I've had Lillehamer Hybrids growing for 2 years (got them at Lowes) and they've done great. Maybe I've just been lucky.

This is last year:

Gosh, those are gorgeous!

I've seen beautiful amaryllis & its relatives (crinums & schoolhouse lilies) in your area.

Justintx, your bed is gorgeous! Is the purple leafed plant a smoke tree? And what is the fluffy green "tree" in the background of your yard? It looks so pretty!

Forgot to add - the only lily luck I've had is with daylilies. My mother-in-law grows Easter lilies in her yard though and they do very well.

'Is the purple leafed plant a smoke tree? And what is the fluffy green "tree" in the background of your yard?'

Birdbite - it is a smoke tree, but I removed it this winter. Just didn't do well when the temps rose in the summer. The 'fluffy' tree is a weeping Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum). It is one of my favorites. I'm amazed looking at this photo at how much it grew last year.

There is one kind of lily that is bullet proof in Texas - Formosa lily. The leaves look like grass but then it bolts up to 7 feet tall and blooms its head off in August. Mine is in a part shade location which doesn't seem to bother it at all.

Here is a link that might be useful: dave's garden

I have grown several varieties of lilies with no problem. I am especially fond of my Stargazers.

Is there a local source for Formosa lilies? I've had my eye out for them for a couple of years but haven't seen any in the garden centers.

I have seen Formosa locally, but not sure where. It's a little on the late side for bulbs, right now.

I picked mine up from some blooming specimen after they had been marked down. Last year, there were TONS of them marked down at Lowes - wish I had gone ahead and jumped on them. Lots of different varieties. I'll be watching this year!!
J.D.

I want one of those formosa lilies. I'll have to watch when things go on sale at Lowes.

Another Lowe's markdown. 2007 was it's 3rd year to bloom for me. On the upper left you can see the easter lily buds.

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Easter lilies brought home from church and planted. They rebloomed for me last year.
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Asiatic lily. It was planted in 2003 and bloomed that year and not again until 2007. It certainly was worth the wait.

I bought this one at a local nursery last spring. I know I brought it to this house. It is now about 2 ft. tall and has babies too. That is a wing back chair behind it.

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I dug up some lilies when I moved, so I am not sure what I now have, but they are coming up.

Gorgeous pictures, natvtxn.

natvtxn
You did GOOD!!
:)
J.D.

I remember reading something about not planting a certain lily that carries a virus that will infect other lilies, but is not affected itself. I just went to the lily forum and looked it up. It is the Tiger lily. I googled it so ya'll would know what they look like. Anyone interested in lilies would probably want to read about the virus on the lily forum to be informed. Just do a search for virus.

Incidentally, Schumachers usually has lots of Formosa lilies for sale. I think most nurseries carry them now. I read that they are the one lily that will bloom the same year when planted from seed. I've never tried it though. They are nice (and bloom at an unusual time of the year for lilies,) but nothing like the gorgeous specimens pictured above.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of Tiger lily

OMG, what a lily. It is new this year from dutchbulb.com
I am afraid to look in their catalog to see the price.
I peeked. They are $8.99 each. Also, there is a $20 off "promo" on orders over $40. My order came to $40.97.

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Late-Summer Beauty

Purple Prince Lily

This amazing hybrid lily (it's a cross between Oriental and trumpet lilies) gives a whole new color to the genus. 'Purple Prince' bears large, deep lavender flowers with a rich fragrance. It's a perfect showcase plant for any garden.

Name: Lilium 'Purple Prince'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Grow it for: Its incredible color and sweet fragrance

Grow it with: Yellow daylilies for an amazing color combination

Guys this is fantastic! I do love stargazers but thought they were totally out of the questions.

So another question for you experts- is it too late to plant for lillies? I thought with many of them being pre-cooled I would be ok to get some in the ground next weekend?

I would go for it. If they don't bloom this year they will next year.
My order of stargazers has yet to arrive.

I just bought some Asiatics from Sam's. They also have stargazers in a box with a lovely yellow. I don't remember how many this year. I think last year it was more Stargazers than the yellow. BUt the yellows are a lovely fragrance. These are orientals.

I'm guessing but I think between 15 and 20 maybe fore about $15. No problem to plant them now. I've even gotten some in the ground later in March when they had started growing in the box and most were fine.

I haven't seen the formosa, but you might check Brent and Beckys bulbs online.

True lilies are easy to grow in barrels or raised beds here. They like sun on their tops but cool roots- I have more than a dozen varieties on the east and north sides of my house, mulched well. They dislike alkaline well-water, and will be eaten by moles, gophers, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, etc (if you have those, plant in a hardware cloth "cages").

The best lily mail-order places are in Oregon- I like a place called Lilypad Bulbs, but there are many others.

North American Lily Society (NALS) doesn't have any Texas groups, I think it would be great to start one.

This morning I got an e-mail about a deal on stargazers. I ordered some for my DIL.

Here is a link that might be useful: super deal stargazers

I've purchased and enjoyed asiatic and oriental lilies, but they only bloomed the first year, then slowly diminished and finally disappeared. Unfortunately, they were planted in poor, compacted soil so that may be the cause. I do plan to try them again since the flower bed I put them in has been amended greatly. I will say, however, that the formosa lilies are great. After reading an article about them in southern living a few years back, I got some in a GW trade and even grew some from seed. Here they are last summer (July 17)

Gosh, those are pretty. I grew up in zone 9 and never saw lilies growing there. The only exception was a huge bed of Easter lilies that a friend had each year. I wonder if it is a temp thing.
I would love to trade you something for some seeds. I am trying to think what I have that might like z.9.
I have a small 1st. love gardenia - plant
Butterfly vine - seed
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fanick phlox - plant/start, they were bred by John Fanick here in San Antonio, to take the sun, heat and humidity. Mine are in full sun.
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nigella- seed
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In Cypress I loved my Easter lilies. They're also great for the bargain hunters amongst us, because the Monday after Easter, they're generally marked down to less than $1 at places like Lowes. Come to think of it, that's the week we'll be back in the Houston area: might have to make a gardening purchase!

Clipetyclop might need to confirm they'll do ok in the ground in the Dallas area?????

So it seems some people can grow them and some can't.

Everything I read says full sun... but even in part sun mine croak. :(

I plant with great success Triumphador, an Orienpet. They are now over 8 feet tall with 15 to 20 large colorful lillies each. They get a bit larger each year and now are growing little baby lily plants around the original. I've had great luck with most lilies...both in full sun and part shade, especially partial afternoon shade, in raised beds. I'm adding several more to the rose beds this fall and looking for yellows to add. My best source is B& D Lillies in Oregon. Curious about The Lily Garden, but have not yet ordered there.