Oriental Lilies
The Fragrant Late Bloomers

Oriental Lilies are those huge fragrant Lilies that show up at weddings and other special events

when the florist is making a real statement. They are equally as delightful in the garden and in the tradition of saving the best for last, they are the latest bloomers of all the garden Lilies. Huge blooms in white, many shades of pink and some with yellow streaking. They often have streaks and dots of contrasting colours.

How Many Do I Need? They multiply very slowly in my garden, often remaining a single stalk for several years. If you want lots, plant lots. Unfortunately this slow rate of division also tends to make them more expensive. Luckily the OT hybrids have many of their great qualities but multiply much faster. One or two of these Orientals will fill your garden with the rich Lily fragrance.


What’s The Foliage Like? Even the foliage of these Lilies sets them apart from the others. The individual leaves are much larger than in other types and they are set farther apart on the central stalk giving them quite a different appearance.


Problems? The red Lily Bug can be quite devastating to these later Lilies. They are easy to see and pick off because of the wide spacing of the leaves but because they are later to emerge and to bloom it is easy to become less diligent in that process. The later generations of the bug will find these Lilies when we have become a bit complacent. Like most Lilies there are few if any other problems that appear with regularity. A good well drained and fertile soil will give you many years of pleasure from a few of these planted in your garden.

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