I recently purchased Ariadne like the way the flowers dangle plus a hummingbird magnet and Burata like the slightly ruffled edge. Purchased these from The Lily Garden and am wondering if anyone here grows them plus your opinion. Decided to squeeze these two in a couple of spots this year.

I have purchased from Judith in the past and am well satisfied with Giraffe, Pizzazz, Silk Road, Caravan, Alchemy and there may be some I am not recalling offhand. Love those tall lilies put in the garden here and there not to mention that some of them sell so good.

Guess I just am getting sick of winter we have plenty of snow and cold temps not even a bare spot in the yard.

Ariadne will need excellent drainage due to its L. lankongense genes. I haven't grown Baruta but it should grow as well as your other orienpets. I have found that other yellow orienpets that I have grown have held their color really well (Manisa, Conca D'Or). How about reporting back with photos later in the season?

I think most of us are tired of winter. We don't get snow here but we also don't get much sun either all winter long. Looking forward to lily season!

Thanks for the info, good to know I will make sure to plant in a well drained area of course my entire garden seems to drain well there is never standing water. Hummm I think I ordered one with the lankogense genes last year will have to see how it does this year. I will try to remember to take photos and post them here when they bloom.

Ariadne grows very well here in zone 5. I really enjoy it. It seems to get better, with more flowers each year. I would say that it is one of the better, less fusyy L. lankongense hybrids. So definitely enjoy it.

Does anyone know the name of this one? An unmarked pot of these was brought here three or four years ago. I put them in an unprepared spot off in 'no mans land' and left them neglected. But they like it there. They get about 40 inches high. This is the only picture I have.

Magnolialover Yeah yippy skippy!!! I really wanted that one to like our climate!!! Judith did say in her description that it would get better every year I just wasn't sure about our cold climate.

Lorn, if you think it is an old cultivar, I don't think there is any doubt. It is Fata Morgana.

I don't know if there are any new cultivars out there that are similar.

Thanks Rick. I wasn't sure about the markings on the petal edges. Well then, maybe I'll keep it a while longer. I guess I should be more grateful for what people bring here, but most times it's just another pain in the butt I have to get rid of by pretending it winterkilled or I planted it at my daughter's house some other flimsy excuse. I'm sure we all go thru that dilemma where, by golly, as soon as I throw something out, those people show back up and want to see how the plant they gave me is doing! And, it's gone!!

I vote with Leftwood.I have Fata Morgana and it sure looks like mine.

Dreams: I grow Baruta and it is spectacular.Very sturdy stems,large blooms.I like the soft cream color.

ge1869 lovely photos of Barata it is the first soft yellow OT that is being added to the garden. I do like the OT's that I have in my garden they are indeed spectacular being tall and scented they make a statement in the garden.

Actually, Lorn, I really don't care much for doubles, but Fata Morgana has quite a strong constitution. I think I've sold my last bulbs last season, and I won't miss it in favor of all the really cool things coming along the pipeline.

I agree Rick.For me it is just yellow lilies in general.I have some yellows ordered for this spring that I really like.Chocolate Canery
B&D lilies has a double yellow border lily,looks just like FM.they call it Tiny Yellow Kiss.
I also realize FM multiplies like crazy.

Rick--what are your thoughts of what lies ahead of us with lily culture?--say in the next five or ten years. My thoughts are we'll see a continued push with Oriental Trumpet hybrids but trending toward shorter varieties. The same with Orientals--shorter. I also get the feeling that we may see a renewed interest and availablity in Species and Martagons similar to that of the 70's and 80's. And one day, the LA's will take over the countryside like ditch lilies---Oh, just kidding! Seriously, what are your thoughts on what lies ahead?

Jo Ann, I think you'll be real happy with Chocolate Canary and I know you'll find just the right spot where it will show its best. Nice flower, nice plant--as is the older, similar version, Lazy Lady. Great choice!

Lorn! I sure hope your right.
I am interested in Martagones.Do you think the reason they arent offered much is because some varieties are so finicky?

