HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 10

HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

By. J. Gebbie.

CONSIDER THE LILIES.

Li'tiums are considered to be the ne plus ultra of floial beauty, and certain it is that no class of plants cultnated out of doors possess so many charms. From the earliest times lilies ha\e been looked upon as the noblest of plants. In =ome ancient pictures of the Virgin Mary the arti=t 6hows her holding in her right hand a spike of Lilium. candidum (what we call Christmas lily), emblematic of purity, and no better lily in the whole family could have been chosen. Its flowers are pure white, and of refined Form, possessing a rich, agreeable fragrance. The lilies stand prominently out from all other hardy plants, and no heibaceous border should be w ithout a few of the oest sorts ; and as the various species flower at different times, with a wellsplected collection bloom may be nad from November to April. The majority of lilies will grow and flower in any good garden soil. A few require good deep loam, and Ino or three species delipht in deep, moist peat. In whatever soil they may be planted, it is a good thing to have the roots shaded by other plants, as this keeps the soil cool. Shade from the midday sun, shelter from severe winds, and a fair amount of moisture arc essential to success in lily culture The bulbs for planting should not remain iong out of the ground, or the scales become flabby, and this means a lops of fitalirv, and often the cause of failure. The depth at which the bulb is planted should range from 3in to 10in, according to the size and height of the variety. Many lilies make stem roots as well as from the base of the bulb, and this peculiarity suggests tnat fll annual top dressing of leaf mould or a light rich compost will assist the plants. The finest satieties of the genus lilium ar«without a doubt Lilium auratum and its varieties — A. platyphvlluin and A. rubro\ittatum. The flower* of auiatum are i\ory white, thickly studded with crimson spots, with a \e!lo\v stiipo down the centre of e\ery petal and delightfully fragrant. A. beautiful flower, nicely spotted, and is of more robust habit than the type. A. rubrovitratum ]< pure white with a crimson band down the centre of eo<h petal, ami is a magnificent \anety. The blooms of those aie frequently one foot across. These lilies are natives of .lapaj), awl there a large export trade is done in sending ihern to ;ill parts of the world, as many as 5,000.000 being *ent annually from Yokohama. Thebulbs are collected in their native wilds, and sent to the growers >vho si?c the bulbs and cultivate them for one to three, years before they are marketable. The auratum varies in its time of flowering ; some varieties commence to bloom in January, the late-flowering variety during April, or even later in some sif nations. Before the advent of auratums. Lilium speriosum, or L. lancifoliun\. at is was then called, was the finest of all the genu«. Introduced from Japan in 1833 it at once came into repute, and was cultivated in greenhouses only, being considered too tender for out-door cultivation For pot cu'ture they are well suited romin? m as they do in full splendoui when the '-ummer-floweiing plants are pt-st then be^t. Jp the gj^enhouse or

conseivatorj a few blooming specimens have a fine effect among the other foliage and flowering plants. In the open bolder they are not jet m bloom, but from the quantity of flower buds there is promise of a grand show in the neat future. Although all the -varieties of Lilium spociosum are beautiful, there aie only a few varieties as yet impoilcd into the Dominion. Of the^e Speciosum melpomene is one of tho best. The flowers are white, spotted and clouded with crimson, and very large. Speciosum krwtzeri, a large pure white flower with a green line towards tho end of each petal; Speciosum rubrum, white, with crimson spots, and Speciosum album, with large pure white flowers fare amon^ the most distinct. I/ilium tigrinum is in beautiful bloom at the present time. I was looking at a clump of this lily to-day with 42 flower steins about 4ft high. When seen in clumps like this the effect is grand. The stems are black and the flowers are dark orange with black spots. There is a, double form which produces immense flowers nearly 6in wide. It is a desirable variety to cultivate. Lilium chalcedonicum flowering in the same border, is very showy. The flowers are fiery scarlet, and a. good clump is a superb object when in bloom. This is a lily that, when onca planted, should be allowed to remain undisturbed for a number of years. It has been lon^- in cultivation, having been introdticed from the Levant in 1796. Li'ium Humboldti is going past, but a few flowers yet remain. This is an American lily discoveied by the great American traveller, Mr Roezl, on the birthday of the great HumbokU, and was named after that great naturalist. The flowers are rich, golden yellow, spotted with dark crimson of great substance, and 1 very showy. A well-grown specimen will give 20 or more floweis on a. stem. This variety docs best in a moi c t situation. These are only a few varieties thai ha\e come under my notice 7 ately. There are about 170 species of lilies known, and a few hybrids, which may bring the number up to 200 varieties. Japan gives us about 56 varieties, China 25 species, India and neighbouring countries 17 species, America 30 species, Europe and Siberia contribute upwards of 40, and the remainder of the 200 are fro mother sources. Experts have been hybridising the lily mainder of the 200 are from other sources, but the results up to the present have not been satisfactory.