White Lilies
By Sandra-Pat Willis

White flowers are among my favorites. I think they can either cool a border that is too bright and busy with oranges and golds or give a focus to a border that is dominated by pinks and blues. Since I am a self-diagnosed lily-nut, I want to introduce you to some of my white lily loves.

When the daffodils have completely faded, the white martagon appears L. martagon album.  At my garden, it appears faithfully in the first week of June – the first lily in full bloom. It has delicate hanging blooms and a light woodsy scent.  Recurved flowers with strong yellow stamens charm with their clear line.  I spring-planted three bulbs six years ago, waited a year for the plants to appear, (not unusual for spring-planted martagons), and was totally captivated by the first tentative blooms.  For me, martagons appear to like a less-acidic soil than most lilies, and a little crushed lime is added to my acidic soil.  In dappled shade, there is now a small clump, and for me, these blooms are the confirmation of summer.

Of the asiatics, Navona is a clear white, with good substance and unspotted.  About two feet tall, up-facing, with a strong stem, it blooms in early July, making a good mid-border plant.

Navona

For a more exposed location, I like the L. regale. It is correctly named for it is truly royalty.  Regales are about two-and-a half to three feet, with willowy stems. The stems are stronger if the plants are not fed generously.  The head is the old-fashioned umbel-shape – with the individual flower pedicels arising from a central point. The scent is exquisite, especially in the evening when the flowers sway with the wind.  The narrow leaves are very characteristic of this species, which has some colour variation.  The two most desired are a maroon reverse and a completely white variety. About five years ago, I obtained some seed from China through the NALS seed exchange. Regales are fairly easy to grow from seed and have epigeal germination. They are apomictic, producing seed without being cross-pollinated.  They bloom in about three years from seed. The seed from China has produced a very distinctive row.

Regale

Another white species is L. leucanthum centifolium. This is a tall lily, about four to six feet, with a trumpet-shaped flower.  It blooms after the regales. From plants obtained through the Species Lily Preservation group, there appears to be considerable colour variation in the species.  Both Green Dragon and Black Dragon were derived from the species, and their names are descriptive of their coloring. For me, Green Dragon has been long-lived, as I have had the clone for over twenty years at two houses.  Leucanthum can also be grown from seed, with epigeal germination.  Again, the scent is very distinctive.  This lily can be useful as an accent, especially in a border near a deck or patio.

L. Leucanthum
Centifolium

My garden is in UDA zone 6, with a light soil. Here, some varieties of the Easter lily,  L. longiflorum are hardy outside.  The name is descriptive of the long-shaped flower and it is glistening white.  Do not discard your Easter lilies, but try to site them in a sunny, well-drained area with a little protection.  Mine sit at the top of the rise beside the driveway, backed by a spruce hedge on the north side.  They are a variety called Snow Queen that is both very white and hardy here.

L. Longiflorium

After the trumpets, come the orientals, starting to bloom the last week in July and continuing into August. Who can list all the lovely whites here?  Casa Blanca - tall, bold, and glamorous.  In my garden, it needs good drainage and acid soil.  It does best in my oriental bed that is shaded slightly by tall pines that have added their needles to the soil for years, increasing its acidity.  Siberia has similar shaped flowers, but smaller and outfacing on a plant to scale.  It appears to be more forgiving than Casa Blanca, as I have one that was planted by mistake is a row of mixed asiatics, and it has been there for several years.

Casa Blanca

The white version of Stargazer should not be overlooked, as it is certainly worthy of garden-space.

White Stargazer

One of my later discoveries is Lime Star, which is a cut-flower variety from Peter Schenk.  It is up-facing and not too tall, with a limey-yellow star in the mid-rib.  It is quite late, one of the last orientals to bloom, and has a strong, rich perfume, almost orchid-like.  Some late-blooming orientals are not very hardy because they do not replenish their bulbs before the ground freezes, but Lime Star is thriving in our open field.

Lime Star