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Lilies from Spring through Fall

17 years ago

At a previous residence, I had various lillies in bloom throughout the growing season. Not being terribly into gardening at the time, I didn't note what kind they were. Now I'd like to plant lillies again where I could have something in bloom most of the growing season.

I'm in zone7 Albuquerque, with sandy soil and the lillies I do have seem to really like it (Formosa Lillies, Daylillies and a couple unidentified). I don't care much for day-lillies. I really like the looks of tiger lillies, asiatics, and "easter" trumpet type lillies. Any suggestions for spring, summer, and fall blooms? The showier the better, esp. whites, yellows, and reds, purples are ok, but I've already got tons of purple cone flowers, so I'd like something contrasting them. Thanks!

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Comments (5)

phylrae
17 years ago
Abq_bob,
I'm not in your zone, so others closer to your zone might be able to give better advice, and I'm no expert, but my husband and I are growing asiatics, trumpet hybrids, OTs (Orienpets), Orientals and speciosum rubrum (bloom last here). If you get a chance, you might look into BuggyCrazy's website for fall ordering. She has the BIGGEST bulbs I've ever grown! Orienpets and Orientals are probably my favs...very showy & fragrant to my mind. I LOVE vivid colors, and bicolors!
BTW, I was cautioned by someone a few years ago to try to keep tiger lilies separate from other lilies, in that they can spread a virus to the others easily (via insect). I ended up giving my tiger lily bulbs to a friend.

I'd like to know what others from your zone have to say! :0) Phyl
hostaholic2 z 4, MN
17 years ago
I too would be interested in what other's would reccommend for your zone. Martagons are usually the first to bloom, then the asiatics, followed by the trumpets and orientals. There are also the LA lilies,and the orientpets, and rubrum is the latest. I don't know though which would do best in your area.
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Hmmmm... I didn't know Mr. Ed included freebies in the species orders. And I didn't order this year though it was tempting. I have seed for probably half the lilies on the list so I'll go that rout. In the meantime... from Scheepers I ordered OT Satisfaction and L. sp. album (to mix with the rubrums, of course). I've added to my order from Buggycrazy: a couple of pardalinums (lol), Green Goddess, Late Pink oriental, and Yellow Henryi (citranum). From the regional (PNWLS) I've ordered Cathedral Windows, White Henryi (original clone), and oriental Summer's End, which I already have but want more. It's my best oriental. From McRae's contributions I ordered several tetraploid trumpets and a couple of the asiatic mix, which are actually seedlings from the hybridization program of Dr. Chris North (he hybridized for downfacing lilies, frequently using L. lankongense, then naming them after his family members). My crystal ball tells me I will be doing a lot of digging in the near future!
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Hi David, I can't help you with specific info about your area. But, I can tell you that Candidum doesn't mind hot summers (since it goes dormant then). It needs good drainage because it doesn't like to be too wet - especially in summer. So, only give it extra water carefully. Unlike other lilies it likes basic soil, so planting near masonry is good and don't amend the soil with peat moss or pine bark. And, yes it should have a rosette now (which means you planted it shallowly as is needed). My understanding is that Candidum is not so much tempermental as picky about conditions, (i.e., once it's happy it stays that way). Because its needs are the opposite of other lilies it might get planted incorrectly fairly often - enhancing its reputation as difficult. Also, I've read that they are often sold small and take a couple seasons to bloom. I currently have two beds of Candidum, one are bulbs I bought from Brent and Beckys and the other has bulblets I've grown from seed. The B&B bulbs have improved each year. First I got rosettes but no flower stalks and then this past season I got rosettes and non blooming (immature) flower stalks. My seed grown plants are doing great. I germinated them summer '05 planted out tiny bulblets that Fall that spent this past spring '06 maturing with only small strappy foliage. I was very happy to see nice large rosettes emerge this Fall. There's a good chance I'll get flowers from them tthis spring. They were actually easier to grow from seed then some others I've tried. Unfortunately, I've read that Candidum can be a virus carrier (because it is resistant to virus itself) and that often the dutch bulbs have a large viral load. I don't know if that's true, but if my seed grown outperform my bulbs I might get rid of the one bed and grow more from seed as replacements. -Helen
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I picked up l8 pots from church. All of those pots are regrowing new lilly plants, and there are multiple plants in each pot, which means multiple stems of the flowers. I am so excited. I feel like I've done a good deed by saving them from the garbage pile. What a waste that would have been.
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Nah, don't sweat it Lin. I have had lilies in pots for years -they are perfectly OK if planted in a decent loam based mix...and as yours are temporary, no problems. I keep my potted lilies to fill gaps in the bloom cycle - still in their pots, just stashed in any gaps which appear in the borders.
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alina_1
17 years ago
I do not think you will find Lilies for spring and fall blooming. Maybe, some Asiatics will bloom for you by Memorial day. For all summer blooming just buy Lilies from all groups that Hostaholic listed.
Alina.
hld6
17 years ago
Hi abq bob,

The formosa lily you already have is generally the very latest lily to bloom. Speciosum, a species parent of the oriental hybrids, is also quite late and comes in two color varieties, Rubrum and Album. The Easter "trumpets" you like are Longiflorum and bloom in June (after the asiatics but before most others). Lilies from the trumpet division tend to bloom in mid-July, though Regale is particularly early for a trumpet (late June - early July). The orientals bloom from late July thru August. Even so, Mona Lisa is an exception both by blooming earlier and being shorter. Asiatics are the earliest blooming lilies but later than the flowers one thinks of as spring bloomers (daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips). The asiatics are generally not scented. There is also a wide range of height and scent among the different divisions.

Then there are interspecific hybrids, (those across divisions), such as Longiflorum - Asiatics, Longiflorum - orientals, oriental-trumpets, etc. Their bloom time lies between that of their "parents", so they are nice "in-fill" for blooming. But check the bloom times carefully for the variety you're interested in. There can be a wide range from one variety to another within a group when the two parents have widely separated bloom times (like the LO's).

Consider the species lilies also. Some are as easy to grow as any hybrid, Speciosum and Regale especially. Others can be quite fussy and very narrow in the type of conditions they can accept- they are adapted to particular microclimates.

In zone 7 you should be fine for almost all lilies. The zone is cold enough for the bulbs to vernalize over the winter and warm enough for late bloomers to build up their bulb strength before the winter.

Good Luck!

-Helen
abq_bob
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks everyone!
Yup, that formosa is very late - and very big, hehe. I'll definitely keep an eye out for some of the lilies mentioned, and thank you so much for all of your info Helen - that will be most helpful in planning out how I'll put it all together! Thanks again, I -Love- Garden Web :)

--Bob

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