Here in Alberta, it is often a challenge to extend
the lily blooming season with hardy, attractive garden
varieties. The later blooming lilies, (trumpets and
orientals) all seem to be less hardy than the asiatics,
and until the last few years, most gardeners have been
limited to growing less hardy lilies in pots or containers,
or treating them as annuals. Lucky for us, there are
also many hybridizers around the world with the goal
of extending bloom seasons. Particularly of interest
to northern gardeners are the breeding efforts of Lynn
Collicut and Dr.
Wilbert Ronald out of Manitoba, who have yielded
a number of newer interdivisional lily hybrids, which
are proving to be hardy in our Zone 3 gardens. Prices
have ranged from $12.00 to $40.00 per bulb on these
newer crosses, but are now decreasing as these lilies
have been on the market a few years now.
Large dutch companies are now mass-producing new interdivisional
crosses as well, and as a result many new varieties
are becoming readily available through garden centers,
greenhouses and specialty growers alike! Mass production
also means lower pricing on the dutch hybrids, and many
of these you will see retailed in the range of $6 to
$10.00 per bulb.
A word on purchasing, particularly relevant to Canadian
bred lilies - our Canadian
breeders are encouraged to continue their excellent
breeding work through the payment of royalty fees by
all growers and retailers, and I'm sure you would like
to encourage them to continue producing hardy, new varieties
as much as I would! In that respect, I urge you all
to purchase your bulbs from reputable growers who purchase
bulbs directly from the breeders, or who at the very
least pay royalties for propagating the breeder's material
on a regular basis. I also encourage you to purchase
from your regional lily society as often bulbs they
offer at sales are purchased directly from the breeders,
which benefits the breeder and the society.
ORIENPETS:
The first group to familiarize yourself with, are interdivisional
crosses consisting of aurelian trumpets and the tender
orientals, and are commonly referred to as 'orienpets'.
These crosses bloom 3-5 weeks later than asiatics, are
very fragrant, grow 3 to 5 feet tall, and have exotic
flower forms and colors to tempt us. Although most breeders
state these lilies are hardy to Zone 3, I believe they
are reliably hardy to Zone 4, as they have given us
mixed results in our Zone 3 gardens over the past 4
years.
I find those bred on the prairies definitely grow best
on the prairies, such as Wilbert
Ronald & Lynn
Collicut's selections (Northern
Star, Northern
Beauty, Northern
Carillon, Northern
Sensation, Starburst
Sensation, Easter
Morn, Easter Dawn).
Scheherazade
and Leslie Woodriff
(both orienpets bred outside of Canada) have proven
reliably hardy here at my location as well. The jury
is out until this spring (2003) on Catherine
The Great, Arabesque,
Anastasia, and
Silk Screen as
I have lost some of these repeatedly, and others were
just planted in Spring 2002. It is worth noting that
previous trials of these varieties I've lost in past,
were done without the benefit of any mulch before winter.
This year's trial involved heavy mulching for all! I
am excited to have a few of Dick
Bazett's orienpets to trial in our zone 3 gardens
this year as well. Mr.
Bazett gardens and hybridizes lilies in British
Columbia, and has a host of new, breathtaking orienpets
with exciting new colors to be released in the future,
as well as a few such as Regal Star, which have been
available for a few years now.
I find that providing they are planted at a minimum
depth of 8 inches, planted in spring so as to allow
good root growth over summer, and mulched heavily, these
lilies will survive our winters without snow - which
is the true test of hardiness. Most orienpets are doing
very well in provinces such as Manitoba where they still
get good snow cover over winter, but here in AB mixed
results are found when we have no snow cover. Again,
I recommend planting these in spring only, to a depth
of 8-12 inches, in full sun, with heavy mulching in
fall before snow falls. The mulch must be removed as
soon as possible in spring, in order for the bulb to
warm up and start growing in a timely manner (because
they are planted deeper, they will take longer to emerge).
The alternative is to grow them
in pots and overwinter in a protected spot or root
cellar.
My biggest concern with the hardiness of the orienpets
revolves around their late blooming natures - one of
the reasons we want to grow them in the first place!
We experience killing frosts as early as mid August,
which is often the time the buds are just maturing on
these varieties here at our location. If they freeze
hard, too early in their life cycle, the bulb is unable
to gather enough energy before winter sets in, and this
may very well be the reason they do not survive the
winter extremes in some locations on the prairies. I
believe they have the ability to still collect some
energy through the stems even after they are limp from
a killing frost, so I leave those ugly, frozen stems
on them despite their unsightly appearance.
AURELIAN - ASIATIC CROSSES:
Yet another newer breakthrough in lily breeding is the
Aurelian-Asiatic crosses (AA); crosses between hardy
asiatics and aurelian trumpets, resulting in hardy bulbs
with magnificent, huge, fragrant blooms which show themselves
in August through September. These varieties tend to
grow around 3 feet tall on average. Plant them at least
6 inches deep, mulch in zones 1 and 2 is recommended,
and be sure these are in full sun. Finally, a fragrant
AND hardy lily for the prairies!
The Canadian Belles Series, also from the team of Lynn
Collicut and Wilbert
Ronald, have proven themselves hardy in many Zone
3 gardens, without extra protection. They also feature
good resistance to botrytis and fusarium. The series
consists of Blushing Belles, Creamy
Belles, Fiery
Belles, Golden
Belles, Ivory
Belles, Purple Belles and Silky
Belles, to date. Currently I have growing Creamy,
Fiery, Ivory, Blushing and Silky Belles but have yet
to test for winter hardiness without the benefit of
mulch - this spring (2003) I'll know if they can survive
without mulch, as I established a test bed for this
purpose in Fall 2002.
There are many other factors which can influence the
hardiness of lily bulbs in general, including the planting
conditions, growing conditions throughout the season,
and the biggest stress, our unpredictable weather. What
have I done to help them overcome the stresses of weather?
Mulch, mulch and more mulch! Mulch is effective in controlling
ground temperature, moisture levels, pests and soil
born diseases. Mulch spread throughout the beds, to
a depth of even 2 inches is very beneficial in keeping
moisture in the ground - I cannot stress this enough,
certainly not in these years of drought we are all experiencing!
I would recommend mulch to a depth of at least 4 inches
wherever possible, but any depth is better than none
at all. Mulch also provides extra winter protection
during years without snow cover. I highly recommend
applying mulch over varieties that are under particular
stress, and/or are less hardy (such as the orienpets,
trumpets and orientals) to a depth of 6-8 inches for
winter. Mulch is also effective in keeping the ground
temperature consistent in spring, and slowing the thawing
process so that the lilies will emerge a little later
than those without mulch, and perhaps escape the late
spring frosts as a result. Slow and steady ground temperatures
encourage good root systems to develop before top growth
begins. We use bark mulch throughout our lily beds,
and have used dried grass clippings and sawdust in the
past as well. If using a form of wood mulch, extra nitrogen
fertilizer may be needed during the growing season,
as wood mulches tend to deplete the nitrogen content
in the soil quicker.
In closing, I wish to invite those of you who have
also grown some of the newer interdivisional crosses
to share your experiences so we may all benefit from
the growing experiences of our fellow friends and gardeners.
Collectively, we can come up with a strategy that works
in extending the bloom season of that highly addictive
flower, the lily!
Note: This article was originally written for the
Edmonton Hort Society and Alberta Regional Lily Society
newsletters, Winter 2002. For an update on our hardiness
trials from 2003 and 2004,
please click the corresponding links.
