In the last decade, new varieties of very tall lilies called the lily tree have appeared in garden stores. Since then, disputes about this plant have not ceased: some call it a myth, others recommend it as new original hybrid varieties. Let's try to figure out what lily-trees are, planting and caring for which are of interest not only to florists, but to all gardeners.
What does such a tree look like
Although many incredulous gardeners believe that a lily is still a flower, a tree with this name exists and impresses with its size and beauty of flowers. With proper care, it can become taller than its owners (some specimens reach a height of 2.5 m). And its flowers have a large range and fireworks of shades, some of which resemble children's panama hats in size and shape. One plant can have up to 20 tubular flowers, similar to a turban or goblet.
Thisa huge plant exudes a delicate and persistent aroma, which, combined with external beauty, gives it not only an exotic, but also an aristocratic look.
growing with active feeding by gardeners on the plots.
The varieties that are now sold in stores are lily-trees, the varieties of which are of two types:
- species lilies (or cardiocrinum) growing wild in nature;
- OT hybrids obtained by biologists by crossing tubular and oriental varieties of lilies.
These types of lilies are completely different in terms of growing conditions, requirements for soil and agricultural technology. They reproduce slowly and bloom only 2-3 years after planting.
Species lilies
This plant in science is called cardiocrinum ("heart-shaped lily" - Greek), the name was given to him for the shape of the leaves. There are only 4 species of such plants in the world, growing on Sakhalin Island, the Japanese Islands, the Himalayas and China.
Cardiocrinum is a bulbous plant (a white bulb in the shape of a cone), its stems, hollow inside, have a diameter of 5 cm near the ground.
Leaves, similar in shape to hearts, with mesh venation, alternate, attached to the stem with long petioles. Flowers, most often white or pale green, tubular, usually horizontally deflected or lookdrooping, located on short pedicels.
Cardiocrinum blooms only 4-5 years after planting with very large flowers, after which the bulb dies off, forming small babies that are suitable for subsequent reproduction.
Only 2 varieties of lily trees are grown in open field horticultural plots: giant and Chinese. The lily-tree, the photo of which is presented in the article, impresses even experienced gardeners.
Cardiocrinum giant in its homeland (in the Himalayas) grows on the slopes of the mountains and has a height of up to 3 m. It usually blooms in August, the inflorescences have up to 20 large greenish flowers, each up to 15 cm long, emitting a very pleasant smell.
Chinese cardiocrinum grows at home in the mountains near rivers and in the forests of the Center and East of China. Plant height reaches 1.5 m with leaves located at the top of the stems. There are only up to 5 flowers, about 10 cm in size, pale green in color with small red spots on the top.
How to plant and care
Cardiocrinum prefers very warm fertile places located a little in the shade (does not like direct sunlight). In order for such lily-trees, planting and caring for which will require some experience from gardeners, to be placed on a garden plot, you need to carefully prepare the soil before planting: make drainage (the bulb may rot due to high humidity), make leafy soil. The optimal landing time is the beginning of autumn.
The hole is made large, 60 cm in size,adding sand and soil. When planting, the top of the bulb should peek out of the soil. The distance between adjacent bulbs is at least 1 m.
For the winter period, a special air shelter is constructed from spruce branches covering the whole plant. Such a shelter should not be removed immediately in the spring, but you need to wait until the spring frosts pass (sprinkle with snow at this time). After opening, the plant must be shielded from the sun.
It is important that the tree develops correctly. Lilies do not require specific care, they need several top dressings with complex mineral (spring) and organic fertilizers (summer). To reduce the acidity of the soil, it is recommended to add wood ash (the plant does not like acidic soils) or add bone meal.
Cardiocrinum should be watered 1-2 times a week (less often in rainy weather). When watering, you can add growth stimulants directly to the water. Tall stems need supports so that the plant does not fall and break from the wind or its weight. Every winter, the lily tree should be pruned and protected from frost and cold.
For reproduction, the daughter buds should be separated in a timely manner from the dead and dried mother bulbs (and better before they germinate and young roots appear). If babies in a bundle are left to winter in the ground, then they most often die from the cold.
Also, cardiocrinum can be propagated using seeds, which are usually harvested in the spring before the start of the growing season, and then sown in prepared soil.
OT hybrids - what are they?
One morea breeding variety of giant lilies was created by scientists in Canada who bred lily-trees - hybrids of the OT class. In scientific circles, they were given the name Oriental X - tubular. These lilies make an indelible impression with their beauty and unusualness.
