LILIES - RHS Lily Group

gave one flower, but the bulb unfortunately rotted that winter. I think L.majoense
needs excellent drainage, and may even have to be covered in winter to keep
away excess water.
In 2005, I also tried a newly introduced rarity from Vietnam, Lilium poilanei. This
lily, which produces a very large fragrant trumpet, that is white within and purple
red on the outside, grew very well in a humus rich soil, planted in a sunny site, but
with its stem roots shaded by perennials. It produced a large number of offsets.
North American lilies
Finally, I come to the North American and USA species, which include some
of my favourite lily species, but also, the ones I have had the most problems
in growing. These lilies, for the most part, are so well suited to their original
climates, that unless these conditions can be recreated, I find that they tend to
dry out, or rot, or simply sulk for many seasons, never producing any growth.
This is the case with Lilium canadense, which I have now been trying to grow
for six years, in both acid and neutral soil, in a sunny and half shaded position,
but it never seems to want to produce any above ground growth or roots, and
the rhizomatous bulbs often disintegrate and disappear. A Lilium canadense that
I grew this year from a bulb obtained at the Lily Group bulb auction grew well,
however it mysteriously totally died away just a few days after I had sprayed
it with a general insecticide against some aphids which were attacking it. Two
others are growing in a more shaded part of the garden, where they produce
stems, but no flowers. However, I will not give up growing this species, since it
is one of my favourites.
I have also been trying to establish one of my favourite lilies, Lilium superbum,
since 2001. However, when I purchased some magnificent large Lilium superbum
bulbs at the Lily Group bulb auction in October 2005, grown by Tim Whiteley,
I realised that the problem with my past attempts at growing this lily was that
the bulbs I had been buying had been far too small and weak to be able to root
and establish. They were also much more sensitive to dryness and rot, since they
never really had any strong root run. The bulbs from Tim Whiteley did much
better, flowering regularly every July. It is a shorter variety of Lilium superbum,
only reaching about 180 cm tall. To combine this variety with the taller ones
might be something to try this autumn? Lilium pardalinum and Lilium volmeri
seem to be two USA species that adapt fairly well to the Swiss climate, growing
well, but quickly going dormant when the temperatures become too warm or too
dry for their taste. Lilium pitkinense grows fairly well, but has not flowered yet.
It seems to dislike dry conditions, preferring moist, half shady ones.
Last autumn I finally got my hands on some very good bulbs of Lilium
washingtonianum and L. washingtonianum purpurascens. They were young
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