Orienpet Lilies??

I just ordered some Orienpet Lilies. They are suppose to be a cross between a Chinese Trumpet and an Oriental Lily that grows to 6' tall by the 2nd year and 3 to 5" tall the 1st year. Blooms are suppose to be about 6 to 8 " across. Has anyone heard about this hybrid and if so, what kind of success have you had with them. They sounded interesting, so I had to try them. They come with free Crocosmia bulbs, so if you know anything about them also, it would be helpful.

This message was edited May 28, 2008 4:44 PM

I have several. One of them is called "Leslie Woodriff", named after the man who developed star gazer. Black Beauty is another

Are they doing well for you? I'm receiving Robina, American West, Boogie Woogie (love this name). Can't wait til they get here so I can get them into the ground.

Purchased them 2 years ago, bloomed both years. I checked a few minutes ago and they are up and starting to put on buds. None blooming yet. I have heard that Black Beauty is hard to set seed..... Leslie Woodriff, lived only 10 miles from me in a town called McKinleyville, CA. I went to visit his place of business years ago, but I was into Bearded Irises so Lilies didn't mean to much at the time. One thing is very important I found in keeping lilies from year to year, don't let them dry out. Water them even during the winter months if they need it. Originally I purchased a collection of lilies and dug them up at the end of their blooming season and let them dry out like you would tulips-crocus-glads-narcissus. All died.

I have several ~ they're tall and strong and have a nice fragrance too.

Thank you for the info Mnorberry, it is very helpful.

Moby, now I am really looking forward to my parcel. I love the smells of the Lily.

The smell is somewhere between easter lilies and orientals.

irishsoul, on the watering, at the same time don't overdo it. Especially in Florida, unless you're in a serious drought, you probably get enough rainfall to do the job. If your drainage is poor lily bulbs are easily susceptible to rot. Less water I have found is better than too much, especially for bulbs in the ground. I noticed your bed seems pretty flat and I know Florida can get very wet.

I agree with Moby on the Orienpets. They're a much better bet for the south as well than, say Orientals, because of their trumpet heritage. I have lots of them. Silk Road is another good choice.

I'm expecting these Orienpets from bloomingbulb.com; they had an incredible sale, so I got carried away. I had Stargazer and American Spirit last year and had to have more. Ordered 25 each of these orienpets, plus 5 more American Spirit.
http://www.bloomingbulb.com/cartProductDetail.asp?ProductKey=2159&bulbs=Orienpet&flower=Nymph&parent=3262
http://www.bloomingbulb.com/cartProductDetail.asp?
http://www.bloomingbulb.com/cartProductDetail.asp?ProductKey=2162&bulbs=Oriental%20Lily&flower=Pink%20Mystery&parent=3262
I ordered 25 of the mix, too.
http://www.bloomingbulb.com/cartProductDetail.asp?ProductKey=1554&bulbs=Orienpet-Jumbo&flower=Orienpet%20Mixed%20&parent=2425

I am very excited. :-) They bloom after Asiatics, don't they, so I'll get a longer lily display, right? Last year was my first year for lilies and I have about 50 coming back (minus a few canine casualties). (I'm not going to plant all of them - I'll spread them around.)

Hi 4paws - usually for me I get Asiatics, then Trumpets, then Orienpets, and then Orientals. Of course there is tremendous overlap between all of those groups and there are early and late bloomers in each, so if you plan right you'll get continuous bloom. Your garden sounds like it is going to be beautiful!

Yeah, Paws, we want pictures!! :)

I have several...Triumphator is very vigorous for me here.

Thank you Steve! Unfortunately most of Florida is flat, but we do have great drainage. We have a wonderful creek running behind the house and of course the pond (no gators spotted as yet thank goodness). We only water about twice a week because of all the moisture in the air. Every morning there is dew everywhere. The lilies really seem to thrive and I guess that is why I have really decided to try so many. I've planted over 100 bulbs this year after the 6 Stargazers last year. Just thought the Orienpets might be just the little extra that might be missing. From the comments, it sounds like I'm really going to enjoy them.

Did lots of Roses this year too because of the lack of shade. They just took off and already into their 2nd bloom. I buy most of my plants at cottagefarmsdirect.com because of their quality and warranty. Plus we have a wonderful local nursery that is so awesome.

4 Paws, we sound like we are in the same boat. Last year I planted everything that hummingbirds and butterflys like. All that is just starting to bloom so I added the Roses and Lilies for my enjoyment. Now of course, I will have to try your source too. Boy what a beautiful smelly addiction.

Nanny, I will have to look that one up. I feel kinda stupid, I didn't realize there were so many varieties. Of course, that is what is so great about DG, it is such a great resource to find out things you were never aware of before.

Ticker, I'll try! My first lily from last year bloomed today - Red Planet. Usually my photos have something in them that I can't crop out but am embarrassed that it's there (many projects underway).

I think a lily addiction has bloomed - glad for the information! This thread was perfect timing for me - thanks, irishsoul! Perhaps I have an addictive personality - at least for beautiful plants that return year after year.

Bloomingbulb has been really great in the past for me, but I ordered really early (like in November for a co-op; weren't you in on that one, Ticker?) so had first dibs on great bulbs in the spring.This time, they are the end of the line and I hope not past their prime. Other co-ops have had problems when ordering this late, but I'm not one to pass up a bargain. Asiatic Coral Sunrise were $10/100. Stellapathic wrote in another thread that she uses steel wool to protect her lilies from bulb-eating critters, so I'm thinking I'll try that and put a few here and there and everywhere that they might naturalize. Those are small bulbs.


