These are our Stargazers. I just put them in Spring and never had them before. Now we are great fans. Can't wait until next year when they multiply and bloom again. Picture taken early summer.
Stargazer
Aren't they wonderful?! You can add some other varieties to extend your bloom season. Welcome to DG and the lily forum!
This message was edited Sep 23, 2007 1:33 PM
I have been having such a wonderful time in a lot of the forums. It is so wonderful to see other pictures. Downside, I want to plant more!
stick around here and you will it can't be helped you will want them all I NEED A BIGGER LOT lol
Gloria
Stargazers at the hospital were what made me first love lilies some 15 years ago or more now. Some people would walk in the room and say they stunk. Me? I love watching my patients get such beautiful flowers and it most certainly helps one to heal ;)
Welcome to the lilium forum. You'll find there are so many more that you'll find yourself finding a place for them in your yard, even when you think there is no more room left.
Irish, they look great with that beautiful hibiscus!
Thank you so much everyone. We are lucky to be sitting on 1/2 acre. My husband cringes everytime I say I'm going to the Nursery, because he knows he will have to dig at least 3 more holes. Tee Hee.
I'm sure we will be getting more Star Gazers.
Take Care
Irishsoul,
I just came across your beautiful picture. I have both Stargazer and Lord Baltimore hibiscus, but it never would have occurred to me to put them together. Thanks for the inspiration, the creativity, and the GORGEOUS image!
Donna
Sorry for the delay in responding. We just got back from vacation in Gatlinburg.
I love them together, they accent each other so nicely. We have Lord & Lady Baltimores. Lady is in our main planting bed along with the Rose of Sharons, other Hibiscus, Bullbane, Black & Blue Salvia and Milkweed. The colors just pop off of each other.
Thank you for your kind remarks.
Check out some of the other Orientals toolike Casa Blanca (white), Dizzy (red & white striped), and Sooo much more! Orientals have a short life span here in Iowa or 5-7 years and don't multiply, but there are many other lilies to try too.
Have fun with your new lily addiction....
I so plan on it! Thank you for the suggestions.
Why just five or seven years?? Is that norm for all oriental lilies?? just curious.
Diann
I haven't found that to be true. I have had Stargazer in the garden for 12 years and it's still going strong. Lots of different ones I have had for over 5 years, orientals that is.
Hmmmmm, Mags, glad to know that. I was beginning to think mine were odd (no comments from the peanut gallery, Moby). I've had some in the ground for probably 10 or 12 years. Those are the ones I don't remember who they are anymore... :)
And I might add, multiply at a much slower pace, most definitely, when compared to an asiatic, but they do multiply for me here. A first year San Souci has put out a ton of new growth, just this year, in stem bulblets (I think I have that term right, forgive me if I do not). So perhaps some are more vigorous than others too.
I'd never heard that either until I got to know other lily folk in Iowa, but they seem to have a little trouble. Mine increase at a rate that is nearly undetectable.
Well, I'm watching and counting years. I'm not counting lilies that bunnies have decimated--just big orientals that bloom each year. Some may be stronger than others.
The orientals in my east bed have fizzled out in about 3-4 years. I moved some to a raised bed and they were much happier, even incresing. The problem there is they are in full sun and wind and the blooms are fried in 2 to 3 days.
I planted some in the ground last fall in one of my island beds and they were nailed by that heavy freeze this last April. I hope I see them next spring.
I'm not saying I haven't lost orientals over the years, but usually it was due to my own stupid fault. Mostly I'd end up whacking the new stem off as it was coming up in the spring by accident. They will only take that so many times before they just die off. I've lost some Asiatics because I didn't realize that when they got so horribly crowded that you needed to lift and divide them... Hanging out with the folks on this forum has really brought me a lot of knowledge and insight. :)
I should learn to NEVER wander, I am already watching and participating in too many threads but when I saw "stargazer" I could not resist. I have not added a stargazer to my flower garden, YET! I am building from scratch and although Stargazer is my FAVORITE flower, I have held off due to expense.
Maybe next year when another coop is run I can pick up a few more bulbs. That "Kiss me Kate" is another one I really want!!! And I have active plans for adding a couple of hardy hibiscus. My sweet husband took me to the nursery to have me pick out something special last week. He said he knew that the garden is what I love best so a gift for the garden would be the best money spent. I am so lucky!!! I'm selecting a trellis for a Sweet Autumn Clematis.
Besides the coop here on DG, where else would any of you recommend a good source for reasonable lilies?
My nephew's wife left some red lilies in a 1/2 whiskey barrel so long that they multiplied to the point of splitting the barrel!! I took them out and spread them throughout my Mom's flower bed. I need to go back next year and spread them out again! Mom's flower bed, and in the replacement planter I bought, both need to have the lilies thinned and moved again.
