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Ottawa Citizen

The City Gardener: Luscious lilies

Article content Like all gardeners, I have my particular favourites among the plants in my garden, and this time of year I find myself waiting like a little kid for the lilies to bloom. Article content It still amazes me that such impossibly beautiful flowers are so easy to grow. Just meet a few very basic needs, and they'll return year after year. Some of them, like other flowering bulbs, will even multiply. Article content Article content Article content True lilies (lilium spp., not to be confused with daylilies, peace lilies, or any other plants that happen to have 'lily' in their name) are available in just about any colour you can think of except purple or blue, and range in height from dwarf varieties barely a foot high to towering giants, well over six feet tall. Article content Most lily varieties can be organized into three categories. Asiatics are the first to bloom in early to mid-June, with their sturdy stems, firm petals and wide choice of colours, markings and sizes. They're closely followed by trumpet lilies, with their long, trumpet-shaped flowers and tall (up to five-foot) stalks. Ultimately, by late July out come the stars of the show – when the Orientals unfurl their huge, bright blooms, often two or three (or more) buds to a stem. Article content Along with these, there are also countless hybrids and oddballs; hybridizing lilies is big business, and every year stronger and more exotic-looking types appear on the market. Some of the more familiar ones include species hybrids, descended from wild plants such as turk's cap and wood lilies; tiger lilies, with their curled-back petals and tiny spots; and impressive Franken-flowers such as 'Orienpets' and lily trees that tower nearly ten feet tall. Article content Article content Plant lily bulbs in early spring or fall, no later than about four weeks before the first frost. Dig a hole two to three times the height of the bulb (or about four to eight inches deep), and throw a handful of bone meal, bulb food, or compost into the hole before snuggling in the bulb, pointy end up. Article content Choose your planting spot carefully: like most flowers with big showy blooms, they need lots of full sun – at least four hours a day and preferably more. Make sure the spot you choose has rich, well-drained soil – standing water, even in spring and fall, will rot them. Generally, they're not as tasty to squirrels as tulips and crocuses, but if you're concerned, you can place chicken wire or a thick blanket of mulch over them once planted. Article content Taller varieties should be staked as they grow, to prevent them toppling over – once the stems reach full size, they have a distressing tendency to pitch face-forward into the mud. And, as with all bulbs, resist the urge to cut down the stalks once flowering is over; let them yellow naturally, so they can replenish the bulb for next year's show.