Here's mine from the summer of 2016, it was magnificent! Though, unfortunately, the plant had downsized last year and petered out and died soon after emerging this spring. My winters are very cold and I'd like to try again with planting it closer to the foundation of the house.

Yeah zone 4 is pretty cold! I had roughly assumed all lilies were something like 'zone 5 hardy with mulch', but L. nepalense, coming from the sort of climate that never gets very cold (or warm), is only rated zone 7 by the various more reputable sources. Which probably explains why mine was partly killed by the coldest first week of January in Baltimore history.

This lily is just too darn nice not to give it another go, I'm successful with buddleia when planted near the foundation, the same "might" also be true for 'Kushi Maya', I could also keep it potted for that matter.

By coincidence I saw it today at a upscale nursery. I smelled something lovely among the masses of plants for sale and traced it to this rather short lily. You are right, it's fragrance is lovely without that dense cloying quality of some orientals.

I don't know how I'd use in the garden. I'm not a fan of miniature-ized big plants. But I'd sure tuck a few around just for the 'flavor'.

Marie, post dates don't matter, it's the contribution that does! Glad you had come across this lily and enjoyed the fragrance! This year, I picked up 'Zeba', now don't know if I'll keep it potted or plant it right next to the foundation of the house considering it's a bit more on the tender side.

FB, that lily in your photo was really pretty. I love the waviness of the petals and the graceful way the bloom presents itself. I used to have a great patch of oriental lilies, not the same as that one, just the regular orientals that would end up being about 5ft tall. They multiplied well and were pretty healthy. I finally got rid of the red lily beetle too, but I dug them up and divided them to give some away because I had so many and to move them arround. They have not been the same since. Then last year, the rabbits chewed most of what I had left down to 3 inches off the ground and I didn't get a bloom at all. This year, they came back for the most part, and I covered them at night with milk crates until they were too tall to keep doing it, to protect them from the rabbits, and I put cayenne pepper on the foliage on some I couldn't cover. The rabbits did nibble a couple of places, but I think I am going to get flowers this year, but I'm not expecting much, they still look undersized and the cayenne pepper has affected some of the foliage. I have one candlelabra type lily that looks better than all the rest that looks like it should be fine but one other barely came back and is only about 2 inches off the ground. I was so excited when I was done with the red lily beetle and never had one issue with rabbits, Some days you can't win in the garden. [g] I'm in zone 6b and don't have the hardiness problem, that you have, but seems like there is always another problem hiding around the corner with some plants. I'm glad I have a lot of other plants to enjoy out there. And so far this year, I've had a lot of fragrance from my shrubs.

I'm wondering what that green foliage is to the right of the lily in your photo. Is it another lily? The foliage looks so green and healthy.

Prairiemoon, I always enjoy your comments! Firstly, the nice dark green lily foliage to the right is of 'Beverly Dreams', talk about a reliable performer with stunning blooms, makes absolutely HUGE blubs as well, only drawback is how the plants tend to lean and must be staked. As yourself, I'm having struggles with most all of my Oriental lilies having downsized and some outright disappearing and all experiencing a rough spring start with the very hard frosts received. Red lily beetles have come in their hordes, though cold wet weather nicely knock their numbers down. I also have an easy way of dealing with them, I grasp in my hand the foliage at the bottom of the stalk and run my hand up the length of the plant and repeat a few times, any small larva are dislodged and squished, it's not such a nice task if the buggers are big and extra yucky, lol. Yes, as you mentioned, there's always more insects and diseases to deal with! What's extra sad is that now many tress are being hit by a particular borers that often outright kill them, one thing having a perennial plant attacked, but to loose majestic tress is hard to deal with, sigh!

'Red Dutch' has a gorgeous perfume that carries, intense very sweet and smooth. I still have some lily bulbs that must go in the ground in the coming days, I'm most looking forward to 'Pink Flight', 'Child in Time', 'Stracciatella Event', 'Scoubidou' and 'Miss Feya', the later I had in the past and it just up and had disappeared, it's a stunner! Actually, I think I'll pot all these lilies up today to be enjoyed and later into the ground they can go!

Marie I would say you are very lucky to have found it.