The first offer for the sale of lily-trees appeared in Holland in the flower catalog, which promised buyers trees up to 2.5 m high with an unimaginable number of flowers (50-60). Since then, discussions about the reality of the existence of such plants have taken place regularly in scientific circles and on the expanses of the worldwide web.
Then the question of the legitimacy of the name "trees" remained open. Already in 2009, one of the Canadian companies registered the Lily-Tree trademark, and this name was assigned to them.
Another name given to such lilies by foreign breeders - Goliath - is due, of course, to their size. In recent years, these mighty beauties, with the help of experienced gardeners, began to be grown in the middle latitudes of Russia. However, to get flowers on such a wonderful tree, you need to wait 2-3 years.
Hybrid varieties
Over the past few years, many varieties of hybrid plants have been bred. The lily tree, the photo of which you can see in the article, can have varying degrees of frost resistance. Stem height, flower color, flowering time, care requirements may also be different.
Lily-tree - varieties (photos and colors):
Aventino (pink with yellow star);
- Anastasia (pink crimson withwhite border flowers, very tall stem);
- Big Brother (vanilla yellow flowers);
- Donato (hot pink);
- Carboner (dark cherry or red with a yellow center);
- Corsini (pink with a yellow-green center);
- Gold Class (yellow-red with dots);
- Holland Beauty (crimson with cream border);
- Honeymoon (yellow-honey);
- Miss Patchwork (maroon with chocolate-colored strokes in the middle and white border);
- Holland Beauty (crimson with cream piping);
- Mr Job (brown burgundy with a green star in the middle and a cream stripe along the edge);
- Pasion Moon (creamy with purple center and yellow spray);
- Preti Woman (White);
- Purple Prince (burgundy-violet);
- Robin (crimson with white center);
- Zelmira (orange-pink) and many others.
The highest grades: Friso, Donato, Anastasia, Robina.
Various varieties such as Purple Prince, Pretty Woman lily tree are now very popular, planting and caring for which require more attention than low varieties.
Popular hybrids
First of all, it is necessary to clarify that such hybrids reach their maximum growth and flowering no earlier than 3 years of age: in the first year, such a lily grows by about 30 cm, in the second - by 50-60 cm, and only on the third, its height reaches at least 1.5 meters. All hybrids bloomvarieties for 2-3 years.
The most popular variety right now is the Pretty Woman Lily tree, whose flowers (25 cm diameter) have a soft creamy white hue with a slight pink tint, after flowering the buds become completely white.
This lily is obtained by crossing oriental and tubular lilies. The inflorescence usually has up to 30 funnel-shaped or cup-shaped flowers with a pleasant aroma. The flowers are usually directed upwards or slightly sideways, there are several shades of color: yellowish, pink, light orange and multicolor. Flowering time - second half of summer.
The stem of such a lily tree is strong and durable, up to 180 cm high, under very favorable conditions, plants can grow up to 2.5 m in 3 years. This variety has good winter hardiness and increased disease resistance.
Also very popular is such a variety as the lily-tree "Honeymoon", which is characterized by increased winter hardiness (does not freeze even during severe frosts down to -35ºС). The tree grows up to 2 meters and is able to release over 18 beautiful buds, which then bloom with an unusual moon-honey color (with a darker center) with a rich aroma.
Lily-trees: planting and care
Such plants have some specific features of agricultural technology when planting in the ground, during the period of growth and flowering. Some varieties like acidic soil, some like alkaline soil.
Let's consider as an example such a popular now hybrid variety,like the Pretty Woman lily tree, which is planted and cared for in the same way as other OT hybrid plants.
For such a lily tree, the soil is slightly acidic, with a high content of fertilizers (but not fresh organic matter). This plant does not like the proximity of groundwater, so the best place where a lily (tree) can be planted is planting on slightly raised flower beds, provided with good drainage. For drainage, crushed stone and river sand are used, sprinkled with a layer of up to 20 cm.
It is better to place plantings of lilies in slightly shaded places, for example, located under the crowns of fruit trees, giving a diffused shadow.
The growth and flowering time of such lily trees is 4-5 years, because in the 5th year the bulb is depleted, which leads to a decrease in the growth of the peduncle, a decrease in the number of buds, possible diseases and even death of the tree.
Planting bulbs is carried out either in early autumn or in April-May. The soil is prepared in advance, when planting the bulb under its bottom and around it, sand is poured, the planting depth is 15-20 cm from the roots to the surface. After that, the soil must be mulched.