BuggyCrazy, Faraway Flowers, The Lily Garden, The Lily Nook . And there are ton more that I can't think of at this very moment. ;) All the ones I've listed have web sites and are in the Garden Watchdog.. ;)
Hi Pat,
We keep turning up in the same places.....There's also B&D Lilies in Port Townsend. Lily Garden is here in Vancouver, and BuggyCrazy is down in Lebanon. Her prices are good, bulbs are excellent, and she's a bit of a character to boot....fun stuff.
Yes, Susybell we doturn up in a lot of the same places!! On some of the same Swaps too!!! Chances are slim I'll be as far North as Port Townsend, Vancouver or Lebanon. But hey, ya never know!
I asked the park manager if I could have the grass clippings (for my lasagna bed) and he said sure... I had no idea it would be 17 bags worth! oops...
Hi Pat,
They're all mail-order anyway, but closer means maybe a little cheaper shipping, definitely faster, and they're fresher when they get here. You should see the lilies I just got-and I got the cheap ones....
Wow, 17 bags of grass clippings! Guess you're making lasagna florentine beds,lol...
This message was edited Oct 12, 2007 10:53 AM
LOL... well I did NOT take all 17 bags of the grass trimmings, I don't have enough BROWN stuff to off set that much green and I sure don't want it to stink. It is a miracle that my neighbors have not complained about the what they will only see as a "mess" right now. Thats the trouble of living RIGHT on top of your neighbors, and you have short chain link fences. Especially when they are older and many of them don't have to anything to do besides complain.
Ah, but when you bring them fresh-cut flowers next spring...Besides, you're probably giving them some great new gossip about the "cute young couple" who just moved in. ;)
Has anyone here tried growing Stargazer from the seeds? I am trying to save the seeds,but I don't know how. There are at least a hundred flat looking seeds in the pod I brought inside,but I feel like I should do something else besides dry them and store them in a brown paper bag.
The seeds will not produce an identical Stargazer. Only, by scaling will you produce a Stargazer Clone.
Magnolialover, what WILL you get with seeds? Just "a lily" that is less spectacular?
Magnolialover, What is scaling? This is only my second year of trying to grow stuff with my own seeds. I harvested seeds last year,but I couldn't tell if any seeds germinated this year. I should probably buy a good book and find out exactly what to do. I just found out last year that Lillies have seeds and where they were to be found.
I am facinated with all these seeds. Gee Psych, that is an excellent question and I hope Magnolia knows the answer. If you get anything,I would plant all those seeds in the spring.
Posy, until someone more knowledgeable can come along and give you a better answer... scaling is when a plant's bulb grows another one along side it. You can then take the "scale" and it will grow another plant JUST like the first one. Now, bear in mind, I might be wrong about this! But just in case no one comes to answer you...
Here is some basic information http://lilies.org/propagation.html
and more in-depth "how to" http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/propagation_seed_starting/105602
There are lots of lily folks here that are very good at scaling successfully. I've only done it accidentally......I'll know next year if it worked..
This message was edited Oct 13, 2007 2:55 PM
Thank you psych, I can do some scaling now that I know what it is,that is if the darn squirrels don't get them first. That's why I was so interested in those seeds. If I have to feed squirrels the expensive bulbs,at least I would be able to plant seeds to replace them. They ate all my lovely Saffron Crocus bulbs last year so no Saffron Cakes for us this fall.
I'm sorry I didn't come back here sooner. Moby put forth some excellent links on the subject. A Stargazer seed that is fertile could produce any number of outcomes. Oriental seeds are hypogeal and require a cold period to germinate. I started scaling and seed starting last year, for the first time and had a lot of fun. But I will be honest in saying that seed starting trumpets or asiatics will be much more fun (and likely rewarding) than trying an oriental seedling for a first try.
There are wonderful old threads in this forum that I could not do justice to. I wish Daves would make them stickies. They are an excellent resource.
Suggest making them stickies Magnolialover, or cut and paste them into one concise post and THEN suggest that thread become the stickie. It would be a GREAT service to us beginners.
I did some accidental "scaling" this weekend when I was moving bulbs. :( At least I didn't "shish kabob " any of them! I just planted the scles back in with the clump--just more shallow. I'll see what happens. This is one of my favorite orientals--Dizzy.
Also had an experience similiar to llilyfan. 2 Hotlips bulbs on the east side of the house bloomed and fried this summer. I dug them up to move them Saturday & discovered several little bubils attached to the stem! Could have knocked me over with a feather. Increases on orientals??? A first time for me!
I have always been told that after the Oriental stopped blooming to cut the flowering part of the stem off leaving 2/3 or more of the stalk in place and that they would increase for you.
I'm lucky if I don't whack the stem off when cleaning out the beds in the spring... I know that's how I lost some of my orientals when I first started planting them..
Uh oh... I cut my place quite a while after they bloom generally... should I not be doing that?