Many call the royal lily one of the most luxurious and exquisite flowers. However, despite the fact that the plant is extremely capricious, it does not require special care for itself. It is enough to know the basic rules for planting a plant and treating it from pests.
Features:
This flower was bred relatively recently, at the beginning of the twentieth century. For a long time, it was the lily that was considered a symbol of royal families and bohemians. That is why the new hybrid flower has received the corresponding noble name. It was first used to decorate the Arnold Arboretum garden by Wilson, who was doing his research in Massachusetts.
The plant is quite strong and large. The height of its stem can reach 1-1.5 meters in height. Its color is not very bright, gray-green.
The base is decorated with charming tubular flowers of different shades. The yellow center of this flower is surrounded by beautifully curved petals. Each of the buds reaches about 15 centimeters in length.
An interesting feature that pleases most gardeners is that the flowers are very easy to plant. The fact is that all their generic characteristics are transmitted regardless of whether lilies are planted in bulbs or seeds are used for this. The only difference is how quickly the plant will delight gardeners with flowers. If you use seeds, you will have to wait three years for the desired result. When a person plants a bulb, bloom can be expected next season.
The regal lily is a Chinese plant. In the wild, it is found in the mountainous regions of Asia and, in particular, China. The climate is characterized by periodic droughts. Therefore, the plant is quite normal for short-term periods without moisture. Since the Tibetan climate seems more suitable for such lilies, do not water the flower too often.
Varieties
Not all royal lilies look the same. The description of different varieties can be quite different. Therefore, you need to find out basic information about the selected plant before buying.
- Snow-white. The hybrid of snow-white color reaches a height of 1.5 to almost 2 meters. It also has a rich aroma. The disadvantage of the plant is that the white pipe lily is highly susceptible to all kinds of diseases. It is best to grow such a royal flower in the southern regions of the country.
- Album. This variety of the classic royal lily also pleases with a white tint. Its middle is yellow. The flower is large and wide enough. The plant thrives best where it is always sunny and warm.
- Tiger lily. Another popular variety is the tiger lily. The name of this plant is justified by the color of the petals, which resemble the color of the skin of a dangerous predator. The plant height is within 120 centimeters. There are flowers with double petals, bred by modern breeders.
How to plant?
In order for the plant to quickly take root and begin to bloom already in the next season, it is very important to plant it correctly. One of the main features of royal lilies is that the flower can grow even on poor soil and in difficult conditions. Regale lily planted in black soil develops much more slowly. In addition, the bulbs or roots of the plant in such soil can begin to rot.
It is important that the plant gets enough sun regularly. Professional gardeners advise avoiding adding manure to the soil. It won't do any good. The plant in such conditions can be affected by fusarium or gray rot.
The best option is high quality, drained, loosened and breathable soil. Its acidity level should be neutral. Before planting the bulbs, it is advisable to dig up the garden bed and add some ash to the soil.
Before planting a plant in open ground, it must be prepared. This is very easy to do. First of all, bulbs saved from last year or purchased must be soaked in solution. It can be a weak solution of manganese or a professional biostimulant. In the second case, all instructions are written on the package. In the first, the bulbs must simply be placed in a container with a manganese solution for two and a half hours.
This is done in order to "wake up" the bulb. In addition, in this way it is possible to disinfect it.
You should also take a closer look at the bulb itself, because not all planting material is of sufficient quality. A good king lily bulb should not have dry scales. The grown roots should ideally be within five centimeters.
At the next stage, you can proceed to planting the plant. To do this, you need to prepare the holes in advance. There should be a distance of about 15 centimeters between them. The bulb is immersed in the hole about 10-15 centimeters. It all depends on the size of the bulb itself. Additionally, you can cover the ground with a layer of mulch, using, for example, a layer of sawdust.
If all these steps are performed correctly, the plant will take root very quickly and start growing. Ideally, it should be planted either in spring or early autumn. After a few years, the lilies can be transplanted to another place if necessary.
The first step is to wait until the bulb has bloomed. After that, you need to give the plant a few weeks so that it regains strength. Next, you can gently dig up the lily. During this process, you should try not to damage the roots. An onion dug out of the ground is gently washed under running water. Further "babies" are separated from the main, maternal, bulb.
