I have Stargazer and an all white one (Madonna?) both oriental lilies. Both are nice and they come back every year.

I, too, put them on the hot, sunny south side and they are not at their best there. I moved half of them last fall to a spot with some afternoon shade and they have performed much better. The flowers on the ones on the south side burned around the edges again this year.

If you do a lily garden definitely try and find a good mix to extend bloom time. Mine bloom at the same time and last maybe two weeks max.

The only other problems I have had is something digging up the bulbs and something biting off the top shortly after emerging from the soil.

Stargazer, Casa Blanca and Muscadet. But I love them all! Mine are on the SW side, get hot sun all afternoon and they love it.

Linda

I really like Blackout, it is a deep, yummy dark red that makes all the other colors pop. The 3 listed above are faves also...love my Casa and the Muscadet is fab...I have a really nice pink, but it is so old that the tag is long gone and the name with it, LOL...Helen.

I don't plant many of the orientals as they don't bloom well enough in my garden to earn a spot. Casa Blanca (white) is an exception.Asiatics: Fangio is an LA lily and a gorgeous raspberry red. Red Velvet is just as it sounds, it has somewhat smaller blooms. Atlantis is a soft silvery pink, Last Dance is a lovely soft pink. Kiss Me Kate (another LA) is another deep pink, Samur (LA) is pink with a white throat. When you get into the orien-pets, Scheherazade is a stunning burgundy with a green nectary and gold rimmed petals. Black Beauty has similar coloration with a smaller bloom with re curved petals. A mature stem of either of the last two lilies is a sight to behold with 35 to 40 blooms per stalk. It usually takes a few years to achieve that kind of bloom. Sydney has dusty pink blooms with a cream center and brown spots. A clump of Casa Rosa (LA) deep rose pink, is stunning.Hope this gives you a few ideas.

Scheherazade has done great for me. Very dramatic, fragrant and robust. I planted 'Ballet Slippers' in the spring. Its pale pink with smaller elegant shaped flowers.

'Pink Tiger' from Linders is also a very strong grower.

It seems to me the NorthStar Lily society has a sale at the arboretum in the fall. Might be a good place to find alot of MN proven lilies

Ted

Northstar Lily Society link below. There is always room for more members, says Julie, Tammy and I).

Here is a link that might be useful: North Star Lily Society

I don't plant Orientals or Trumpets anymore. Sometimes they grow great for many years and then we have a bad winter or spring and they're gone. Scheherazade was probably my favorite lily for many years. It is absolutely gorgeous then it never came back. Asiatics are just the most reliable IMO.

Kevin

Thanks for all the info! Where do you find all of these lilies I've been looking on line but there doesn't seem to be much there. I would love to go to the North Star Sale but it's almost a 4 hour drive from here are there any other options?

I get most of mine from the following sources: The Lily Garden, Buggycrazy, B&D Lilies, or John Scheepers Beauty from Bulbs. This year is my first time ordering from Buggycrazy but have heard lots of good comments. Just do a web search for some of the above or in most cases just add .com to the end of the name. Good luck and have fun with your lilies.

Um- my favorites always seem to be the ones pictured on the outside of the package for sale.....
I wonder if you ever can have too many lilies....
My latest to bloom this year are the speciosum lilies- speciosum alba, rubrem and 'Black Beauty'. I still have one fairly fresh blossom to view. That makes 5 months of lily blooms in my yard this year!
I learned a trick to making more of your lilies. I bought some this spring at the Northstar Lily Society Sale @ Bachman's and scaled them. It was a very simple process and worked very well for almost all of the lilies I tried! I used peat in my bags and it worked well for me. I think I will do this for lilies as I purchase them- or maybe even lift a few special favs to try this fall!
One thing I learned the hard way this summer- where ever and when ever you plant these new little bulbs, you should mulch well- they are babies afterall, and just can't take the baking heat like the mature more deeply planted ones can. Ah well- live and learn...
I found a link to share that explains the process better than I could. I hope you will enjoy this process as I did if you decide to try it!

Julie

Here is a link that might be useful: Scaling lily bulbs

A lot of lilies are also very easy to grow from seed. I've grown martagons, tenuifolium, tsingtanense and some Asiatic hybrids this way. It can really be fun growing the Asiatic hybrids because you are going to end up with lilies no one else has since seedlings vary so much in outcome.