Although other growers are I think allowed to continue growing it from scales, the original micropropagation company that 'embryo rescued' it and produced it in wholesale quantities through tissue culture, has discontinued it for some reason. I cannot think why. I wonder if it's related to the hardiness issue...it might not be quite as hardy as most typical lily bulbs currently in commerce. The L. nepalense parent is only rated to zone 7, and even then I think it might only survive long term in a cool summer, maritime climate like the PNW. There are actually a whole bunch of "lilies" with that "problem", but they are in the Nomocharis genus lol. Because they come from the highland subtropical climates of SW China and the Himalayas. Same with most Notholirions, for that matter.

And no problem about "bumping" this thread...it's a perfectly valid reason to do so, and obviously, for better or worse, I am still around. What I cannot stand is people bumping threads that are 10 years old, to ask a question of someone who hasn't posted in 10 years!

full description from B&D, where I bought it:

https://www.bdlilies.com/l8056.html

it's actually hilarious that this thread got bumped - because I have a lily in a part of my garden where I didn't remember planting one. (a warning sign of how out of control my plant purchasing has been for the past year. I just told myself NO to a second order this year from Logees) I'd been wondering for about a week what it could be. I suddenly had a vague memory of placing an order with BD again last summer and checked my emails - turns out I thought Kushi Maya was so amazing, I decided I would order the replacement that the breeder has released. It is this one: https://www.bdlilies.com/l9042.html

So it's going to bloom in a week or so, provided deer, who very rarely visit my garden but it can happen - don't get to it. I'll post how it compares. So far it has the same strong bearing of its KM parent. Looks like they expect it to be a little hardier.

FB - I usually have very lengthy comments so I’m surprised when people actually read them, so thank you! That ‘Beverly Dreams’ sounds great. I looked it up and saw a photo of a very tall plant.

I’m sorry to hear you are having a hard time with your oriental lilies too. I’m tempted to start over and buy all new stock and try again. Especially since I seem to be barely noticing any red lily beetles the past 3 years. I’m sorry they are still a big issue for you. Great tip for dealing with them. I’ll have to remember that. With a gloved hand of course. [g] I believe they developed a predator for them at a university in RI, I want to say, and that would be closer to me than you. They did release them in this area and I think I have been the beneficiary of that. But my only full sun is in my front yard, so that is always going to be subject to rabbits. I do have fencing for the back, but so far they are still finding ways of getting in. Darn rabbits! [g]

You are getting the borers for trees? Terrible. I think it is the Ash trees that are subject to that? I don’t have any in our neighborhood. We had 6 years of winter moth damage to our Maples that have thinned out the canopy but all of a sudden they disappeared 2 years ago too! Very happy about that. We thought we might lose our trees if it kept up. I am organic so I was really not trying anything to combat them.

I was watching a show in Alaska this week and I was very surprised to see a lot of dead trees. The host of the show referred to the beetle damage that killed a lot of trees, so it’s a problem everywhere apparently.

Your new lily bulbs sound great! That Stracciatella is SO dark, and different. It reminds me of one I loved a few years ago that I can’t remember the name of. This is one I planted 2-3 yrs ago? I'm still waiting for it to grow as tall and spectacular as the photo in the catalog.

Ariandne Lily - The Lily Garden

Now you have me looking at the Lily Garden site again, I'm going to be in trouble. lol I see your Beverly Dreams there. I see they ship in the fall. Oh oh.

So should I drive quickly to Wilson's and see if the lily is still there? I got rid of my orientals because I tired of staking them and they were so heavy headed the stakes leaned too. I just can't picture where I'd put a short lily. It would be like trying to find a place to hide the air freshener. Are there others that have that airy floral intensity that's not cloying?

I forget which zone you are in, but maybe wait until the hardier 'Zeba' is available in your area? https://www.bdlilies.com/l9042.html

Darn, once upon a time the zone was next to my name. Zone 6 Boston Suburbs.

The Lily was gone! I wanted to find it primarily to see if my memory of the tag was correct or if I made it up.

