Lilies in Bloom

After looking at dahlias in our last CA Insights post we thought that lilies deserved the spotlight this week! Although they are a more common year round part of cut flower sales, lilies did not get that way over night. Once thought of as a unique flower and not for everyday use, lilies are now a ‘must have’ flower. Cut lilies started with what we would consider Asiatic lilies today. Some may remember the term ‘Enchantment’ lilies. These were the first commercial varieties of orange and yellow lilies available for cut. So when new varieties were introduced they were all looked at as ‘enchantments’. As with asiatics the first oriental cut varieties ‘Rubrum’ and ‘Uchida’, both downward facing blooms, many of the first pink orientals were simply called rubrums. Eventually in the late 1980’s asiatic and oriental lilies emerged as two categories for a multitude of varieties. Breeders in Holland began to broaden the scope of colors in asiatics ranging from the traditional yellow and orange to white, pink, red and many novelties and bi-colors. These same breeders looked to introduce more upwards pointing oriental blooms along with adding white to the color mix. Since those early days they have bred yellow, burgundy and other novelty colors and bi-colors. LA lilies or Longiflorum/Asiatics were the next hybrid category in lilies. These lilies take on the long lasting and larger bloom characteristics of longiflorum along with the intense colors of Asiatic lilies. Many breeders have focused on these LA’s in recent years and we have seen a significant decrease in asiatic varieties for cut. OT lilies or oriental/ trumpets were the other variation of lilies. Breeders crossed longiflorum varieties with orientals. This allowed them to increase vase life and add more colors to the selection, Conca D’or is one of those varieties. Some nostalgia for the traditional enchantment type lilies has been coming about in recent years with the introduction of ‘spotted’ varieties. These are known as ‘Tango’ lilies, they look like LA’s but have intense black spots or black areas on their petals. A throwback to the first enchantment varieties but with more colors and contrast.

Farmers here in California grow all of these lilies year round. Lilies are a staple flower but they require a great deal of care. Lily growers have to plan their entire annual crop schedule 12-18 months in advance. This is because the bulbs used to grow these incredible lilies are from Holland and Chile. Orders must be placed with the breeders so they can be shipped on sea containers to ports in California. These bulbs are then carefully stored in sub zero coolers at the farm until they are scheduled to be planted. Bulbs are planted every week of the year to ensure that there are little to no gaps in availability. Even the best planning cannot trump weather. There are times when cold weather can slow production and hot weather can create a flush. Ideally the farmers want to try and keep that to a minimum. They use shade, ventilation and heat in many combinations to keep their lilies consistent. Once planted the flower is cut somewhere between 12 and 16 weeks depending on variety. Many people often ask why lilies have to be cut in such a tight stage. Basically it is all because of damage that occurs when they are cut too open. The petals can be protected in shipping when they are closed and do not have creasing when they open once hydrated. Conversely they become creased and have too much damage when shipped more open. In addition, when they are cut more open pollen can release onto the petals, this detracts from the beauty of the flowers. Once that lily stem is cut the bulb has done it’s job and it will be discarded. So, the next time you see that pink oriental lily in a bouquet or arrangement you will know it was cared for and travelled many miles to provide us with that beauty!

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