Jim Waddick, asking about Lilium rosthornii, wrote: " I wonder how widely this is grown. I got mine directly from China a few years ago and it has slowly developed into a few blooming stems." Every plant of Lilium rosthornii I've ever grown or seen strongly suggests a run down Lilium henryi. For those of you who don't know Lilium henryi, let me point out a few of its best qualities. It's easily grown, at its best it's extremely floriferous (as in dozens of blooms per stem), it's tall (easily up to seven feet and more), it's a great cut flower, it's lime tolerant, it thrives just about wherever lilies are grown, it used to be called the orange speciosum because the flowers look like those of L. speciosum, it blooms late in the lily season and thus extends the season, it's readily available in the trade and has been since it was first introduced in the late nineteenth century. It has also played a central role in the development of some of the modern super lilies. Yet with all of those good qualities, Lilium henryi is not a common garden plant in my experience, even among lily enthusiasts. It’s the sort of plant which can be planted in broad masses in low-maintenance public gardens with every expectation that it will return yearly and get better in the process. But have any of you ever seen it used that way? If the public will not take up Lilium henryi, I doubt very much that Lilium rosthornii has much of a future as a garden plant outside the small circle of “species” lily collectors. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/