Date: Fri 02-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

GardenKids-Sullivan-lilies

Full Text:

GARDENKIDS : Welcoming Spring With The Stately Easter Lily

By Pat Sullivan

What better flower to proudly announce the long-awaited arrival of Spring than

the stately, trumpet-shaped Easter Lily!

The lily, normally a summer bloomer, has become the traditional flower of

Easter. It is a symbol of purity, innocence, hope and life. In the Christian

religion it represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life

everlasting.

The Language of Flowers states that the lily is one of the oldest flowers in

the world. Art, history, mythology, ancient fables, and literature all pay

tribute to this majestic flower. It may be found painted on the walls of

ancient Greek palaces where it was the personal flower of Hera, the moon

goddess. It is said that lilies sprung from the tears of repentance that Eve

shed as she left the Garden of Eden.

The lily is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. Lilies, called the

"white-robed apostles of hope," grew in the Garden of Gethsemane after

Christ's agony. Tradition has it white lilies sprung up where drops of

Christ's sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow.

Early writers and artists associate the lily with the Virgin Mary's

Annunciation and Resurrection. The pure white petals of the "Madonna Lily," or

Lilium candidum , which means dazzling white, signify her spotless body.

The Easter Lily, Lilium longiflorum , finds its original roots in the southern

islands of Japan. Bermuda was the first to grow it commercially and had a hold

on the market until the early 20th Century when a virus brought production to

a halt.

Japan took over exportation to the US until they attacked Pearl Harbor in

1941, after which their bulb exportation was immediately cut off.

Luckily the US had already started its own Easter Lily production thanks to a

WWI soldier named Louis Houghton, who brought a suitcase of hybrid lily bulbs

to the south coast of Oregon in 1919. Houghton distributed the bulbs to

horticultural friends who grew them as a hobby.

As soon as the Japanese market ceased, the value of the American-grown lily

bulbs skyrocketed and the hobby horticulturists decided to go into business.

Their Easter Lilies became known as "White Gold." Blessed with perfect climate

conditions for cultivating lilies, the Oregon growers produced consistent high

quality bulbs. After the War, the Japanese were never able to regain a

significant market share.

Today over 95 percent of all bulbs grown for the potted Easter Lily market are

produced by just ten farms in a narrow coastal region straddling the

Oregon-California border. The Easter Lily is now the fourth largest crop in

wholesale value in the US potted plant market behind poinsettias, mums and

azaleas.

Welcome this fragrant flower into your home to celebrate either the Christian

holy season or just the fact that it is spring and a time for new beginnings.

Select a plant with blooms at different stages, with a few that are open, a

couple partly open and the rest puffy, but unopened. This, along with cool,

bright conditions, will assure your fleurs of the longest display possible.

Keep the soil moist, but not wet.

If you have youngsters around, this is a perfect flower with which to

demonstrate the parts of a flower -- the sticky pistil and pollen-producing

stamen. Its soft, intoxicating perfume is what entices bees into its cavern to

pollinate the flower and create a new seed.

The Easter Lily is perfectly happy in our Connecticut gardens, so when the

last bloom fades don't toss it! Cut off the flowers, keep it in a sunny

location, water as needed, and fertilize every six weeks. When the danger of

frost is past, which is mid-May in southern Connecticut, plant about six

inches below the soil line in a well-drained garden bed with rich organic

matter. Follow by watering well to eliminate air pockets.

Lilies are content in sun or shade so feel safe to plant in either. Leave the

stems until the foliage, which is producing food for the bulb, dies back.

Easter lilies are "forced" to bloom in greenhouses at Easter. So look for your

lily to bloom naturally next summer.

Keep an eye out for Bambi, as lily buds are one of a deer's favorite

appetizers. Several spray products on the market will convince this

four-legged creature to snack elsewhere.

Give the lily a chance to grace your garden. It may well become one of your

favorites as it has mine.

For more information on the Easter Lily, check out the Internet site

www.easterlilies.com.

(Pat Sullivan is a children's gardening consultant, master gardener and

teaches children's gardening programs at various locations in Connecticut as

well as the New York Botanical Gardens.)