For centuries, the gardens of royal palaces and simple rural front gardens in different countries adorn lilies, the variety of species, varieties, sizes and colors of which is amazing. These flowers can be used both in group and solitary plantings. One of the most common and favorite species of gardeners and gardeners are Asiatic lilies. Their popularity is easily explained: a variety of shapes and colors of flowers, the ability to pick up plants of various sizes, with a height of 30 to 150 cm, and, of course, excellent endurance and resistance to adverse conditions. Let's get to know better with Asiatic lilies and the features of their development and flowering.
Who was the ancestor?
Asiatic lilies came from such wild Asian species as:
- European bulbous;
- Daurian;
- David;
- one-color;
- brindle;
- drooping;
- nice;
- interspecific hybrids of spotted and Dutch lilies.
All of these names will tell little to the ordinary gardener, but judging by them, it can be understood that the ancestors of Asiatic lily grew in regions with a pronounced continental climate, in which summers are warm and even hot, and winters are quite cold. Due to this, the lilies received from them - Asian hybrids - perfectly adapt in our conditions: in autumn and winter, the bulbs are at rest, and in the spring they awaken and germinate, consuming the nutrients accumulated the previous summer. That is why it is very important to cut flowers correctly: you need to leave part of the stem with leaves. If the flowers of Asian lilies have not been cut, then after flowering, the top of the stem must be removed to prevent the formation of seeds and waste of nutrients.
Origin history
The triumphant spread of Asiatic lilies began in the 50s of the 20th century, after the American breeder Jan de Graf introduced a new hybrid group with orange and red flowers - Mid-Century, which means “Mid Century” in Russian. At the same time, the Canadian researcher S. Peterson, as a result of successfully crossing the David lily with a drooping one, managed to get Asian lilies of a new color: pink, lilac and white. Further breeding work led to the creation of entire groups of lilies with a chalmoid-shaped flower and light-colored petals (the so-called Harlequin hybrids).
Today, breeders are working to create varieties with bright two- and three-color buds and the cultivation of terry forms.
Today, in Russian gardens, Asian terry lily is represented by such varieties as white Anna Maria
Dream (Anna Maria Dream), yellow Fata Morgana, pink Aphrodite (Aphrodite) and red Sphinx (Sphinx).
Flower shape
Due to the fact that the parental forms of Asiatic lilies are quite diverse, and the Asiatic women themselves are very different both in color and in shape. Most often, the shape of the flowers of Asian hybrids:
- cupped;
- star;
- received a maloid;
- turbanous.
Ordinary Asian lilies, non-double varieties, have six petals.
Asiatic lilies, depending on how the flowers are located relative to the axis of inflorescence, are divided into the following groups:
- funnel-shaped, directed to the side;
- cup-shaped, looking up;
- blunt downward.
The flowers of Asiatic lilies come in a variety of colors, ranging from white to maroon, almost black. Beginning gardeners should remember that lilies can be of any color except all shades of blue and blue.
Types of Asian Hybrids
Breeding work, which began in the second half of the last century and continues today, has led to the emergence of a huge number of varieties of Asian lilies and hybrids. For convenience, all of them were divided according to one attribute or another into a number of subgroups:
- Harlequin;
- Vasaras Prieks;
- Amalia;
- Willtigrinum;
- Avondale;
- Kaleidoscope;
- Sapneta;
- Tango;
- Zelta Vainags;
- Brushmark;
- Fiesta;
- Joel Vonder;
- Connecticut and others.
Asiatic lilies, assigned to one or another hybrid group, have some definite common feature, a “highlight”.
So, the Russian breeder V.P. Orekhov developed a group of Amalia hybrids, which includes varieties with turban-shaped flowers whose petals are painted in white, pink and lilac-pink. It was from them that new varieties with pastel colors were obtained. For repeated hybridization, an Asian white lily was taken from this group, due to which new varieties with different size and shape of snow-white flowers appeared, such as:
- Baltais Stars (White Stars) with lilac specks on a white background.
- Briviba (Liberty) - white, horizontally directed flowers with pink dots.
Asiatic lily, the photo of which you see, belongs to the Tango variety.
They differ from other lilies in specks, which are both dense and rare, black and colored, in the center of the flower. Sometimes specks merge into one continuous spot of contrasting color.
People who have a small plot or have created a garden on their own loggia in a city apartment will be pleased with lilies belonging to the so-called Pixie group. It includes varieties with the smallest sizes, the height of which varies from 25 to 40 cm. The Butter Pixie variety with large yellow-lemon flowers can be grown as an Asian lily indoor or balcony. Plants of this group bloom from June to September, forming 5-7 flowers on each stem.
Varietal lilies belonging to the Brashmark group, or, as they are also called, painted, are quite common. Their feature is a large “smear” of contrasting to the main color at the base of each petal. Anastasia is a domestic Brashmark. The Asian lily, the photo of which you see above, was bred at the All-Russian Research Institute of Gardening named after Michurina. A smear can be either in the form of strokes of different lengths, or one dense and uniform in color. Some varieties have on their petals not only strokes, but also specks, different in size and color.
What are pot lilies?
The latest fashion novelty is lilies for growing in pots, the so-called pot. Note that in pot culture you can grow not only some special and special varieties, but also any low lilies. Asian potted lilies are not very demanding on the amount of light and therefore, planted in a group in a pot, do not stretch out, but form a beautiful and dense “bouquet”.
