Oriental lily: planting and care, photo, description, varieties, height, winter hardiness, names

The oriental lily is an oriental hybrid. It is distinguished by very large, fragrant flowers, which look beautiful in single plantings and all kinds of compositions. A description of this group, its representatives and recommendations for care can be found below in the article.

Description of oriental lilies

Oriental lilies are hybrids with large racemose inflorescences; their diameter can reach up to 25, sometimes 27 cm. The flowers have the shape of a bell, a star, or even a turban. They often produce very long stamens that stand out beautifully against the general background.

Various colors:

pure white;
crimson;
pink;
orange-golden.

Flowering occurs in August and partly in September. The growing season is long and averages 4-4.5 months. Therefore, in the case of spring planting, flowers appear only at the end of summer.

Frost resistance of oriental lilies

Since oriental lilies are hybrids, their frost resistance reaches -30 degrees (winter hardiness zone 4). Some representatives belong to zone 5-6 and can withstand up to -25. It is important to clarify the information before purchasing bulbs in the description of the variety.

Height of oriental lilies

The height depends on the specific variety, on average it is 90-120 cm. Some representatives reach 150-180 cm. But in any case, the peduncles are quite strong, so they do not require support.

Varieties of oriental lilies with photos and names

Several dozen varieties of the eastern group have been bred, among them there are mainly large-flowered varieties that bloom beautifully in the second half of summer. The most popular representatives are described in the following sections.

Cassandra

The oriental lily Cassandra blooms with large white flowers that appear closer to August. The inflorescences are very large, up to 24 cm in diameter. The color of the petals is white, in the middle of each there is a visible vein of a light green shade. The burgundy stamens contrast beautifully against the general background.

Bright white flowers are clearly visible from afar

Dizzy

The Dizzy variety is a plant with contrasting colors. The edges of the petals are milky white, and in the middle there are cherry veins. There are also specks of the same shade. In the center rise pale green stamens with orange anthers.

Peduncles reach a height of 100 cm

Specialzoom

Speciosum is another variety that produces flowers with a small diameter of 10-15 cm. But they are numerous and form beautiful clusters. The plant reaches a height of 160 cm. The color is pink, with red specks visible.

The Speciosum variety is unpretentious, but requires shelter for the winter.

Henry

The photo of this variety of oriental lily shows that the Henry hybrid produces orange flowers of quite large sizes - 22 cm in diameter. The color is initially yellow, but then becomes brighter, dark specks appear.

Flowers of the Henry variety are formed in small clusters

Conca d'Or

The Conca D'Or variety is also quite tall - reaching 1.5 m and above. At the same time, it produces very large flowers up to 27 cm in diameter. The color is light yellow, with creamy white shades at the edges. The petals are slightly curved, so they look quite elegant. Brown stamens look harmonious against a light background.

Flowers of this variety smell of spices

Advantages and disadvantages

A review of the descriptions of different varieties, as well as reviews from gardeners, allows us to highlight several important advantages of oriental lilies.

Oriental lilies smell stronger than other hybrids

Pros:

large flowers with varied colors;
nice smell;
resistance to diseases;
easy care;
can be used both in single plantings and in compositions with different plants.

Minuses:

grow well only in acidic soils;
requires little shelter for the winter;
flowering only at the end of summer.

How to plant oriental lily correctly

To get many beautiful flowers, you need to take into account several rules for planting and caring for oriental lily hybrids. First of all, you need to decide on the timing. There are two options - in spring and autumn. Moreover, in the spring it is better to wait until the soil warms up to 8-10 degrees. To determine the temperature, you need to bury the thermometer to a depth of 10 cm and wait a few minutes.

As a rule, the spring planting time falls at the following time:

middle zone and Moscow region - end of April;
southern regions – beginning of the month;
Ural.Siberia – first half of May.

Autumn planting of plants at temperatures is also allowed. As a rule, the deadline falls at the end of August, the first half of September. Since the optimal time is more difficult to guess, the most common choice is to plant oriental lilies in the ground in the spring.

The location is selected in advance and has several requirements:

good lighting, preferably with partial shade during the day (for example, from bushes);
absence of stagnation of water - it is better to choose hills, but lowlands should not be considered; in extreme cases, the flowerbed should be fenced;
the soil should be loose and fertile, preferably acidic pH = 5-6. This is a special requirement specific to varieties of oriental lilies.

Before planting, the site must be well prepared by digging the soil and applying fertilizer. It is advisable to use compost (5 kg per 1 m²) with the addition of peat (2 kg per 1 m²). And if there is a lot of clay in the ground, add sawdust or sand (2-3 kg per 1 m²).

The bulbs are planted to a certain depth, outlining a pattern in advance

The peculiarity of oriental lilies is that their bulbs do not require preliminary preparation or drying. Landing is carried out according to the following rules:

Make several holes of a certain depth, which depends on the variety (see table).
Lay a layer of broken brick, expanded clay or pebbles.
Next, sprinkle with sand and wood ash to form a small pillow.
Place the oriental lily bulb bottom down and sprinkle with soil.
Water generously with settled water.

When planting, you need to correctly determine the depth and spacing between plants. To do this, it is recommended to pay attention to the table.

