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hosta_house

Friend or Foe

hosta_house
15 years ago

I posted this in the Perennial Forum but I may have better luck here, I will post another pic once the bloom opens.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/peren/msg0621001815894.html?10

Comments (12)

  • hld6
    15 years ago

    Posted my reply on your perennial forum post. I recognized a lot of names over there so it looks like a lot of the other Lilium folks did as well!

    When you get your opened bloom photo please post it here as well as there. I'm seems I'm not the only one curious about it.

    -Helen

  • hld6
    15 years ago

    I'm changing my vote. I went out yesterday and even my very young Triumphator had leaves distributed around the stem. As Steve noted, that "ladder like" leaf arrangement is really prominent in orientals (especially L. Speciosum, their species parent) and the only oriental that could be ready to bloom in June is "Mona Lisa".

    The picture looks a LOT like a lily but the very round leaves bugged me. So, I got curious to see if our poster had other plants besides lilies similar to this one. Double-clicking the photo takes you to Photobucket. Click on the album "yardpics", go to the third page, and there is a picture of a lily that looks like "Mona Lisa" and with the same rounder than usual leaves. (Maybe its the same plant last year.) The mature Mona Lisa I've seen has longer shaped leaves. (I like taller lilies so I don't grow it myself). I'll have to see if my mom has any young offsets so I can check the leaves.

    My (amended) vote is the Oriental Lily "Mona Lisa".

    -Helen

  • alina_1
    15 years ago

    Helen, some of my young Orientals have rounded leaves just like on that picture. I also have Oriental 'Farolito' blooming right now. Maybe, not only 'Mona Lisa' is an early bloomer. So my vote for Oriental as well.

  • hosta_house
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thank you all for your input (damn Helen your good),since it's bloomed it does look exactly like the Lily on page 3 however I didn't know I had an Oriental planted in this bed, it's never bloomed there before in the 10 years I've been here? So do I have a Mona Lisa?
    Thanks again

    {{gwi:242911}}

    {{gwi:242913}}

  • alina_1
    15 years ago

    Yep, definitely looks like 'Mona Lisa'.

  • hld6
    15 years ago

    Hi Alina,

    Like "Mona Lisa", "Farolita" is an exceptionally small oriental (only up to 16"). Maybe, in the hybridizing that results in their unusually small size, the dwarf - pot - miniature Orientals (each seller has their own name for them) also end up with an unusually early bloom.

    And yeah "Hosta house" with that bloom and bloom time you've got "Mona Lisa".

    Maybe it was a squirrel "gift". They dig bulbs up and re-bury them - and don't always find them again. They also don't respect property lines. We had a tulip bloom smack in the middle of our front lawn. This house has (I mean had) NO tulips and certainly no person (ourselves or prior owners) had planted it in that spot. It was pretty amusing looking.

    So maybe you had a little squirrel friend move last years Mona Lisa (your page 3 bulb) to this new bed or else they stole a neighbors! :)

    -Helen

  • alina_1
    15 years ago

    Maybe, 'Farolito' and 'Mona Lisa' have the same parentage. 'Farolito' is more uniform pink than ML, but they are definitely somewhat similar. My 'Farolito's are taller than 16" though - about 2'. They were about 16" when I bought them. Probably, they had some kind of chemical treatment for keeping them dwarf.
    I agree with the squirrel suggestion. Squirrels can plant some really weird stuff for you. One squirrel in my yard was determined to plant something in the big pot with Camellia. I tried to repell it with garlic/pepper mixtures. Apparently, it did not help. I ended up with Camellia growing at an angle and a couple of Lilies in this pot. I have no idea what kind of Lilies the squirrel planted for me :-) We'll see...

  • hld6
    15 years ago

    Yeah Alina I thought the same thing and looked up Farolita and Mona Lisa on The Lily Register. Unfortunately it was no help. Farolita was listed as a cross of two "unnamed seedlings" and Mona Lisa was listed as a cross of Star Gazer and an "unnamed seedling". Sheesh that "unnamed seedling" really gets around! :)

    And lets not forget it was Steve the "greenguy" who first noted that the foliage of the (at the time) unknown plant indicated an oriental. Good call.

    -Helen

  • greenguy1
    15 years ago

    Helen, you make me blush.... :)

    - Steve

  • hld6
    15 years ago

    What can I say Steve? When you're right you're right! Besides, I had to give "props" to my fellow Marylander. :)

    -Helen

  • greenguy1
    15 years ago

    Where in MD? Annapolis here.

    - Steve

  • hld6
    15 years ago

    I'm in Baltimore. I live on the north border of the City where it is heavily wooded with old trees. I love the trees but it makes lily growing a little tricky since I only have a few spots with sufficient sun. So, those are dedicated entirely to lilies. I have been working on establishing (shady) native plants in the rest. It's coming along but it still has a long way to go.

    My husband commuted to Annapolis for quite awhile, it's a very pretty area. He works at home now. Of course, I am terribly jealous since I commute to DC(!)

    -Helen