What is the hot lily of 2018, along with your favorites. Thanks all.

This is a hard question to answer... there are new lilies that come out every year but if there is a "hot" one I don't know about it.

My focus is more on "Is it hardy and disease resistant". Most lilies on the market here were developed in the Netherlands and so many of them have not done well for me (in other words they croaked). Now days most of my purchases are from Pacific Northwest growers and breeders. I have lots of favorites but here are a few of my favorites that I got from PNW growers.

Asiatic lilies: I like Pearl Melanie (yellow, outfacing), Red Velvet (red, down facing), Tiger Babies (peachy, out to down facing). These are not even close to being new lilies but they are tried and true for endurance. I have very few upfacing lilies but if you are interested in using lilies for cut flowers then that is what you want to look for.

Trumpet lilies: These can grow kind of tall. My favorites are Summer Palace (purple/pink) and Golden Sceptre (yellow), both Lily Garden exclusives. These are seed strains and color intensity can vary.

Oriental lilies: They usually don't last long for me but I like to keep just a few. Favorite is probably Rio Negro, a deep red with dark nectaries. B&D Lilies have them on sale if you buy in a 6 pack. I understand that this may be the last year they will be available anywhere.

Orienpet Lilies (Oriental x trumpet, OT): Many of these can grow quite tall so good for the background in a garden. I have one that reached the eaves of my house . A few that have grown real well for me are Miss Libby, Silk Road, Carte Blanche and Scheherazade all from the Lily Garden. They have survived for years for me. On the other hand, every Dutch bred OT in the pink/purple range became virused. Learned my lesson on those. Perhaps others have had better luck.

Hope this is helpful but face it, there are hundreds of lilies available out there. If you are thinking of buying lilies, pick some out that you are interested in then come back and run them by us for feedback.

No idea what the craze will be this year. There are certainly a few hybrids that I would like to get, but Australia is usually a few years behind the US, so what's "new" down here (unless it's an Australian hybrid) is probably old news to you!

Hardiness is something I am also looking for (especially something that will stand up to the Australian summer). I am fast learning which hybrids (and species) do and don't like it here. Orientals are a real struggle where I am; I have one last spot to try around the house to see if they like that location. If not, then I will probably give up entirely on them for the moment.

Asiatics are my favourites (probably because grew up with them). Our commercial Leichtlinii (which I've read is a selection of 'Citronella'?) seems to do well here. 'Red Velvet' is another (which I see Connie has also mentioned).

Martagons: these are lovely but technically "shouldn't" grow here. They get no winter freeze and can have two growth cycles (spring and autumn). Interestingly I have had more success with the species than the hybrids (although I am now testing out Australian hybrids - some from seed, thanks to @vanozzi - and some from Cam Lilies - thanks to @dellac for pointing them out).

I have plenty of Aurelians (Div. 6) courtesy of @vanozzi, who generously gave me a large number when he divided his hybrids. Quite a number of these grow well here, although some do not like the full sun. I'm trying my hand at hybridising to see what I can do to improve the heat tolerance and colourfastness.

I have yet to really explore Orienpets (small range available here), but I now have some seeds to try.

Species Liliums are an ongoing experiment for me, as I am keen to try to grow as many as I can. Almost all have to be grown from seed here; occasionally one or two become available as bulbs. So far I have definitely managed not to kill L. candidum (seed-grown), L. pardalinum var. pitkinense (seed-grown) and L. martagon var. albiflorum (purchased as bulbs), whilst some others are proving a real challenge (and sometimes it's hard to tell whether I've got something wrong or the seed is just dead - I'm looking at you, L. taliense).

It is hard to say what the hot lily will be. Typically, it seems to favor whatever lily wins at the NALS show, as that gets the most news, followed by the smaller shows.

Asiatics are almost a fool proof lily. They usually aren't too picky about soil, as long as it's quick draining. Asiatic lilies, in my opinion, have the most color and pattern and form options. But lack fragrance, typically are shorter in height, and smaller flower size.

OTs are great, but do somewhat lack color choices and patterns. But there are new varieties coming out every year, and have typically larger blooms, fragrant, and taller.

Orientals can be finicky. Some people plant them with the expectation of only getting a couple years out of them.

My favorite are probably Aurelian lilies. Which are trumpet lilies with L. Henryi genetics in them somewhere. These lilies are the ones with whiskers, or Pappilae in them. Or sometimes striations in that petal.

I'm with Connie, browse some online places, visit Faraway Flowers on Facebook, or browse the database here. If you are interested in a certain color or kind of flower, people on here can point you in some kind of direction. Depending on their experiences. The lily Garden is a good site to visit, though not updated for spring 2018 yet. The Lily Nook, and B&D lilies, are also good places to visit.

With you being from Washington, you might be able to even visit The Lily Garden.

Awesome things to look up and consider. Thank you guys.

Awesome indeed... my favorite lily >>