This is the world's most popular lily. And no wonder. Star Gazer is one of many hybridized from the world-famous species, lilium speciosum rubrum, the wild red lily of Japan. But this one has become everyone's favorite because it's the lily that has everything. It is incredibly beautiful, highly fragrant, very easy to grow, not too tall, and has strong stems. In addition, the large blooms are upward-facing, a rare quality for an Oriental Hybrid lily; most are outward facing, like Casa Blanca. These upright blooms make Star Gazer extra-useful for florists, and also guarantee a big beautiful show in your garden. The blooms of Star Gazer vary somewhat. Some bulbs will produce flowers with almost solid red petals, but always with the white margins. Others, and this includes most, look exactly like the photo above with deep pink blending to red, showing spots.
No one can have too many of these. Plant enough to have them for cutting and for highlights in your mid to late summer garden.
Spectacular lilies for your garden; it's easy. Everybody loves lilies, and today's hybrids are a snap to grow, unlike some of the more difficult ones of the past. Today's favorites are no more work than growing a tulip or daffodil. First, take a look at the combination photo, above right. The large picture of a red lily is Star Gazer, the most famous Oriental Hybrid. (See lily groups below.) Along with the famous white one, Casa Blanca, and other Oriental Hybrids, it's a big florist's favorite, and the ones in your garden will be just as lovely and fragrant as the ones you buy in any flower shop.
Photos A and B are of "wild" or species lilies. (See lily groups below.) Photo A is the old favorite, orange Tiger Lily, (See lily groups below.) one of the best for wild meadows since it is tough, dependably perennial and will grow in almost any soil. Photo B is the incredibly beautiful Regal Lily, Lilium regale, the now-famous, highly fragrant white trumpet lily, discovered years ago growing wild in China. It has been used to create a whole new group of hybrids. (See Trumpet Liliy group below.)
Photo C shows how beautifully almost any lily works in a mixed garden or with other flowers in a vase. The stunning yellow bi-colored lily shown with red daylilies and gladiolus is the popular Asiatic Hybrid, "Grand Cru". (See lily groups below.)
Growing Lilies: True lilies (which don't include daylilies and others which are not in the genus Lilium) are easy to grow today, and more popular every season. Since they are upright and take practically no space at ground level, it's easy to plant lilies between other established perennials and shrubs. Most can also tolerate some shade, which adds versatility for the gardener. There are many lily groups, but to keep it simple, we will consider only a few of the main types that are important to gardeners. Each lily we ship includes complete instructions for planting. So don't hesitate. You can easily bring the spectacular beauty of lily flowers to any summer meadow or garden.
"Wild" Lilies or "Species" Lilies These are the true wildflowers from the world over. They are the ones all the glamorous hybrids are descended from. During our spring bulb season (starting in January), we always have some of these hard-to-find botanical treasures on our site for sale.
Oriental Hybrid Lilies are the now famous, very fragrant ones with large, flattened flowers such as red Star Gazer and white Casa Blanca. These are the ones now so popular in the floral trade, but are also very easy to grow. They bloom from mid-summer through early fall. Most have very large, outward-facing, fragrant flowers.
Asiatic Hybrid Lilies are today's largest group of garden lilies, quite easy to "naturalize". This growing group of lilies was begun by hybridizers in the US, and were first called "Mid-Century Hybrids." Compared to Orientals, the Asiatic Hybrid lilies bloom earlier (early to mid summer), the plants are shorter, the flowers a bit smaller, and most blooms are upward-facing and star-shaped. Some of the most famous Asiatic Hybrids are orange "Enchantment", and the famous red, "Gran Paradiso."
Tiger Lilies. This group is led by the famous old orange wild lily, which used to be called Lilium tigrinum. Botanists have changed that to Lilum lancifolium, but that doesn't stop most people (including us) from using the old name "tigrinum." From the original orange, the hybridizers have created new colors from white to pink. All have the large flowers, spots, and tough perennial qualities of the original. (By the way, don't call any old spotted orange lily "tiger lily". This one is the real thing, and no lily common name is more mis-used.)
Trumpet Lilies Sometimes called "Aurelian Hybrids" or other names, the large, tall trumpet lilies are all descended from The Regal Lily, a white wild species lily from China. All are incredibly fragrant, and wonderful for cutting. They grow tall, and often need staking, since a well-grown stalk can have over 15 huge flowers.