Variety	Planting depth, cm	Distance between holes, cm
short	10	20
Medium height	12	25
Tall	17	30

Important! If the bulbs are planted in early autumn, it is better to increase the depth by 2-3 cm. Thanks to this, they will survive winter frosts well (an additional cover of 5-7 cm with mulch is also required).

How to care for oriental lilies

Caring for oriental lilies is not difficult, because these hybrids are unpretentious. If you plant them in a suitable place and in good soil, flowering will be long and abundant. The main recommendations boil down to watering and timely fertilizing, which is especially important during the flowering period.

After watering, you should always loosen the soil, because otherwise it will be compressed and the roots will be deprived of oxygen. Do weeding as necessary. To ensure that there are as few weeds around oriental lilies as possible, it is recommended to mulch the plantings. Other care rules described below are also important.

Trimming

Pruning is carried out according to general rules. First of all, you need to remove faded flowers, but not immediately after flowering, but closer to autumn. For the winter, the entire above-ground part is removed, cutting off the stem almost flush with the surface. This is done when it has completely dried out and practically lay down on the flowerbed.

Watering and fertilizing

When planning watering, follow several rules:

Water is given every week, and in times of drought - twice as often. The main requirement is that the surface layer of soil must remain moderately moist.
Particularly a lot of water should be given during the flowering period - twice a week. In this sense, agricultural technology is reminiscent of caring for an oriental lily in a pot.
The water should always be settled and not cold.

For good flowering, plants are fed 3-4 times per season.

Fertilizing for oriental lilies should be given regularly:

In the spring, after the snow melts, add urea or ammonium nitrate (15-20 g per 10 l) or simply scatter granules over the surface.
A similar fertilizing is applied after about a month.
Then they give complex fertilizer during the formation of buds, for example, “Kemira Lux”.
After this, the plants are fed two more times with complex fertilizer or organic matter (liquid humates, mullein 1:10).
The last time to feed oriental lilies is at the end of August. You just need to pour 200 g of wood ash infusion per 10 liters.

Wintering of oriental lilies

Wintering of oriental lilies in the Moscow region and other regions of the central zone is carried out in open ground, because the hybrids are frost-resistant. But it is still necessary to lay a small layer of mulch 5-7 cm high. The main stages of preparation are:

On the eve of frost, prune oriental lilies completely at the root.
After this, treatment is carried out with Bordeaux mixture or other fungicides.
Then they cover it with sawdust, hay or leaf litter; agrofibre can be fixed on top.
When winter comes, pour the snow mass on top and leave it until it melts in the spring.

Diseases and pests

Oriental lilies are hybrids, so almost all varieties have good immunity to common diseases. However, overwatering combined with bad weather can cause the bulbs to suffer from rot and other infections. To prevent this from happening, you need to strictly control water consumption, and if signs of disease appear, treat oriental lilies with any fungicide:

"Profit";
"Fundazol";
"Abiga Peak".

If we talk about pests, the most dangerous for oriental lilies are wireworms, mole crickets, various types of aphids, and lily beetles.Therefore, flowers need to be periodically inspected and, if necessary, treated with insecticides:

"Fufanon";
"Vertimek";
"Colorado".

Propagation of oriental lilies

You can propagate oriental lilies yourself. Since these are hybrids, only vegetative propagation methods are available:

using bulbs;
with the help of children (onions);
outer scales of the bulbs.

Most often, oriental lilies are propagated from bulbs. Planting is planned for spring or autumn, as described above. Moreover, it is advisable to replant the plants every 2-3 years so that they do not lose their decorative appearance. The work is planned for late August or early September.

There is an option for propagating oriental lilies using small bulbs - babies. They form in fairly large quantities, especially if planting is done at a sufficient depth. The children are also separated at the end of summer, transplanted to a new place, and a week before frost they are carefully covered for the winter.

Finally, oriental lilies can also be grown from integumentary scales. Work begins again in the fall, during the bush transplantation. Several scales are separated, transferred to a permanent place and planted at a shallow depth, after which they are mulched for the winter.

Application in landscape design

Oriental lilies have bright, truly showy flowers. Therefore, they are often used in single plantings, and in the most prominent places. This could be a flowerbed next to the house, a lawn, a gazebo, or on the shore of a pond. At the same time, oriental lilies can be combined with other plants, for example, helenium, loosestrife, and delphinium.

The main options for using flowers in garden design are shown below:

Landing near the house.
Composition with decorative plants.
Oriental lilies next to the fence.
Single landing option.
Oriental lilies next to the path.

Conclusion

Oriental lily is good for its large size, beautiful color and pleasant aroma. Many varieties can withstand severe frosts, so they can be grown even in Siberia. At the same time, it is always worth covering it for the winter, at least covering it with leaves or straw.

Reviews of oriental lilies

Prisyazhnyuk Marina, Arkhangelsk

In our latitudes, growing beautiful flowers is not always easy, but oriental lilies are a godsend. I like different varieties, like Dizzy or Henry. They are really not capricious, you can water them once a week, and feed them three times a season. You just have to wait until August for flowering. And in October, be sure to cover it with straw and cover it with spruce branches.

Sazonova Ekaterina, Krasnodar

If someone wants to plant beautiful, large lilies that also smell great, oriental hybrids are best suited for this. The flowers are large, speckled, and the aroma is very sweet, sometimes even spicy. It is best to plant individually; some bushes spread well, so leave at least 40 centimeters.