Lilium 2009

[ichristie]

Hi, thanks to everyone for input for my Lilium, and it is most likely L. marhan it was grown from our own seed and yes I do like it,  cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[Jim McKenney]

Now seriously - are there any green-flowered Lilium hybrids around at all? The reason why I'm asking is that there are quite a few species which have green as the dominant colour in the flower, and someone must surely have tried to create a green hybrid?

A local lily hybridizer here in USDA zone 7 Maryland, USA by the name of Vicki Bowen (who incidentally is a Yorkshire girl who married a WWII GI and ended up in nearby Rockville, MD) specialized for years in unspotted, pastel Asiatic hybrid lilies at a time when these were new and rarely seen. She once told me that she initially used the de Graaff hybrid strain 'Panamint' to get started in this direction.
Her best known green-flowered hybrid she calls 'Green Reflections'; it was never commercialized as far as I know, but Mrs. Bowen still grows it.   

[Paul T]

Göte,

That second one is incredible.  What a colour!!  Stunning.

[johnw]

A clearer photo of Lilium grayi still in flower here and I have selfed all the flowers so hopefully seed.

johnw

[gote]

I grew Green Dragon and Green Magic many years ago. Green Dragon was a clone and Green Magic a strain, I think derived from Green Dragon, and they were superb garden lilies. Nothing much like them available now unfortunately. I think bred from L. leucanthum. Black Dragon was even more stunning, bred from L. leucanthum centifolium. I'd love to be able to buy such lilies again now.

Me too
Göte

[gote]

Great, Göte! The second one reminds me of a green lijiangense.

In a way yes the pedicels are similar but the leaves were - i think - quite different.
there is a different feel to them.
Göte

[Paul T]

Wow, John.  Striking spotting!

[Lesley Cox]

I immediately thought 'Green Dragon' too Martin. I've never seen this but remember Beverley Nichols waxing lyrical in one of his charming books. I think it was a Jan de Graf (f?) hybrid, from Oregon but there surely are more since then?

[Lesley Cox]

Your grayii is a marvel John. I take it that it varies because the forms I have seen in gardens here and have myself grown from seed have a much clearer delineation between the orange and the red, with less spotting. Yours is superb.

[ichristie]

Hi all, super pictures, here is my Lilium greyi which is a red flower, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[WimB]

Ian,

that's a stunning red... I've put it on my wishlist.... Everytime I look at this forum I see something I like, if it keeps on going like this I'll have a wishlist of 100 pages 

[David Nicholson]

......... Everytime I look at this forum I see something I like, if it keeps on going like this I'll have a wishlist of 100 pages 

Just like the rest of us Wim!

[gote]

This has not been a good year for some of my lilies so i post an old pic of grayii.
I used to have two and had seed every year. Then one died and seed setting ceased.
New small plants from various sources are coming along so I will eventually have seed again some time in the future.
Books tell me that grayii is slender and less robust than canadense. However, my grayiis have always been twice as thick as my canadenses and come up later but very vigourously.
Comments anyone? Is grayii stronger or weaker than canadense??
Göte

[Paul T]

Oh Wow!!  That looks like an absolutely amazing species!!      Be it orange, or red, I like it!! 

[ichristie]

Super picture Gote, a well grown plant, one thing about Lilium greyi it produces small bulbils so is easy to grow these on it takes time but worth the effort I remove some in Sept. I post Lilium duchartrei and Lilium pardalinum var? cheers Ian the Christie kind.