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Many different plants carry the common name "lily" in their descriptions, such as "lily-of-the-valley" and "day lily." The true lily is in the genus Lilium, and has many separate species such as the elegant regal lily, Lilium regale. True lilies have bulbs with a basal plate that roots emerge from, and the bulbs are fragile and easily bruised.
True lilies don't ever quite go dormant. They must be packed in protective material like sawdust or peat moss for handling and shipping. Plant them as soon after buying as possible. Do not unpack them and leave them to dry out in open air. If they must be stored, place them in the packing materials in the vegetable compartment of a refrigerator, never allowing them to freeze. Once a lily bulb dries out, or freezes, it will not grow properly.
Planting lilies successfully isn't difficult. The one key point is to settle them in well-drained spots in the garden, in soil thoroughly amended with compost. Lily bulbs are vulnerable to rotting in wet spots, so choose a place with perfect drainage. (If a hole full of water drains out at the rate of about 1/2-1 inch an hour, that's good.) If the drainage is poor and the area you have in mind for lilies stays soggy day after day, plant the lilies in large containers, allowing at least 2 gallons of soil for each lily.
Dig at least 12 inches down, loosening the soil. Plant lily bulbs 6 to 10 inches deep, depending on the size of the bulb, putting loose fertile soil above the bulb as well as below it. In the spring, when shoots appear, apply a balanced fertilizer such as a 5-10-10. Mark the planting location careful, because lily shoots emerge late in the spring and it's easy to forget the planting spot. It's dismaying to plunge a shovel into an apparently empty spot and come up with half a destroyed lily bulb.
Lilies will bloom from early June through August. The earliest to open are the Asiatics, brightly colorful and intriguing, from about 1 foot to 4 feet in height. Asiatic lilies lack fragrance but have great garden presence in a full range of sunset colors. They grow beautifully in containers, and would develop for June bloom if planted in containers now.
In July and August, Trumpet, Aurelian, and Oriental hybrids produce great showy flowers. These plants grow from 2 to 8 feet, or even taller depending on the variety. They shine in many different colors (primarily rose, pink, yellow, cream, and whites). Fragrance makes these later lilies stand out from nearly all other garden flowers: they accompany their beauty with sublime perfume.
One of the most popular Orientals is 'Casablanca,' a pure white with petal quality like slubbed silk shantung, and a deep penetrating scent. Another striking group of Oriental lilies includes 'Imperial Gold Strain' and 'Imperial Silver Strain.' The Imperials have distinct freckled spots on pure white petals and a spicy fragrance.
If your garden doesn't yet offer shelter to lilies, plant between now and about the end of March. With care these plants will settle in and return yearly, growing into larger clumps as they become perennial garden residents. These glorious flowers repay their small initial investment with wonderful returns to the gardeners.
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