No trumpets yet; someday, and I think my only orientals are Music, Casa Blanca, and Muscadet (they are orientals, yes?).

I absolutely love the orienpet 'Silk Road'. When they're in bloom, you can smell them throughout our yard. There's a nice picture and description of them here (the fifth and sixth pictures down the page):
http://www.thelilygarden.com/pages_lilies/orienpet_1.html
Quite a few places carry them.

This year I am trying 'Shocking' and 'Red Dutch'.

Just so you know, with some OT's you may get more oriental features and some will give you more trumpet features.

Red Dutch is one that has a more open, oriental look to it. Not real big on fragrance but a nice display just the same.

Moby, that's beautiful but darn it, I was hoping for a strong fragrance. It's pretty enough that maybe I won't mind it not being so fragrant. 'Shocking' has a nice scent doesn't it?

Moby, that is stunning!

I'm big on the smell too. But the colors are indeed spectacular. We love just sitting outside and look at all the colors, smell the air and watch all the birds & critters. Oh my, what a life!

Moby, your Red Dutch is gorgeous! Love it!

Great Red Dutch, Moby!! Wow...

Paws, yes, I was part of your co-op, and you ran a good co-op. :) And now that the addiction has really taken a hold on you, you should check out BuggyCrazy, Faraway Flowers, The Lily Garden, etc... :) Make the addiction complete. :) LOL

I shop with my nose too, but you can't pass up a pretty lily. :)

Yeah, sometimes pretty wins out. I hope mine turn out as nice as yours someday. This is their first year and I know it takes time.

I had a respectable display the first year, I bet you will too.

Oh my, I can see yall are going to get me into trouble. It is so nice to have so many resources to feed the addiction.

It's the least we can do. :)

I just received my Orienpet bulbs. One of them was mushy and smelled terrible. I'm assuming it is rotten (It smelled like a rotten potato). Should I just throw it away or actually plant it?

Hi Irish,

Well if there are parts of it that are not rotten you coulc plant them and you might get new growth from the scales. This is the absolute most terrible time to plant lily bulbs in climates like yours and mine as with the soil and air temps as high as they are, the bulbs cannot root well and you likely won't get any kind of a decent show this year. Where di you get yours? I actually did something I rarely do and ordered some Asiatics from Brent and Becky and they just arrived today - end of season 50% off sale. Not expecting a show this year of course but maybe they'll settle in and return well next year or the year afterwards. I might even just pot them up and keep inside while it is so hot and transplant later. For $83 for 60 bulbs including shipping, hard to beat that!!

^_^

I planted some from bloomingbulb earlier this week and have more to plant this weekend. It's been really cool this year, so I expect they'll do really well, but not so tall. The bulbs are great, especially the mixed orienpet, sold as "jumbo" for $1.28 or something like that with shipping. I so enjoy the smell of lots of lily bulbs.

You're lucky, 4paws - things were really mild here until around early to mid-May and then boom it has been like a furnace ever since with no breaks!

Hi Steve:
I got mine from Cottage Farms Direct. 9 Orienpets and 12 Crocosmia bulbs for $19.99. Luckily the weather hasn't gotten that bad yet. Low 90's for high and 60's for lows. This weekend, only in the 80's. I'm hoping the mulch will keep the soil semi moist, but warm. I will let you know how it goes. I also ordered more Freesia (40 bulbs) $7.95 and 4 o'clocks (12 tubers) $6.95.

I also got some more Angelonia. The Hummers and Butterflys seem to like it and it really took to freezing well. Things that didn't take off last year, are really doing very well this year.

I just keep adding and adding so hopefully next year everything will just knock my socks off.

I haven't made it to Blooming Bulb as yet, so I guess I need to go there.

Hi Irish,

That sounds like a nice collection! I am SURE your show will continue to get fuller and more impressive with each passing year. Just keep adding to it gradually and you will really impress yourself! LOL Four O'Clocks should do great there - I know they're strong performers here - and I have some behind my lilies as well. You should post some pictures of all that stuff when it starts to sprout. My bulbs arrived in really good condition and nice and large - so I want to be careful with them and make sure I don't screw them up! Lilies like really cool conditions to root strongly - like 40's through 60's.

It has been mid-90's for highs and mid to upper 70's for lows every day...just like what we'd expect in late July and August. We ran about 10 degrees above normal in the second half of May. I am surprised everything is doing as well as it is, considering. We had these horrible 40-50 mph dry hot winds yesterday and they finally subsided. Amazingly everything's still pretty green here. I hope this isn't an omen to the rest of the summer :-(

Yes, we are. We had a cold snap followed by 4 blistering days of almost 100, then balmy, now chilly again for the last ten days or so, though the sun is out. It's been raining at night enough to keep the sheets on the line wet.

Last years 4'clocks multiplied really nicely, but only in one half of planting area. The other half only a small portion reappeared. Not really sure why. I will get some pictures at dusk when they open up.

I'm waiting for our local nursery to get some more Balsaam Touch me Nots. They are really a fun plant. The seed pods kind of explode when touched and the seeds go everywhere. They are coming back again where I planted them last year, but they would be nice in other parts of of the yard and I don't really want to thin them out. Mainly light pink and lavender colors. They make a really wonderful color display between July through when the first frost hits them.