I second the vote for The Lily Garden as a source for bulbs. They have a really nice selection at good prices.

Has anyone grown Vermeer & do you like it for full sun area? Does it fade in Full sun? Also what about Crete lily (same question)? Thanks, Judy

You guys down south have all the fun!! That bulb sale looks like it would be a blast! To bad I am not willing to drive 6 to 7 hours just to go!

Jenny P

Pink Stargazers are beautiful and smell great. I had a beautiful specimen in my front garden this year (4 to 5 blooms) that some passerby felt the need to steal out of my garden this summer. Needless to say-no more Stargazers in the front bed for me-they are all getting moved to a safer spot.

Oh am I glad I peeked into this post. I really enjoy lilies. First I can't say enough for The Lily Garden. Judy at TLG is a peach. She talked me through the scaling process (it works!) and then talked me through hybridizing. I ordered many many lilies from her and what she does for me is amazing...she will write on the label, tetraploid, diploid or triploid, she will also indicate which plants are sterile or pod fertile and perhaps give me ideas of crossing this with that. I will always be greatful for her help and will order from them forever. (I don't work there and never been there in person. I'm only a satisfied customer).

Asiatic 'Vermeer' - I have this lily in full sun, it is a light pink with a creamy eyezone. It does hold a beautiful pink color fairly well until it ages, then it does fade.

My favorites are the strongly scented Orientals, Trumpets and Aurelian lilies. I love working in my gardens when these babies are blooming the sent is downright intoxicating. The oriental lilies prefer acid soil thus the problem with your bulbs petering out after a time. I use a granular fertilizer around them for azaleas, rhododendrons which has a high acidity in it allowing a better survival rate with my oriental lilies. I also like Orienpets but the fragrance is not as strong.

My favorites that do so well in my gardens are:

Asiatics, which bloom in June & July:
Asiatic 'Red Velvet' - a beautiful red with recurved flower petals and I've seen the hummingbird constantly fly around this when in bloom.

Asiatic 'Tiger Babies' - is awesome, many pinky/peachy blooms with recurved petals. It has small dots in the throat similar to the orange tiger lilies, but this one is beautiful.

Asiatic 'White Lace' - you did not mention white, but this is a worthy white to own. This one towered easily at 4 feet and had the beautiful white recurved flowers with purple on the backs of the petals. Gorgeous. (Heirloom Lace is similar and just as nice..it gets a bit taller than White Lace).

Asiatic 'Blackout' - this one is absolutely stunning dark black/red in color. Looks magnificent paired with my dark burgundy ninebark (Summer Wine) and a lime colored elderberry (goldenlocks).

Asiatic 'Chippendale' - Ya have to get this one...if not for the name alone. ha ha. Seriously, it is a very nice bright lavender pink with recurved petals and gorgeous!

Trumpets which bloom in July and August (My ultimate favorite for fragrance):
Ice Caves - A beautiful white with a green throat spreading into the midribs of the lilies petals. Stunning!

Copper Crown - light orange in color with purple on the back of the flowers petals.

Midnight - Dark purple in color.

Lady Alice - creamy white with orange bursting from the eye and out into the petals. Very striking.

Black Magic - very dark purple.

Orientpets which bloom in July and August:
Luminaries - Cream colored with orange, yellow and green in a combination flowing through the eye and into the petals. Very complex color combination. (Quintessence, is similary to Luminaries and just as pretty)

Catherine the Great - this lily was as tall as I this summer (5'7") It is a creamy white flower with a yellow eye reaching out into the petals.

Scheherazade - Is a very popular one that I see in many gardens. It is a stiking white with rosy/red within the petals. The flower petals are recurved and this one blooms on forever with all it's blooms. (Anastasia & Leslie Woodriff are similar except the coloring is more rose and no red.)

I better quit. I really enjoy my lilies and wouldn't be without them. Unfortunately, I am a plant collector and have way to many different perennials...not to mention these beautiful lilies. ha ha

jennypat, it would almost be better for you to go the the Manitoba Lily Society bulb sale in Brandon. LOL