Tiger lily: what a flower looks like, planting and care in the open field + descriptions and photos of the best varieties and hybrids

Common varieties and hybrids of tiger lilies

There was a lanceolate beauty from a wild forest lily growing in Japan and China. It happened in the XNUMXth century. Since then, not many varieties have been bred by breeders. Consider the description of the most popular of them:

1. Splendens. This cultivar retains orange flowers. The plant itself is low (up to 1 m), the buds are large, up to 20 pcs can be located on the stem.
2. Citronella. The buds of this lily are lemon yellow, large (up to 12 cm in diameter), bloom for about 25 days. The plant is tall – 1–1,3 m.
3. Flora Plenot. Terry variety with brick-colored flowers. The buds are large and lush, each has up to 30 petals.
4. Pink Tiger. The buds of this lily are small and drooping, of a delicate pinkish hue.
5. Night Flyer. The brightest brindle variety. Its flowers reach a diameter of 16 cm, the color of the petals is burgundy-red with rare black patches.

The popularity of the tiger lily is so great that a princess is named after her – a character from the book about the adventures of Peter Pan. “Beautiful as a lily, and wild as a tiger” – this is how the Scottish writer James Barry described his heroine.

Video “Planting and breeding lilies”

In this video, an expert will tell you how to properly plant and propagate lilies in the garden.

Features of planting and caring for tiger lilies

Growing lilies does not cause much trouble, if you immediately choose a good place and create favorable conditions.

temperature and lighting requirements

Lilies of this species prefer a temperate climate. The optimum temperature for their active growth and flowering is considered to be + 19 … + 26 ° C. When planting lilies, you should choose slightly shaded areas where there is enough sun in the morning. This is an important point, since lilies open only in good light. The root zone, on the contrary, is recommended to be shaded. This can be done with low-growing and ornamental plants.

Soil and nutrient requirements

Lilies bloom best in light fertile soil with neutral to slightly high acidity. They do not tolerate stagnant water, so when planting, you need to take care of high-quality drainage. The area where the lilies will be planted should be dug to the depth of a shovel, compost (1 bucket / m²), as well as mineral fertilizers – superphosphate (100 g) and potassium salt (50 g) should be applied.

Landing and transplant

For planting, children are usually used, which are separated from the bulbs of adult plants. Before that, they are dipped for half an hour in a solution of potassium permanganate (5 g / 10 l of water).

The landing process is simple:

• small holes are dug 10–15 cm deep;
• a little sand is poured at the bottom of each, which will provide drainage;
• the bulbs are buried in the holes, covered with earth, the site is watered abundantly, and if planting is carried out in the fall, then they are covered with a layer of mulch.

Garden care is standard: watering, careful loosening and weeding. Sprouted bulbs are transplanted to a permanent place, where after 1-2 years they bloom. Annual flowering repeats every 4–5 years. Then the bulbs are depleted, but babies ripen on them, which are used for reproduction.

Tiger lilies are deadly for cats. All parts of this plant contain substances that are toxic to furry pets and cause kidney failure when eaten. 

Other methods of reproduction

In addition to daughter bulbs, lilies can be propagated in several more ways:

1. Kidney bulbs. From the second year of life, small onions begin to form in the axils of the leaves. At the end of summer, they are collected, sown in the substrate, and after rooting, they are transplanted into the soil. By the way, this is how lilies reproduce by self-sowing.
2. Scales. When transplanting, scales are separated from the bulbs, planted in wet sand, and in greenhouse conditions, after a few months, sprouts appear from them. In this way, more than 100 new plants can be obtained from one bulb.
3. Seeds. This is a laborious process and an unreliable method, since the germination rate of seeds is 70%, but it is also sometimes used.

Lily bulbs have medicinal properties. They are used for the manufacture of painkillers, tonic, hemostatic drugs and folk remedies.

Irrigation rates and soil care

Lilies do not need abundant watering. If they grow in the shaded part of the garden or are in composition with ground cover plants, then they can not be watered. When located in a sunny area, moderate watering under the root during the flowering period is needed. It is better to produce them in the morning so that excess moisture evaporates during the day.

After flowering, watering is gradually reduced. To maintain the required moisture, the soil is mulched or pallets with wet moss are used. It is also required to regularly loosen the soil and remove weeds, which may be carriers of fungi and pests.

Fertilizers and fertilizing

Lilies do not require regular feeding either. Only during the period of active flowering is it recommended to feed them with complex fertilizers once every 1 weeks, but this is not necessary. If the flowers are planted in fertile soil and bloom well, then mineral fertilizers can be dispensed with or replaced with compost. The latter is scattered on the surface in the spring, and also applied during transplantation.

Shelter for the winter

Lilies have excellent winter hardiness, and in snowy winters they do not need shelter – just a layer of snow is enough. But since snow does not always happen and not in all regions, it is better to hide wintering bulbs under a layer of organic matter.

Fighting diseases and pests

Growing in the garden with other plants, lilies can be affected by fusarium, rust, gray rot. In addition, this species itself is a carrier of a mosaic virus, which manifests itself in spots on the leaves. So that these diseases do not destroy the plants, they are sprayed from time to time with “Baktofit” or “Fundazol”.

Typical pests of lilies are aphids, leaf beetles, scoops, lily flies, thrips. If insects appeared on a flower, there is nothing left but to use insects: “Aktara”, “Spark”, “Confidor”.

Flower in landscape design

Tiger lilies are often used in landscape design. Due to their height, they look chic in the background of a flower arrangement or in the center of a large flower bed. In this case, you need to take into account the height, texture and shades of other colors that make up the composition.

So, tiger lilies go well with ground cover plants: stonecrop, periwinkle, saxifrage. Bright large flowers look advantageous against the background of ferns and undersized conifers. Terry varieties will make a great composition with phlox, asters. A yellow or brick lily will be favorably shaded by a delphinium. The main thing is that the complementary plants are lower than the lilies themselves.

Florist reviews

Tiger lilies are the most chic and unpretentious representatives of garden flora. They are suitable both for a home flower garden and for a designer composition. In addition, even a novice gardener can grow this beauty.