Jo Ann, I think my own experience is typical. That is when all these beautiful new hybrids late 80's and 90's were coming onboard, I was so overwhelmed by this new beauty and robust stamina that I just couldn't get enough of it. I just bought and bought and bought, everything I could get my hands on, filling up my gardens with these beautiful plants. And mass marketing with the advent of big box stores made it easy for me. In the meantime, most of my older varieties like the Mid Century Hybrids that I had been hanging on to were left to languish and die or in some case even destroyed in favor of new more beautiful ones like Stargazer. It's that mass marketing of this beauty sells and that translates into $$$dollars which perpetuates into more availability thru mass production and ease of getting an 'instant beautiful plant' to the customer. Species and Marts are not that easy or quick to mass produce (it's all about the $$dollar) for profit. And they're difficult to handle on the shelves of mass marketing outlets like big box stores without damage. This, all coupled with the near elimination of independant mail order growers like Jungs, Gurneys, etc and the near extinction of small town type garden centers have led us to where we're at today. It's not so much that they are slower or more finicky as much as they were a victim of modern business techniques and money.

Now, is there a 'silver lining' in all of this? Yes, I think so. I believe what big box stores have done by default, has created an exposure and awareness to lilies like never before. And, as more and more people use them more and more, this will generate into a deeper interest by many. So as a positive consequence of mass marketing, there should develop a greater interest in the Species and Marts as well. That's why in my note to Rick above, I think we just might see it happen. I hope so.

Thanks I hadnt taken marketing into consideration.
Similar to you I had a lily opportunity and just went crazy in 2009.
I had a large garden I intended to get planted on a 5 year plan and as I had the room I went nuts buying what I wanted just because it struck me as a beauty or unusual.
I ended up with over 100 varieties added to a few dozen I already had from the other house.I figure at #3 bulbs for each variety and multiplying asiatics I have around 460 stems at any one time.Many are LA's and OT's with the largest percentage Asiatics.

I believe there are really two lily categories for the future: the mass merchandising and the enthusiasts' market.

In mass marketing as lilies to grow, the current trend is miniature asiatics and that will continue, I agree. LAs, too, although I wonder why they haven't already taken the market by storm. Don't care for them much, myself, so can't really give an opinion. As OTs haven't yet leaped the hurdle of fast and dependable growth despite horrendous care, they have a ways to go. Coming online in the near future will be the everblooming lilies. Included in mass marketing is the cut flower business, too. I predict the next big thing there will be upright(or semi-upright) facing trumpets, with upfacing orientals remaining strong.

For the enthusiasts' market, martagons will continue to grow in popularity, simply because of the greater availability. Alas, I don't think they will ever make the jump into the mass markets, due to the instant expectations of the casual gardener. Frankly, I think that's a good thing, as it keeps them as a commodity only available through real nurseries. Interdivisional hybrids will continue to be very popular, OTs especially as that is the current big trend, but shorter down or outfacing OTs- no. Also increasing in market share will be other oriental interdivisional crosses.

Although I grew lilies from the late 1960s onward, I really did it without outside influence until the second millennium, and wasn't aware of any resurgence of species popularity in earlier years.
(Does this make it a trendy genre, like clothes styles - remember when we where kids, and we wouldn't be caught dead wearing a white belt...
And what do you see guys wearing now?)
My guess is that species will remain a more "in the background" category. But it is true that the availability and discovery of new species will certainly increase the category somewhat.

I can understand the Martagones marketability as you said before.Bulbs are fragile.
Oddly enough many of my varieties are the pot lily or border lilies.They smile up from perennials so nicely.

Well, it's going to be interesting for sure because lilies are more popular now than ever before and with such increased popularity, something is bound to evolve from it. We will benefit. I believe the independant, family owned growers/sellers will benefit as well as more and more of the newly deeply involved/interested come aboard for Species, Marts, Trumpets, Aurelians, etc. Mass production/mass marketing will never be able to accomodate this sector (those like us) but availablity of these for the more deeply involved will be, most likely from the small independant growers moreso even than in the 70's and 80's. I remember B&D had many more for sale in the 80's then but shifted growing/selling in response to increased demand of the more fashionable newer hybrids. To be sure, the future will provide us something very ineresting to talk about.

Anyone else have some thoughts of the future?