Prairiemoon, both you and Diggerdee seem to grow many of the plants I do, so yes, your experiences always interest me! Regarding the lily beetle, their number have really dropped off after that last cold snap, I now hardly see any at all and I'm going after the few larva there is. The predatory wasp was released I believe in some areas not too far from here and I sure hope they take hold and really knock back the beetles! Just two minutes from me is a very large lily grower/breeder and it's been a real pain for him dealing with the buggers, also my very miserable neighbors on my one side, they have a large lily collection, though I doubt they've much tended to them. I did get those last few lilies potted up the other day and they're snug in the greenhouse soon to be off and running, sure is a many very interesting varieties released each year! That Ariandne lily is gorgeous and one I'd snap up if come across it! I tend to treat myself to a modest lily order every few years, some I lose over time and others just don't impress enough to maintain. One I've been really fond of is 'Fata Morgana', almost had lost them to neglect, though rescued a few small bulbs and tucked them into good soil and gave a few sprinklings of fertilizer and now they're looking great!

Dang, we have the poplar bores that really make a mess of some of the native stands and the bronze birch borer is attacking and killing some of my lovely birch! That spruce beetle scares me, as folks depend on the excellent wind screening they provide, especially for winter! Pine beetles have had a devastating effect here in the mountains ... yes, seems there's a particular attack species for many things and more and more are making their way around!

FB - I’m glad you’ve had a reduction of lily beetles. I don’t enjoy dealing with them, they’re pretty messy as bugs go. I hope the predatory wasp takes hold there. I believe it must have done so here, because it was just such a sudden disappearance. I have seen a few holes in my foliage this season, but I’ve yet to spot any larvae or beetles. I’m probably not looking hard enough.

Well, if you have a large lily grower near you, I can imagine you would have to grow lilies and that they’d have to be a mainstay in your garden. [g]

That Ariadne lily, is gorgeous, but it is SO much smaller in person than it looks in the catalog. I mean by that the flowers themselves almost look miniature. Not quite what I was expecting. This will be my 3rd year for it so I’m wondering if that will change any. That ‘Fata Morgana’ is a double yellow, that’s very different. Glad you rescued it. You have a lot of plants to keep up with!

Actually, I just went looking for a photo of that Ariadne from last year and the lily that is in the position of the one I have growing well this year, is NOT Ariadne. lol Wow, I just realized that the lily that didn't come back this year had to be Ariadne. It's still there, but it's only 3 inches off the ground. So, I'm glad we talked lilies, now I won't be shocked when it's a different lily. lol I've only bought from The Lily Garden, do you have a favorite lily grower that you buy from?

I think I have been on auto pilot with some of my efforts to maintain my soil. I grow organically and it is more labor intensive and I’ve slacked off. I always put a heavy mulch of chopped leaves and grass clippings and last time I had my soil tested it had a lot of everything needed but Nitrogen, which makes sense. If I had the energy and the time, I’d like to put a little more effort into that. Grow more cover crops and produce some of my own fertilizers. I had a great book out of the library called ‘The Regenerative Grower’s Guide’ but I never found the time to finish reading it, let alone put any of it into practice. [g]

I love compost, but I haven’t been able to maintain a pile. I’ve resorted to adding kitchen scraps and cardboard rolls, coffee grinds etc directly into some of my vegetable beds either far enough away from what I’m growing or in it’s own spot. But I used to do that, and I’ve slacked off on that too. I resort to buying bagged Coast of Maine compost which helps, but it’s expensive. I considered getting compost in bulk this spring, but it never worked out. I LOVE organic alfalfa meal, it really makes a noticeable difference. The combination of the compost and alfalfa meal on my roses does a great job. I’m getting ready to put another application of that on for a second flush of bloom. I think they need it as much this time of year as they do in the spring.

Oh well, I’m not doing too bad and right now I can’t point to any issues with my plants to indicate a problem, except a couple of those lilies that the foliage doesn’t look right on them. They’re almost ready to bloom and as soon as they do, I’m going to pull them. I will probably buy more bulbs too and choose another place to plant them next time. But that doesn't sound quite right, that is the only problem with my plants. I'm sure I must be forgetting something. [g]

I’m sorry to hear there are so many bugs attacking trees there. It’s really scary. I know they had such an increase in diseases and bugs in the UK that they really have very strict laws now on importing any plant material into their country. I’m not familiar with what steps they’ve taken here, but the more off balance our climate and the destruction of habitats around the world, the long period of time importing plants from around the world, all of that combined has caused havoc to the natural checks and balances. I think the push to growing more natives is a response to that although how much difference that alone would make, is anyone’s guess.

FB, what part of the country are you?

Reading through this and I'm jealous to see that some of you no longer have serious issues with the red lily leaf beetle! My lilies (the few that remain) are a mess as always. And I don't have the stomach to hand pick or hand-anything when it come to bugs lol. FB your description of what you do for the lilies made me queasy haha!

