknown in the wild state, and its origin is very obscure. It is an English garden hybrid, but who first raised it or possessed it is unknown.
Yet it is a very striking lily, growing to the height of four or five feet and producing a great cluster of buff-coloured blossoms. In general features it resembles its parent L. Candidum, but the flower shows a distinct connection with the Martagons. Its colour certainly is not derived from either of its parents. A mixture of scarlet and pure white should give pink; but L. Testaceum is of a yellowish-buff colour. The lily which it most nearly resembles is L. Monodelphum; but though very fine, it is nothing like so splendid as that queen of the Martagons.
This lily is distinctly a cottage-garden flower. Except in that situation it is never seen. Yet it is common enough in old cottage-gardens, and a more befitting flower can scarcely be imagined. It looks old—in keeping with the place which it enhances by its presence.
The cultivation of this lily is the same as that of L. Candidum. It does not do well until it is well established, and it has a particular objection to growing in modern gardens.
Lilium Parkmanni is the hybrid between L. Auratum and L. Speciosum. Genuine specimens bear blossoms somewhat intermediate between the parent species.
There is also a hybrid between L. Hansoni and L. Martagon Dalmaticum, called Lilium Dalhansoni.
These four hybrids are the only ones which deserve to be mentioned, and of these only the first two are worth a place in the flower-garden.
(To be concluded.)