SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lilium sp.

COMMON NAME: Garden lily

FAMILY: Liliaceae

TYPE: perennial, scaly bulb

LEAVES: narrowly lanceolate, crowded on stalk, 1/2" to 3/4" wide and 4" to 6" long

FLOWER: few to many, nodding, funnel-shaped; many colors except blue

SEASON OF BLOOM: late spring and summer for about a month

GROWTH HABIT: 1' to 7', erect

SOIL: fertile, well drained, mulch to keep root zone cool

SUN: full sun to part shade

HARDINESS: zone 5

UTILIZATION: masses or single specimens, cut flowers, very popular

DISEASES: bulb rot in poor drainage, lily mosaic virus transmitted by aphids; botrytis

INSECTS AND RELATED PESTS: none serious

PROPAGATION: seed, clump division in fall or removal of individual bulb scales; plant scaly bulbs in fall

MAINTENANCE: staking of taller cultivars; prune to ground in late fall

TAXA: thousands of species, hybrids, and cultivars are on the market