This lily is one of the first to blossom in favourable seasons, coming into flower in the first week of June.
It is also perfectly hardy, and shows no tendency to degenerate if it is provided with suitable soil. A rich but light loam with abundance of leaf-mould and a little peat and sand is the proper compost in which to grow Lilium Hansoni.
Another lily from Japan, Lilium Medeoloides, somewhat resembles Hanson’s lily, but is much smaller, rarely exceeding twelve inches in height, and the blossoms are far fewer and smaller.
L. Medeoloides is very imperfectly known. The bulb consists of a large number of small oat-shaped scales very loosely packed together. The leaves are in whorls. The blossoms are frequently upright, and for this reason the plant is often included among the Isolirions.
Except as a curiosity, this lily is certainly not worth growing. It is very difficult to manage, and the bulbs almost invariably rot in the winter.
A LILY-GROWER.
Lilium Avenaceum is another Japanese species which very closely resembles the last; but the flowers invariably bend downwards, and are very slightly spotted. Like the last, it is not worth growing except as a curiosity.
Resembling L. Pomponium in many points, but of far smaller dimensions, and with much more brilliant blossoms is the little Lilium Tenuifolium. This little lily inhabits Siberia and differs from most of the species in that the bulb is not truly perennial. Some authorities state that the bulb is annual, but this we do not believe to be correct. It is more likely a triennial species.