LILIUMS - ASIATIC, ORIENTAL, ASIFLORUM AND LONGIFLORUM

Oriental Lily: tall green stems with large glossy leaves with two or three large flower per stem. Flower petals reflex back upon opening revealing an interior often spotted brown or black. Orientals can be found in white, pale pink, red or yellow and are renowned for their heavy fragrance, large flower size and long vase life.

Asiatic Lily: Generally shorter stems with several brightly coloured flowers per stem. Colours include yellow, orange, dark red and white and the inside of the petals are commonly spotted in black or brown. Asiatics are not strongly perfumed.

LA: LA stands for ‘Longiflorum + Asiatic’ which are the two parents that gave rise to this relatively recent member of the lily family. LA’s are intermediate in size between the two parents and come in a range of pastel colours: yellow, orange, dark red and white like Asiatics, but much paler in colour. They also have a very attractive scent – far more subtle than L. longiflorum.