Lilies of China

Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:18:37 PDT
Yes, Paul, Lilium davidii is wonderful when it's behaving well. I've never
thought to compare Lilium davidii and L. henryi because in my garden they
bloom weeks apart. 
 
Your comment about Lilium henryi being prone to disease really caught my
attention. Do you know what diseases? Most lily growers would cite Lilium
hneryi as being about as disease resistant as any lily known. 
 
My east coast experience has been the opposite of yours! Our local soils
tend to be distinctly acidic, and while Lilium henryi will persist in acidic
soils, it really comes into its own with plenty of lime. A landscaper friend
put one in a client's garden years ago; two years later the client
complained to him and asked him to remove it: it had grown 13 feet high! I
never saw it, so don't hold me to that number. 
 
Do you know which form of Lilium davidii you have? The one sometimes
distinguished as willmottiae can produce an inflorescence with dozens of
blooms. This form is unusual and very striking when growing well, but it
does not seem to like my conditions. The pedicels of the individual flower
buds are stiff but are angled downward - this gives a bloom packed plant a
very distinctive look. 
 
Jim McKenney

jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone
7

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