Hardy Tropicals UK

miketropic wrote: if grub didn't kill it then I need one

Your mates must think your gardening obsession is completely mental when they come round for a beer!!

Lillies:



Hosta Empress Wu Flower, I never expected these to look so beautiful:

Hosta is a real beauty G,

My Lillies look a decade away from flowering. I think whats happened is they have got too long in the stem at the expense of big buds.

They should be massive buds like last year. Another two months... I may have an Image to show.

kata wrote:they have got too long in the stem at the expense of big buds.

Do you think the long stems could be a sign of maturity? and that they will then produce lots of flower buds on top?

My lilies seem to get taller year-by-year, and then carry more flowers, if I leave them undisturbed.

Lillies tend to stretch for the light and those grown in good light with no surrounding foliage to pop up through tend to stay shorter.

I have some in a container in the front garden that are 5 years old and haven't got taller than about 14". They are now producing about 16 flowers per head where some in the back garden are already 25" tall in order to grow past a Chammy. These are year one in the ground and have produced just a single flower.

Types of Lily adds variety too. Pixel Lillies tend to be shorter and more squat compared to Asiatic.

I have decided I am going to overdose my garden with lillies next year, I think that the foliage and flowers are gorgeous and look extremely exotic. Totally hardy and self replicating to find the best light and space available, exactly what I need in my packed little garden.

GoggleboxUK wrote:I have decided I am going to overdose my garden with lillies next year

I can highly recommend H W Hyde. I've had fantastic quality bulbs from them, old fashioned company, Gold at Chelsea this year, won the "best in Pavilion Jubilee" award last year, and so on, and for the more hum drum varieties they are only about £1 each (5-off)
http://www.hwhyde.co.uk/lilies/catalogue/

Kristen wrote:

GoggleboxUK wrote:I have decided I am going to overdose my garden with lillies next year

I can highly recommend H W Hyde. I've had fantastic quality bulbs from them, old fashioned company, Gold at Chelsea this year, won the "best in Pavilion Jubilee" award last year, and so on, and for the more hum drum varieties they are only about £1 each (5-off)
http://www.hwhyde.co.uk/lilies/catalogue/

Thanks Kristen, excellent site!

Some beautiful vartieties available and also some that are sold out.

Why wait, I've ordered £30s worth

£30..

Mine are Turkish Lillies from George at De Jejager in 2011.

http://www.dejager.co.uk/_-Species-Turk ... ?pid=55338

A very fine species of lily with Turk’s cap blooms having downward-facing flowers with recurved petals on tall upright stems.

That be right about downward facing flowers.
They have been in good light, given the full sun treatment this week.

Whats the tall green stem in the pot G?

Do you think the long stems could be a sign of maturity? and that they will then produce lots of flower buds on top?

No Idea Kristen, but thats exactly whats happened. These are mega sized bulbs when I bought them.

My Tiger Lilly from 2011, Turkish,
My red one same, Turkish, look at those huge buds.

The only Lillies that should be and they are are my dwarf Lillies.

Gorgeous lillies K, and great pics

Here's what I ordered:

Product #1: Tokay/5 £1.00




Product #2: Malesco/5 £1.00




Product #3: Pop Star 'Lily Allen'/5 £3.00

I REALLY like this one!




Product #4: Brave Heart/5 £1.00



20 lillies for £30 seems good to me, especially as there's a chance I might get some growth from them this year if this summer continues to produce good warm weather.

I'll most likely buy more next year too, bloomin' marvellous!

Very nice and colorful G, Ilike the yellow one.

I got mine from George who had a spot on QVC, say no more on price. Yours are some bargain at a quid each.

You see my problem with size of those buds since 2011. Kristen could be onto something about height and small buds.

They are doing what George said and are hanging down so they are the Turkish ones..

Yes, I'm pretty sure the reason they've stretched like that is the surrounding foliage K.

Can yopu take a pic showing them from ground level to tip?

You can see on this pic from my front garden that they tend to get just as big as they need to be in order for the plant to soak up as much sunshine as possible. These have cleared the surrounding foliage then started to bulk out while the younger, smaller ones tend to sit back.

Yes of course G,

But till they need foliage surely. i measured from the top of the compost to the tip of the tallest stem and it was just under 4ft.

These are going to be weeks away from flowering if at all.
Them are smashers G, no kidding. Yes I see what you mean. I think once they die down in the autumn I am going to replant them into the border.

Should have bought from the pound shop... Now I see they are going to seed..sheesh.

Have you got them in a shady spot K?

I planted some Pixel lillies in part shade this year and they seem to be coping well with it, nice stout, squat little fellas.

GoggleboxUK wrote:Why wait, I've ordered £30s worth

I think you will find that they will either ship in Autumn (Martagon types) or Spring (all the "Normal" types), as bare bulbs - so I don't think you will get any growth this year