Learn all about lilies! Extend the lily season in your flower garden by planting multiple types of lilies with varying bloom times! Some lilies are quite tall with dainty flowers, some are short with no fragrance, some carry loads of trumpets on each stem, and some can be grown in the shade! Lilies are categorized into different groups, according to various traits that they share in common. Here are those lily groups and interesting characters about each one.
Asiatic lilies are the earliest to bloom, the easiest to grow, and are unscented. They come in a rainbow of bright colors and face upward which makes them easy to tuck into hand tied bouquets. No staking is necessary for these 2-3 foot lilies and their shorter stature makes them a wonderful choice for container gardening. Recently, double Asiatic lilies have become available, the main difference being they possess two layers of petals instead of one. Since they lack pollen in the center you won’t have to worry about them shedding pollen and staining fabrics after being cut.
Martagon Lilies bloom alongside the Asiatics. These are tall lilies with many small downward facing flowers and recurved petals. They are often referred to as Turks Cap lilies and each stem can hold up to 50 flowers. Unlike most lilies, Martagons appreciate some shade, and are quite decorative in the woodland garden. It may take them a few years to become established in the garden, but they are certainly a talking point once they get their footing in the ground.
Longiflorum Lilies are often referred to as Easter Lilies, and have been gracing holiday tables for generations. Often sold as potted plants these lilies have bright white flowers, a strong scent, and an elegant trumpet shape.
Trumpet lilies are tall and dramatic with an intensely fragrant perfume. Stems can reach heights of 4-6 feet tall with long narrow trumpets for blooms along the stem. They come in dazzling and sophisticated shades of plum, gold, silvery raspberry - there certainly will be no missing these beauties in the garden. Trumpets look best in the middle or back or a border and will need staked to support the weight of their flower heads.
AO (Asiatic Oriental) Lilies are a cross between the Asiatic and oriental lilies and these flowers combine the bold colors of the asiatics with the bigger flowers and taller height of the oriental lilies.
LA Lilies (Longiflorum Asiatic) are crosses of Longiflorum and Asiatic lilies and are widely used in floristry.
OT (Oriental Trumpet) Lilies are a cross of Oriental and Trumpet lilies. These lilies are outstandingly beautiful, robust, and durable, with a spicy fragrance and large bloom heads.
Oriental Lilies are the last lilies to bloom in the garden and have large open, and outward facing flowers. They are highly fragrant and a few stems of oriental lilies with fill an entire room with fragrance.
Species lilies are wild lilies that are found in North America, Europe, and especially Asia. It is from these wild lilies that breeders have created magnificent hybrids for our gardens. Most hybridized species lilies have reflexed petals and long anthers. These lilies are ideal for sheltered areas and naturalistic plantings, and most varieties have little to no fragrance.