Although I was in a friend's garden a few weeks ago and her lilies looked wonderful, and her husband (who is retired - key point lol) says he goes out every day with this homemade jar contraption. He uses a long popsicle-type stick with a point, which he dabs in a sticky substance (can't remember the name off the top of my head) then touches a beetle with the sticky stuff on the end, then puts the stick with the beetle in a hole in the lid of the jar. The hole also has a slit, which he slides the stick into, and then pulls the stick out through the slit, pushing the beetle off the stick and down into water in the jar. I don't know if I explained that clearly, but when he showed me it was one of those things that is so simple it's genius. Gave me a Homer Simpson moment - I envisioned slapping my own forehead and saying "Doh!" lol - one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments. Of course my problem is that I don't really have time to do this in my garden every day, but I do think I may try it. Even once a week may help. I'd love to get my lilies back up and healthy, (what's left of them!) especially my beautiful Orania lilies.

:)

Dee

Dee, I’m sorry you are still having a lot of red lily beetle problems. I don’t like to touch bugs to remove them either. What I always use for that task, is a large paper cup full of soapy water, that I flick the bugs into while I am wearing garden gloves and quickly get that over with. I’ve done that with a large earwig problem that I had and I had to go out in the middle of the night to do and I did that with red lily beetles for years. The trick I found with the red lily beetle is that they are highly visible with that red color, but if they sense you coming, they can drop off onto the ground on their back and you can’t see them. I had more success by holding the cup with the soapy, sudsy water under where they were on the leaf, so if they tried to drop down, they would still land in my cup. The soapy sudsy water helps with the squeamish part of it because once they drop in, your seeing suds basically and you don’t have to do anything further with them but put the cup down somewhere or throw the whole thing into a plastic bag and into the rubbish. I’d fill the cup - like a 16oz size or larger, halfway up so that I wasn’t worried about them crawling out. Also, I found more of them early in the morning, but you do have to look over and under the leaves all the way down to the bottom. I think the trick is to schedule just 10mins a day at the beginning of the growing season, to keep on top of it. Just inspect your lilies and if you see even one hole in the leaves, it’s time to start getting serious about finding them before they multiply. Long explanation but I hope it might be something else you could try doing.

Prairiemoon, sorry I hadn't gotten back here for a bit. Update on the lily beetles, hardly anymore to be seen and the numbers of larva very low as well and hope it stays that way! I'm in Alberta, Canada, my favorite place to order lilies from is The Lily Nook, great selection and this year the bulbs were the best ever I've received from them. I have a few lilies that look so anemic on the east side of my house and those really should have been lifted and planted in the garden, I still may go ahead with that if I dig them carefully! And, yes, I'm seeing more garden pests than ever, flea beetles attacking the tomatoes, potatoes and even the beans and always root maggots in sooooo many things, gets tiring always dealing with bugs!

As for maintaining healthy soil, its work and some soils definitely require more continued ongoing help than others! I always dig deeply and amend if necessary, though some areas being much better than others as previously mentioned and it can either be a task or a joy to plant things up! I do compost, but mostly that is used upon the veggie gardens, but I can grab some excellent soil from a few places around the acreage!

Diggerdee, I'm okay with squishing the little larva of the lily beetle, but those big ones are just so darned gross aren't they, ugh! I had to purchase a new backpack sprayer just to deal with the terrible numbers of sawflies and pear slugs defoliating the roses, last years roses were stripped clean of foliage and took such a hit they had remains weakened even this year, so I blasted the buggers before too much harm again had been done!

Had a friend over the other day and gave him a 'Gryphon' begonia I had grown from seed, I warned him there might be some aphids on the plant ... yep, he finds a few, but he refuses to destroy them, same with the lily beetles he came across, he relocated them .... sheesh, what a bug lover! LOL.

Here is 'Zeba'. Fragrance similar to the parent, a little lighter and more refreshing than some lilies. Main different seems to be the reddish markings are not as dark but it's six of one, half a dozen of another in my opinion. Some might say this one is prettier. It's a very beautiful plant in leaf and flower.

Meanwhile, Lilium leitchlinii is blooming too. I hope this is a Chinese species lily that can remain a permanent part of the plantings. They are spotted like martogons but with bigger flowers.