Watering lilies should be done 1-2 times a week all summer, and especially during the flowering period. For these plants, it is very important to feed, especially during the formation of buds. The last top dressing of the season should be carried out until mid-August with a predominance of potash fertilizers, which will help the bulb recover faster after flowering.
And now, the cold autumn has come, has grown over the summerlily (tree) planted in spring. "How do they winter?" - this question is most often asked by gardeners when preparing a plant for winter frosts. Although there are varieties with increased cold resistance, it is still necessary to carry out warming of plantings of lily trees.
In late autumn, the trunk of the plant is cut off, the plantings are insulated with dry mulching and covered for the winter with a layer of 5-10 cm (for example, with rotted compost or coniferous litter). This helps the bulbs left in the ground not to get sick and survive the winter frosts.
In the spring, such a shelter becomes a mulch, first saving from frost, and then serving to maintain soil moisture. It is very important not to loosen the planting site of the lily tree in spring, as it produces many shoots that can be broken.
Reproduction of lily trees
Garden lilies are commonly propagated by seeds, buds, cuttings and bulbs.
Lily trees (for example, the Pretty Woman lily tree) are most often propagated using bulbs, although their number and growth rate are small in hybrid varieties. Their propagation process is rather laborious and slow, because the bulbs are very sensitive to dampness and can deteriorate in autumn.
In addition, babies can be obtained only after a few years, when the plant begins to bloom in full force. The oldest tree (4-5 years old) forms a whole nest with bulbs suitable for planting.
Lily trees can also be propagated using the seeds in the boxes abovestems (in late autumn). Before the onset of cold weather, they are cut (along with part of the stem) and placed in a warm place for ripening. It is better to sow ripe seeds immediately because of the high probability of losing their germination.
Do pyramid lilies exist?
Pyramids or spray lilies do not exist in nature, despite the assurances of some private sellers or firms selling various flower varieties. The number of buds on such pyramids is advertised as more than 40 pieces, which is already completely unrealistic.
The explanation for this may be the phenomenon of fasciation, when several stems are accidentally spliced at once for some reason:
- unfavorable conditions or failure in plant growth, when damage to the bulb or shoots is possible;
- bacterial infection, exposure to pesticides or radiation;
- excessive use of bioregulators and growth promoters or mineral fertilizers;
- mutations associated with changes in temperature or lighting conditions and humidity.
In this case, the curvature or deformation of the shoots, which become flatter, is possible. There are some varieties of lilies (such as Marlene) that are prone to fasciation.
Marlene variety belongs to the type of Asian hybrid lilies, the advantage of which is winter hardiness, early flowering, very strong shoot formation. The height of the stem is up to 1 m. The flowers are quite large, pink at the ends and white in the middle. The flowering period lasts up to 2 months. One of the unusual differences is that they have absolutely nosmell.
Lilies of the Marlene variety, with the appearance of fasciation of the peduncle, can form from 40 to 100 flowers. But this phenomenon is completely spontaneous and is not regulated by man. This is also explained by the ability of plants to produce several shoots from one bulb at once, which can grow together under the influence of fasciation, forming a single thick peduncle.
Although the advertised bush and pyramidal lily species do not exist, the Marlene variety is not passed off as the one. This kind of hybrid lily itself is worth some words of admiration.
Lily-trees in garden design
Lily-trees, planting and caring for which are quite simple, are suitable for decorating any garden plot. The many hybrid varieties that have been bred come in a wide variety of colors and are excellent for growing between fruit trees in the garden or near the house.
When creating flower beds with such tall plants, you should calculate in advance the possibility of planting other flower plants and place them between lilies (various types of asters, delphiniums, gladiolus or chamomile will do).
On the edge of such a flower bed you can plant bulbous varieties of tulips, crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths. Undersized species of marigolds, garden carnations, perennial iberis and others are planted as a background.
Juniper, thuja, cypress or ferns are suitable as neighbors for lilies. By planting several varieties of lilies at once, you can select them according to the flowering time to ensure long-term alternate flowering of plants.
In our country, such plantsengaged in so far by a small number of amateur gardeners. Many are either unfamiliar with these types of flowers or do not trust websites that advertise the lily tree. The reviews of those specialists who purchased lily trees, were able to grow them and wait for flowering (3 years of waiting is still a long time) testify to the extraordinary beauty of such flower trees and the originality of their size.
