The buds on 'Mapira' started to change colour yesterday. This photo is from this morning:



Quite a few have buds now - 'Tresor', 'Navarra' and 'Mapira' being the most advanced.

I was pretty disappointed with the bud color of Mapira. With such uneven pigmenting, it made me wonder what the open flowers would really look like. But once open, the tepal color was very rich.


I had bought this one at our 2014 local Lily Society spring bulb sale. "Found" the bulb still in its original bag in the garage on 21 June 2014. and then planted it. I removed the flower buds that year. The pic is the following year, 2015, and it was a no show (dead) in 2016.

The buds have darkened further this morning.

Interesting, Rick. Any idea what caused yours to die?

Not a clue. It seem quite happy that last year, and there was not stress of seed development....

Is it possible something ate it? Or maybe it decided to take a year off? Is rather weird though. When a person thinks of asiatic lilies, one generally thinks of hardy and strong. But not every lily is the same. I pondered getting this one earlier in the year because I liked the dark plum color with the orange pollen color.

Nhra_20 said:I pondered getting this one earlier in the year because I liked the dark plum color with the orange pollen color.

Ha! That's exactly what I didn't like about it! To me, a very unnatural and contrived look.... But I thought it might be interesting to hybridize with.

I am quite sure there were no varmints. And I don't think I've ever had any asiatics take the year off. If it did, I'll see it next year, 'cause I did not digging in that area.

First two buds on 'Mapira' opened this morning. Caught it before the anthers had opened:



Looks like the third bud has deformed somewhat. Will have to wait and see if it opens normally.

Another lily season off to a great start!

Clearly I planted late, only have the beginnings of buds emerging from the top of the stem in my asiatics. Any estimation of time to bloom?

Hi @Protoavis,

From my records for 'Mapira':

Planted - 26th June
Emerged - 19th August through 12th September (5 stems from three bulbs)
Bloomed - 6th November (first two blooms from the single-nosed bulb; all others look like they're blind this year)

'Tresor' will probably bloom in a couple of weeks. It was planted 20th July and all five bulbs emerged between the 19th and 22nd of August.

You're not necessarily late, Protoavis, 'Mapira' is an early cultivar. It was the first to bloom when I grew it. But I notice that the season here is a couple of weeks later than usual. I don't know if I've ever reached the second week of November without a lily bloom, but then I don't keep accurate records.

My report is quite similar to Della's. From the few Liliums that survived rodent attacks/mosaic virus (most of them asiatics), I have only two about to bloom: the short stemmed Matrix and Rick's daughters, L. candidum. Unfortunately, in late winter I transplanted the newer bulbs produced from scales and from seeds (app. 8 of each) of L. candidum and it seems they will not bloom for me this year. Last year I had some blooms from these babies

A couple weeks ago I was invaded by .... COWS! One of these beasts ate two of my Matrix lilies. Question: do they transmit mosaic virus like rodents do?

Holy cow!

You're up against it again this year, Ursula. I hope other plants can provide beauty over summer. I can't quite imagine what might get passed on in cow slobber! (They are very messy eaters...)

Oh no, not cows. They love lilies and their bulbs!

I could not believe my eyes when I saw the cows crawling under my fence (sheep wire fence, app. 1.6m plus a row of barbed wire some 15cm higher), undigging the poles and then down an almost vertical decline to the dry watershed and then up again to my plants.

I had to ask my friend/neighbour/Vet for help, since I was going through my 4th gout crisis in the row (currently getting out of the fifth with intervals of 10 days). Pipe was astonished: one of the cows he was trying to get out of my fenced area was so scared she just took a big jump and flew out between the mesh and the barbed wire. The following day they came back! I still had a good amount of barbed wire that Pipe installed on the bottom of the mesh, so that it hurts when they try to crawl in and so far they have not been back. It seems I will have to complete this job all along the fence.

Never a boring day here!

Buds grow quickly, they seem to have doubled in size this last week. Still probably at least 3 weeks from bloom, being approx a quarter to 1 third full size (based on what I see in cut flowers...so mileage probably varies) but quicker than I thought.

The first of two pots with L.a. Matrix is in bloom:




These are the two stems chomped off by a cow:




What are those shiny butt bugs doing to my L. candidum baby?

Oh goody, lily photos! Those bugs sure look like they are having a feast in the nectaries!

They have been there since the early afternoon. From time to time, one takes a few steps back (to breath?) and then re-takes his place.

It seems they visited the larger flower stem first, because the inside of the tepals is covered with pollen.

Fortunately, I do not have a pollinating programme, because I cannot count on water to take care of seedlings.

Shiny butt bugs!

Love your lilies too, Ursula.