The Lily Home Page

Fall is a great time for planting lilies. Lily “bulbs” are actually tubers composed of fleshy scales and lack a protective covering. Unlike true bulb flowers, they never go completely dormant and should be handled carefully since they loose moisture very quickly. Essentially, you can plant your new lilies anytime before the ground freezes. The most natural location for lilies is on sloping ground with excellent drainage. It’s a good idea to place them with other low plants which can provide shade for the bulb and root system. Prepare the soil with large amounts of organic matter such as leaf mold or compost. Plant with the roots downward and the scales upward. After planting, water well two or three times before freezing. Lilies are most effective when planted in groups of three or more. Space them about a foot apart – they will spread and fill this space in no time!

Versatile Asiatic Lilies are great for beds and borders, planted among shrubs, along walls, or in containers. They are incredibly easy to grow and few garden pests trouble them. For best results, plant your lilies where they will have good drainage and mix some leaf mold or compost into the soil. Lilies prefer to have their blooms in the sun and their roots in the shade. Try planting them among annuals or perennials that will keep their roots cool. Always allow the leaves on the stalk to turn yellow and fall off as part of the lily’s natural growth process. This ensures that the bulbous underground part of the plant has gotten enough nourishment and will mean greater growth next year. Each year watch their beauty increase as they multiply! There are literally thousands of lily varieties and hybrids on the market today. Some of our most popular varieties include Tiger Lilies, Oriental Lilies, trumpet Lilies, and Orienpet Lilies.

Some of our Favorite Lilies:
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Mixed Asiatic Lilies
	A balanced mix of richly coloured flowers carefully hand-selected by our Dutch experts gives you multiple, long-lasting blooms. This versatile garden beauty is hardy, dependable and easy to grow. Zones 3-8. 14-16 cm. bulbs. (buy)

Stargazer Oriental Lilies

For a summer garden full of breathtaking flowers without a lot of fuss, lilies are the way to go. They'll reward you with big, colourful blooms, some delectably fragrant, for weeks in summer. They bloom brightly year after year. Versatile lilies are ideal for beds and borders, at waterside or for naturalizing at woods' edge. Long-lasting blooms on strong stems also make wonderful container plantings and elegant bouquets. Lilium Zones 3-8. 16-18 cm bulbs. (buy)

Nerone Asiatic Lily

For a summer garden full of breathtaking flowers without a lot of fuss, lilies are the way to go. They'll reward you with big, colourful blooms, some delectably fragrant, for weeks in summer. They bloom brightly year after year. Versatile lilies are ideal for beds and borders, at waterside or for naturalizing at woods' edge. Long-lasting blooms on strong stems also make wonderful container plantings and elegant bouquets. Lilium Zones 3-8. (buy)

Quick Lily Facts:

The showy and large flowered plants of the genus Lilium are the true lily plants. They are placed in the lily family, the Liliaceae.

Lilies are native to the northern temperate regions. Their range in the Old World extends across much of Europe, the north Mediterranean, across most of Asia to Japan, south to the Nilgiri mountains in India, and south to the Philippines. In the New World they extend from southern Canada through much of the United States.

The majority of species form naked or tunic-less underground bulbs from which they overwinter. In some North American species the base of the bulb develops into rhizomes, on which numerous small bulbs are found. Some species develop stolons.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Lilium

More on the Lily:

The plants are summer flowering, and they have a winter resting period. Most species are deciduous, but Lilium candidum bears a basal rosette of leaves for much of the year. Flowers are formed at the top of a single erect stem, with leaves being borne at intervals up the stem.

Lilies are commonly adapted to either woodland habitats, often montane, or sometimes to grassland habitats. A few can survive in marshland and a single one is known to live as an epiphyte (L. arboricola).