Today, for planting in containers and other containers, you can use varieties such as:
- Tiny Spider;
- Bazzer;
- Sunray;
- Golden Joy;
- Marlene and a number of others.
Lilies planted in pots do not bloom for long, about two weeks, and not as indicated in the advertisement - “all summer”. In order to prolong flowering, we can recommend planting several bulbs with different flowering periods in a container. After the plants bloom, their green stems with leaves will stand for a couple of months, and then turn yellow like their garden counterparts. The bulbs will go into a dormant phase until next spring. Store pot lilies in the same pot at a temperature of + 1-2 ° C, periodically slightly moistening the soil.
Features of Asiatic Lilies
It is worth noting that Asiatic hybrids bloom earlier than most other lilies, in late June - early July. Flowering start time depends on weather conditions. The flower Asian lily, unlike other types of lilies, is odorless, which allows them to decorate living quarters without fear of “earning” a headache. In the cut, they stand well if you change the water in time and remove the faded petals.
Another feature of some varieties of Asiatic lilies is that on their stems daughter children are formed - bulbs. They are easily separated from the mother plant, and they can be used to propagate this variety by immersing it in the soil. If such a planting was performed, the Asian lily next year will grow a small plant with one leaf, and in a year it will be a small lily that even tries to bloom. She doesn’t need to allow this, since flowering will take away all the forces from the sprout, and it will not be able to form normally. In the third year after planting the bulb, the plant will be fully formed and will be able to please you with its flowering.
Like other bulbs, the Asian lily does not tolerate an excess of nitrogen-containing, as well as fresh organic fertilizers. Landing and care are quite simple, and we will consider them further.
Prepare a seat
Before proceeding with the planting of lily bulbs in a permanent place, it is necessary to prepare it. When choosing it, it is important to remember that Asian lilies, like any others, do not tolerate stagnation of water. The soil for them should be well aerated and permeable, nutritious and loose. If the soil is heavy on the site, its quality can be improved by adding river sand, gravel, peat and humus. The depth of the holes for the bulbs, depending on their size and soil quality, can be from 10 to 40 cm. In sandy soils, it is better to deepen the bulbs, but in loamy and mixed depths of ten centimeters will be enough. At the bottom of each hole, sand must be poured, which will fulfill the function of drainage and prevent moisture from spoiling the root system. The distance between the wells is calculated based on the estimated size of the plants in the future. Between small lilies you can withstand a distance of 15–20 cm, but large specimens are best planted with a distance of 25–30 cm.
Asiatic lilies are light-loving plants, but they tolerate light partial shade. In the shade, they are not recommended to be planted, since the stems will reach for the light and may bend.
Asiatic Lily: Planting and Care
Most species of lilies are grown in one place without transplanting for 5-7 years. During this time, plants form nests from bulbs of different sizes. Asiatic lilies breed faster, since each bulb has several buds of renewal, so experts recommend dividing their nests every three years.
They dig out them whole, trying not to damage the root system, after which they shake off excess soil from them and carefully examine them. Often the nests break up, but it also happens that you have to separate the daughter bulbs with your hands, with considerable effort. If bulbs with brown or rust spots, mechanical damage are found, then they must be removed and destroyed. Dead roots are completely cut out, and the rest are cut to 10, maximum 15 cm. Separated clean bulb children with roots are etched for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. They are planted in prepared soil in mid-August, in a well-spilled hole in advance.
How to fertilize?
Fertilizing is a very important procedure, especially in the phase of budding and staining of flowers. Do not feed Asian lilies during flowering, as an abundance of nutrients leads to its faster completion. Experts recommend fertilizing three times during the season:
- The first is carried out after the snow melts, but before the emergence of sprouts. A flower bed with lilies is shed with an aqueous solution of last year and fermented mullein, but in no case fresh manure, breeding 1 liter of slurry in 10 liters of water. If there is no cow manure, then you can feed with an aqueous solution of ammonium nitrate, taking 40 g of powder per 10 liters of water.
- The second fertilizer application takes place at the time of the appearance of the buds - the end of spring or earlier summer. Introduce wood ash at the rate of 100 g per square meter.
- No later than August 15, you need to feed the lilies with the aqueous composition of double superphosphate, dissolving one tablespoon of the drug in 10 liters of water, or with complex fertilizer with a predominance of potash. You can also re-add wood ash.
How to water?
Any lilies, including Asiatic ones, do not like stagnation of water. Therefore, it is better to water them rarely, but quite abundantly. In no case should you water these flowers with cold water. It is better if it has settled and heated for a couple of days. Watering is necessary so that water does not fall on the leaves, pouring under the root. Lilies experience the greatest need for moisture after flowering, when the bulbs begin to accumulate nutrients.
Advantages and disadvantages of "Asians"
Asiatic lilies showed excellent performance in a variety of, even very difficult growing conditions and showed such important qualities:
- the ability to grow and bloom on different types of soils in difficult weather conditions;
- the highest ability to vegetative propagation;
- good resistance to most diseases and pests;
- frost resistance.
Equally important, the lilies of this group are very beautiful: their color palette includes almost all colors, with the exception of blue, blue and pure black tones. In addition, Asian lilies have powerful peduncles decorated with many large flowers, which makes them attractive not only for growing in garden compositions, but also for decorating rooms with bouquets. When cut, they can stand in a vase for about two weeks if they have enough water, and the ambient temperature does not exceed +22 ° C. The stems need to be cut daily a little diagonally and be sure to change the water to fresh. If all this is done, then the lily will demonstrate all its beauty, blossoming to the last bud.