What happened to this lilly?

Discussion in 'HortForum' started by sarrah_bastet, Jun 13, 2006.

  1. sarrah_bastet

    sarrah_bastet Member

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    Location:
    Murray, KY USA
    HI, I'm new to gardening. I live in Kentucky, USA, so I'm not sure this is the right place to go, but here we go. Actually, it's my mother who loves gardening, which led me to buy her what I call an Easter Lilly for Mother's day a few years ago. (It was single stalk with huge white trumpets on it.) I bought it because unlike most I'd seen which had 4-5 blooms, this one had 14. It was the typical foot or so tall. I figured I'd get more bang for my buck.

    Mom planted it in the yard. That next year it came up over 5 foot tall and with lots of blooms. Fast forward a couple more years and we have a whole grouping of the over 5 foot tall stalks, but now they are a light pink.

    Is this normal? It's gorgeous, and we love it, but we're just curious why it's SO big and why it changed color. Any information would be greatly appreciated. (I attached a pic of it with my sister who is 5'7". I have other close up pics of the blooms if anyone wants to see.) We just aren't sure if this is normal, and people who visit seem to think it's a mutant, but we were just curious. THANKS!
     

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  2. bcgift52

    bcgift52 Active Member

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    Some of the lilies may be from seed rather than the original bulb, hence the color variation.
     
  3. Rima

    Rima Active Member

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    What the heck are you fertilizing with! Many perennial colors do fade after time, but yours might also be a factor of whatever is growing those UP like that! Maybe tell a local agric. extension office about them (or local Univ.) as they might want to rush over and take pictures :-).
     
  4. sarrah_bastet

    sarrah_bastet Member

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    LOL well this is in the back yard of a house that was built in the 1870's. We have never fertilized in the yard, though we did put down some bags of topsoil. But you might be right that it's the yard itself, because pumpkins and tomatoes go insane out there too. (Last year some pumpkin seeds my mom had tossed in back yard grew 5 30+ pound pumpkins----one on the roof of the house! She wasn't looking for it to grow, but it just took off on its own.) We have wondered if maybe there used to be a horse stable in the backyard or something that would make it so fertile. But maybe we should try to get the ag extention to test the soil. (I keep joking if it gets much bigger it's going to start saying "feed me seymor" a la Little Shop of Horrors.) Thanks everyone for responding :o)
     
  5. Raakel

    Raakel Active Member

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    Hello Sarrah,

    I am not sure that the plant in question is Lilium longliflorum (Easter lily), the species commonly grown to bloom for Easter. It is possible that the garden centre that you purchased the plant from was growing another species, in which case I cannot wager a guess as to what lily it is.

    Easter lilies grown for the Easter season are often treated with a growth retardant in order that they maintain a height of approximately 1 foot (as you mentioned). In the following years, when the plant is not being treated with the growth retardant, it will grow to its full potential. Lilium longiflorum only reaches a height of 1 metre.

    Also, I looked into the USDA zone for Murray Kentucky and found it to be a zone 6b. Lilium longoflorum is only marginally hardy in your zone. That is not good proof, however, as plants are always pushing their cold hardiness limits. It is something to consider though.

    Raakel
     
  6. sarrah_bastet

    sarrah_bastet Member

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    Thank you so much. I've learned so much in here already. I don't know much about plants, so don't have a clue what it really was when I bought it, but it did look like all the other generic white trumpeted things we called Easter Lillies. Since I actually bought it at a supermarket, chances are they wouldn't even know what it was either!. But thanks so much for the information.
     

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