Delicate garden lilies are used to decorate summer cottages and city flower beds. These flowers not only have an attractive appearance and pleasant aroma, but also have healing properties. From time immemorial, people have known about the properties of lilies, which help cleanse the skin, heal burns and abrasions, and relieve swelling and bruising. The plant is able to calm a person and even heal spiritual wounds.
General Description
In terms of the amazing grace of the representatives of the Lilein family, one can only compare with orchids. This prompted scientists to create new hybrid varieties, today there are about 6 thousand different species. Nevertheless, these are extremely capricious garden flowers. Lilies need special care and attention.
The height of the flower depends on the variety, varies between 30-200 cm. The leaves are most often linear-lanceolate, curved, up to 20 cm long. Single inflorescences consist of 6 petals from 5 to 25 cm in diameter. They can be in the form of a funnel, a bell, or an open bowl. There are white, lilac, yellow and orange garden lilies.
The underground part of the plant consists of a bulb and roots. As soon as the bulbs grow to the desired size,lilies are starting to bloom. This happens about 3-4 years. Several buds open at the same time. Propagation by seeds is possible, but bulbs are more commonly used to propagate new plants.
Conditions for landing
Is not garden lily too demanding on the quality of the soil? Planting a plant is possible in a slightly alkaline and slightly acidic environment. However, for the vast majority of varieties, neutral soil is preferable. And clay or sand is definitely not suitable for breeding lilies.
Before planting, the soil must be prepared: loosen, if necessary, add a little peat or humus. Note that these flowers do not tolerate stagnant water, so the soil must be drained.
The bed on which garden lilies grow needs fertilizer with the obligatory content of potassium and phosphorus. Potassium deficiency adversely affects the quality of bulbs for future planting. With a lack of phosphorus, the color of the buds becomes paler, and their size becomes smaller.
Hybrid varieties
Asian hybrids are considered the most unpretentious. They are hardy and frost-resistant, grow well in partial shade or in open sunny areas. They bloom earlier than other hybrid varieties and multiply quite quickly. They should be planted in neutral or slightly acidic soil. These garden lilies come in a variety of colors. There are white, yellow, cream, two-color or even three-color specimens. Their only drawback is the completeno fragrance.
Oriental hybrids are considered exotic and tolerate transportation well. Despite their stunning beauty, plants are extremely capricious and prone to various diseases. They prefer partial shade and a draft-free space, but grow better in greenhouse conditions. Buds - large, pink, red, lilac, yellow, orange.