After that, the same process is repeated as when planting a lily for the first time.
The planting material is placed in a container with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (however, this time for only 20 minutes). Then it is dried; the roots are cut off. Their length should be no more than 7 cm. Then the “kids” are planted in a new area. The soil can also be mulched if desired.
How to properly care for?
Caring for the royal lily is also an important part of the growing process. Like other plants, regale needs additional feeding. This is necessary in order for the plant to develop rapidly and delight with beautiful flowers. You need to apply mineral fertilizers three times a year. Here's a simple diagram to help you do this without any problem.
- Spring feeding. This is the very first and most important step. The pellets should be used as soon as the sprouts emerge from the ground.
- The second step is feeding, which is done after the first buds appear on the stem. You also need to do this carefully enough so as not to overdo it.
- The third time you need to feed the royal line after the plant has already bloomed.
In addition to dressing, there are other points that gardeners should pay attention to.
First of all, it is worth remembering that king lilies are very fragile. Therefore, it is important to protect them from heavy rain or wind.
To do this, it is recommended to plant them under the cover of tree branches or awnings. For the winter, the lily must be protected from the cold by mulching with a layer of sawdust. You can also cover the plant with foil. But in this case, it will need to be periodically ventilated. You also need to periodically water the plant if it's too hot outside and weed.
Diseases and pests
From time to time, beautiful flowers are subject to disease or pest attacks.
The most dangerous enemy of this flower is the lily beetle. It is harmful in that it damages the leaves, feeding on their juice. The same goes for buds. It is possible to save a flower from a dangerous insect. But beetles will have to be collected manually, spending time on this. This is not so difficult to do, because the insect has a bright orange color, it is easy to spot and catch. If the flower is attacking a large number of beetles, then you can try to treat the flower with insecticides. Professionals recommend using for this purpose such means as "Karbofos" or "Aktara". If you follow the simple instructions on the package, the flower will soon be cured.
There are other pests that can harm a noble flower. These are, for example, a bear and aphids. To combat them, it is also worth using insecticides.
If we talk about diseases, it is worth noting that regal lilies are often subject to fungal diseases. The most popular disease is bacterial rot. It can be recognized by the fact that the leaves gradually turn yellow, and the flowers begin to die off. It is easier to avoid such a disease than to deal with it later. So that the plant does not suffer, care must be taken to ensure that the soil is not waterlogged. It should be watered rarely, without being too zealous.
Also, do not overheat the soil. This will cause the plant to wither. Therefore, you need to carefully choose the material for mulching. For example, sawdust will do.
Use in landscape design
Beautiful royal lilies can be used in landscaping in many ways.
- Hedge. If possible, on the site you can plant a whole hedge of such beautiful flowers. They are quite tall and decorated with long leaves. Such a fence always looks incredibly beautiful. It is better to plant them at the back wall of the site or flower bed. Otherwise, tall plants will hide lower flowers.
- Single landing. An easier way is single landing. In this case, the plants are planted at a decent distance from each other. This allows the plant to always remain beautiful and vibrant, because it receives enough nutrition.
- Rock garden decoration. Beautiful lilies can be made part of a mixborder or rock garden. They should be planted on the lower tier, all for the same reason - because of their height. It is equally important to be able to combine lilies with other flowers that grow next to them. The best neighbors for them are peonies. They are massive, bright and look great when paired with classic white lilies. Another great option for flowers that can be planted next to lilies is phlox. They are not only beautiful, but also unpretentious. You can choose white, pink or purple flowers with small buds for combination with royal lilies.
Also, when decorating a rock garden, you can use flowers such as daffodils, tulips or crocuses. Roses, astibalds and delphiniums look harmoniously next to lilies.
Summing up, we can say that this noble royal flower can be used to decorate almost any area. It will look great on the lawn, and on a large flower bed, and next to a high fence. If you provide the flower with proper care, then the plant in any area will look beautiful and bloom for a long time.
How to quickly propagate lilies in spring, see below.