The genus Lilium is a moderately sized genus of about 100 bulb-forming species in the hugely important plant family, Liliaceae, which contains hundreds of species of ornamental plants. Many lilies (Asiatic and Oriental hybrids) are ubiquitous as cut flowers or garden specimens. Our goal is to offer only the hard-to-find Lilium species and select Lilium hybrids that will probably never grace the pages of the Dutch Lily catalogs alongside those truly gaudy Asiatic hybrids.
Read More
Regardless of their origin, lilium selections provide large, colorful flowers in a variety of wonderful forms and shapes. Since most of our lilium offerings are not in mass production, the prices reflect their rarity and production time. All of our lilium selections are flowering size.
Lilium species are variable in their requirements. Some lilies prefer full sun and others prefer light shade. All lilium species prefer well-amended garden soil. When happy, lilies are long-lived perennial wildflowers that provide a consistent floral show every year. When you are ready to buy lilies for your perennial garden, we hope you'll check out our online offering of lily bulbs for sale below.
Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery has been the choice of serious gardeners and plant collectors looking for the best and rarest perennial plants. We are pleased to have received the Perennial Plant Association Retail Award in 2011, the American Horticulture Society Commercial Award in 2002, and to have been selected as one of the Best Mail Order Plant Sources - Garden Design Magazine 2010. Welcome to our family of plant lovers!
(syn: Lilium tigrinum) We are very excited to be able to offer the very cool and hard-to-find double form of this great pass-along plant. The sturdy 6-7' tall stately stalks are topped with clusters of fascinating large, double-petaled, reddish orange flowers in late August and September. Each stalk bears small black bulbils in the leaf axils that can be used to reproduce the plant. Its scarcity is no doubt due to the Lily Society snobs. In the book, "Lilies, a Guide for Growers and Collectors," Edward McRae writes, "The double flowered variety 'Florepleno' is unattractive in the eyes of most gardeners, indeed, almost grotesque." I say that beauty can only be in the eyes of the beholder if the upturned nose is first removed. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Lilium leichtlinii var. maximowiczii is a little known cousin of the more common Lilium lancifolium that makes a similar 6' tall stalk, adorned with large, dangling, bright orange flowers, each specked with dark brown. Where it differs is that Lilium leichtlinii does not produce bulbils, which can become pesky if you don't have enough gardening friends. For us, it flowers Lilium leichtlinii flowers in late September, when most other lilies have long gone. In the wild, it prefers moist soils, but we've found it to be quite drought tolerant. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This lily hybrid (Lilium martagon x Lilium hansonii), winner of the Award of Garden Merit, is a 1921 introduction from England's Robert Ormston Backhouse, who liked the selection so much, he named it for his wife, Sarah Elizabeth. The 4.5' tall stalk is topped in June (NC) with lovely pendent, golden-orange flowers that are heavily speckled with purple dots. The buds emerge pink, and the pink color remains on the outside of the petals after opening. We have had very good luck growing these despite our summers. Still, moist soils and cool sites are best. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This stunning seed strain, derived from Lilium sargentiae, is one of the best lilies we have grown in our fairly lily-deprived southern climate. Lilium 'Pink Perfection' makes a stunning 6' tall clump, topped in mid-June with 7-15 huge lavender buds that open to even larger, obscenely fragrant lavender flowers. Notice, I said lavender, not pink...damn color-blind horticulturists. Each flower is highlighted by large globs of bright orange pollen on the anthers...absolutely a gem of a plant. Martha Stewart's website describes this as, "one of Martha's favorite lilies." It's a really good thing! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This 2000 Dan Hinkley introduction comes from a collection in Southern Sichuan Province (originally sold as Lilium leucanthemum). These stately 6' tall lilies are topped from late June to July with huge downward-facing fragrant trumpets of pure white. The flower backs are tinged green toward the petal tips, and purple toward the back. Lilium sargentiae also forms a few leaf bulbils in the top foot of the stem for assistance in propagation. Although typically one-to four-flowered and reaching 3-5' in height, this form tops out at 6' for us with 5-8 flowers per stalk. Lilium sargentiae prefers slightly acidic soils and good winter drainage. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(aka: L. formosanum v. pricei A1TW-215) We were very excited to finally see Lilium formosanum in the wilds of Taiwan in 2008. Lilium formosanum has a wide range on the island, from the lowland subtropics where it reaches 7' tall to above the alpine tree line where it never exceeds 2' tall. This seed strain is from our collection at 9,343' elevation on Hehuan Mountain in Nantou County. In the garden, Lilium formosanum v. pricei flowers much earlier than the lowland form (early June in NC) and never exceeds 2' tall with its large, fragrant, horizontally-held, funnel-shaped white flowers, flushed purple on the back. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
.jpg "Epimedium wushanense (Wushan Fairy Wings)")
