Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Growing Flowering bulbs in warm climates - Oriental lily

This is the 5th article in the series. There are many varieties of lily available in lahore in fall. Few of them are as follows:

1- Easter Lily - lilium longiflorum- White fragrant flower. Very costly. A 14 inches pot costs more than 250 Rs. It dies in lahore summers. Blooms in Spring
2- Tiger lily - yet to see it in lahore
3- Amaryllis lily - will discuss in next article. The local one costs around 50 Rs while imported is around 300-500 Rupees depending upon bulb size. Normally the holland bulb is Rs 500 which is very large.
4- Asiatic lily - non scented trumpet flowers. Dies in lahore summers
5- Oriental lily - fragrant trumpet flowers. Dies in summer as soon as temp. hits 40c. Price of each bulb was 60Rs per bulb.
6- Regal lily - Lilium regale - Not available in lahore. The easiest to raise from seeds. Very fragrant flowers. Also called christmas lily


And Oriental lily is the one i am going to grow in this article. They came in three colors this year. White, pink and red. Here goes on growing instructions:

1- Choose biggest bulb. They come with roots and some of foliage already sprouting.
















2- Bury the bulb in a well drained soil having compost. Bury whole bulb under soil and not more. It will grow right upwards.
3- Water it well and then do not water until you see progress above ground. Water as less as possible afterwards.
4- Give it semi shade in lahore although they enjoy full sun. Try to plant them in groups. They will look very pretty in groups.

This is the growth after 2 week of planting.
















5- And this is the progress after around 1.5 months.






















6- One bulb will produce around 3-7 flowers. Give it a little liquid fertilizer when buds appear.
7- You can not save them for next year in warm climates like lahore and karachi. So buy fresh ones next year.

Next bulb: Freesia

9 comments:

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I love Oriental lilies and their fragrance. I can't wait til it's time to plant then here.

Wendy said...

I love oriental lilies as well. In fact, all lilies are just awesome. Nothing beats their showy beauty, variation in color, and how easy are they to grow too?!

I look forward to reading about the freesia.

Unknown said...

HI
Most informative and interesting, I have been a keen gardener for over 40 years since 5 years old in UK in a tiny fully paved backyard that was only 20ft x 15ft my interest has taken me to develop a 2acre garden in the UK.

But having completed a house rebuild in Jhelum I have a soil garden plot to design and fill about 200ft x 40ft. I want something fairly creative and having searched about 10 local nurseries find they seem to stock similar plants, not sure if Pattoki or nurseries in lahore would be any differant?

At this early stage I am looking for a single central ornamental tree or three in a row of about 8ft x 4ft that flower/shade, I had thought of Floss Silk Tree (Chorisia speciosa) but am not sure having travelled far would find them stocking it. Do you have any knowledge of a good stockist of this or similar tree species.

Muhammad khabbab said...

There are few trees which would flower in shade. A few include oaks, ashes,maples and elms.

Floss Silk Tree is one of most beautiful trees and suitable to climate of lahore and prehaps jhelum as well. It is called "budha tree" in local language. In hindi its name is "resham rui".But i doubt if it will flower in shade. You must try pattoki nurseries. why not call them and ask them on phone. This link might help you.

http://lahoregardening.blogspot.com/2009/07/best-of-pattoki-plant-nurseries.html


Lahore nursery http://lahorenursery.com/ in lahore and abbas nursery in lahore (042-35863277) are worth a try as well. Also try Mr. Muddasir of Muddasir nursery at 0333-4233825 . I hope you will find what you want.

Unknown said...

Thank you for the details I will let you know how I get on, I should have clarified that i wanted the Floss Silk tree to grow in our soon to be developed garden in Jhelum not the UK.

I dont suppose there would be any chance of that tree growing here although i have successfully grown a Malok and a Loquat from seed in the UK, both are now well over 15 feet but dont set fruit

Hortist said...

nice job dear, please keep it up :)

ibo said...

Great article.. It's fun to grow bulbs... very rewarding!

Asim said...

I love Easter Lily - lilium longiflorum- White fragrant flower. Can I save the bulb for next year in Lahore.

Muhammad khabbab said...

@Asim, It takes lots of effort and good luck to save it in lahore. Keep it in soil bed and keep it in shade in hot summers.

Although easter lily is an annual in lahore.


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