Flowers are parts of plants or trees that enhance the beauty and appearance of a particular plant or tree. There are varieties of flowers available in the world. But you will see only a few flower varieties available in all continents and countries. Lilies are one such variety that is omnipresent. Lilies have a long history dating back to Greek civilization. Lily is considered to symbolize goddess Hera in Greek mythology. They represent innocence and purity, which are hallmarks of the Greek goddess. Lilies have seen many transformations from the original form and today we see more hybrid verities than original. The popularity of lily and its varieties is so widespread that some flowers are named after lily but don’t belong to the family of lilies.
Hence, it sometimes becomes difficult to differentiate between the names of lilies and other flowers. Having some knowledge about lilies would help you in turning your garden colorful and fragrant. Finding a variety of lily that suits your garden may take some time but the value it brings to your home and surroundings is priceless. There a few popular varieties that could be grown inside the home and also in the garden.
A Few Details about Lilies
Lilies are part of the family genus Lilium. They one of the most hybridized flowers in the world. The hybridization is so rampant that we can’t find the original species of the flower. They come in different colors, patterns, and lengths. Below are a few details about the lilies that could help in growing the flowers in your garden.
Characteristics – A lily flower grows from the bulb of the lily plant. The flowers are fairly large and acquire different colors or a mix of colors as they grow. You can grow lilies in all the seasons since they are perennial. They can grow up to two to six feet in height.
Weather – Lily flowers bloom beautifully and grow to maximum size in sunny conditions. Keeping them in a place where ample sun rays reach would give flowers a fairchance to grow to their strength.
Soil – Lily plants prefer loose and well-drained soil to grow. Planting them less than a foot apart in the soil would give the plants a solid base. It also helps the plants and flowers to take the support of each other and prevent drooping.
Colors – As said earlier, due to the rampant hybridization of lilies, we find lilies in many types of colors. You can find red, purple, yellow, white, orange, and pink lilies. Recently researchers have come up with blue color lilies and experiments are being conducted to grow lilies with more or mix of colors.
Different Types of Lilies
Today, we find several varieties of lilies around the world. The names of lilies are so abundant and widespread that you might get confused. Choosing a particular lily that could enhance the beauty of your home or garden becomes difficult when you are bombarded with different names of lilies. We have made a list of lilies that are not only popular but also could be easily recognized. These lilies are specially meant for your garden and home.
1. Easter Lily
Easter lilies are originated in Japan particularly in Ryukyu Island. These lilies are called Easter lilies due to their abundant usage during the Easter celebration. The scientific name of Easter lily is Lilium Longiflorum and they can grow up to a meter high. The color of the flower is white and they take the shape of a trumpet when they bloom fully. They emit light fragrance and they are good to grow inside homes in pots or in the garden where they can get ample sunlight. Humans can eat Easter lilies but they have found to show allergic reactions in cats. If you are a cat owner, it is better not to grow the plant at home.
2. Asiatic Lily
These lilies are one of the highest hybridized flowers in the family of lilies. Asiatic lilies are smaller than other lilies and do not produce any fragrance. The lily plant can produce up to 3 to 6 flowers per stem. The petals of flowers are often spotted with one main color. We can find Asiatic lilies in yellow, red, orange, and creamy white colors due to the high level of hybridization. These lilies typically bloom in the fall and require less maintenance and care. Due to their ability to adjust to the surroundings in no time, they are considered to be one of the easily grown varieties of lilies. They are a favorite of rabbits and deer. If you live near the habitat of these animals, you should take extra care to preserve these flowers.
3. Trumpet Lily
When it comes to weird names of lilies, Trumpet Lily wins the race. The name comes due to its trumpet-shaped flowers. These are among the highly fragrant varieties of lilies. The features of the flowers are they usually don’t contain spots and have broad leaves. The trumpet-shaped flowers emit long-lasting fragrance and a stem of the plant can grow up to 5 to 12 buds. You can grow different colors of trumpet lilies. Orange, white, yellow, cream, and pink are some of the prominent colors of trumpet lily. A variety of trumpet lily with orange color is named ‘African Queen’ since it originated in Africa. The plant of the trumpet lily can reach up to 8 feet in height.
4. Oriental Lily
If you want a lily that has a strong fragrance, then oriental lily is made for your backyard or garden. Oriental lily is the most fragrant of all the lilies. The plant can grow up to 5 feet but most of the plants stop growing after 2 to 3 feet. Apart from the strong fragrance, the petals of flowers grow to large size and the anthers of the flower produce heavy pollen. If you are growing this lily indoors, then it is better to remove the anthers once the bloom opens up. This prohibits staining of home furniture and floor. Oriental lilies come in red, pink, white, and yellow. The petals of most of the oriental lilies are straight but some varieties produce curved petals.
5. LA Hybrid Lily
The LA hybrid lily was obtained after crossing Easter and Asiatic lilies. The features include intense color, bigger and wider flowers, and spotted petals. This has acquired most of the characteristics of Asiatic lilies. Since Asiatic lilies don’t produce any fragrance, LA hybrid also doesn’t have fragrance. The bloom within weeks and cuts can be achieved with simple steps. Due to this reason, LA hybrid is considered the most garden-friendly lily. The plant can grow up to 4 feet in height and the petals can stretch up to 7 inches.
6. Orienpet Lily
The names of lilies are sometimes kept combining the names of parental varieties. Orienpet is one such lily. It is a cross between oriental and trumpet lilies. The flowers of this variety grow into trumpet shape initially. They change the shape once the petals of the flower grow outwards as they bloom. The flowers can grow up to 6 to 10 inches broad and the plant can reach height up to 2 to 3 feet. The flowers produce a strong scent and you can smell the fragrance from far away. They come in white, orange, pink, red, and yellow colors and they make fabulous cut flowers.
7. Martagon Hybrid Lily
This is a special variety of lily, which produces downward-facing petals. The entire flower faces the ground and the petals curve in the reverse direction to give a unique shape to the flowers. The petals are sprinkled by spots and speckles. The stalk of a Martagon Hybrid Lily can grow up to 7 feet and may have more than five blooms at a time. The outward protruding pollen stalks give the flower a beautiful appearance making it look different from other lilies. This hybrid variety mainly produces pink-colored flowers but you can find white, red, and yellow varieties too.
8. Canada Lily
Canada lilies are native to North America and they are abundantly grown in gardens and backyards. The flowers of Canada lily grow downwards facing the ground and contain dark spots along with the petals. They can grow up to 2 to 4 feet and produce 5 to 10 blooms for each stalk. These garden-friendly flowers are among the few lilies that don’t require too much of sunrays. They could be grown under the shade with a minimal amount of sunlight. Though these flowers come mostly in dark red colors, you can also find varieties of pink, yellow and orange colors. Canada lilies are favorite flowers of deer and rabbits so extra care should be taken if you are leaving in the vicinity of these animals.
Buying Lillies
Lilies can be bought from your nearest local garden centers and shops. Most of the time, these centers keep only limited varieties of lilies. Searching online for lilies may fetch you many options. The internet has dedicated websites for selling lilies. They store the bulbs of lilies in dormant form and sell them during springtime for plantation. You can go through the catalogs of these websites if you have doubts about the names of lilies. These catalogs will help you in finding the right type of lily for your garden. Hope you plant a lily soon and fill your life with fragrance.
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