Lily Henry

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Lily Henry (lat. Lilium henryi) - flowering decorative culture; a representative of the genus Lilia, belonging to the Liliaceae family. In nature, the species is found on mountain heights and dense thickets located in China in the vicinity of the cities of Hubei, Jiangxi, Guaizhou. The presented plant got its name thanks to the merits of Augustine Henry (1857-1930), a botanist who studies the culture of ancient and modern China, who is recognized as the first European to meet this amazing flower. Lily Henry is actively used in ornamental gardening around the world, since it is distinguished by its extraordinary beauty, ease of growing and reproduction. It fits perfectly into any garden landscape. The flower crop can be planted alone or in combination with other perennials to create magnificent multi-color compositions.

Characteristics of culture

Lily Henry is represented by a large perennial plant, the height of which can exceed 2 meters. The curved straight peduncle has a dark green color with many dark blotches. Stem from base to inflorescence is covered with long, varied in shape, glossy foliage, slightly pubescent with villi on the underside. In an adult plant, the size of the leaves can exceed 20 centimeters in length and have both a straight and strongly curved lanceolate shape.

Lily Henry has fragrant medium-sized drooping flowers, about 7 centimeters in diameter, collected in racemose inflorescences of 12 - 18 pieces on one peduncle. The petals are curved and narrowed at the edges of an orange-yellow hue, have numerous branched processes that begin to form from the base to the middle of the flower, which gives the inflorescences a kind of velvety. In the center of the petals there is a light green stigma surrounded by a bunch of naked filaments, the length of which does not exceed 6 centimeters, terminating from above with orange-brown oblong anthers.

The fruit of the plant is presented in the form of a round miniature tricuspid box of green color, completely filled with dark, almost black seeds. The bulb has the shape of a ball with a diameter of about 10 centimeters, covered with dense tight-fitting scaly plates of a purple or red hue. The root system consists of many branched filamentous roots.

The flowering of the species under consideration is observed from late August - early September. The plant is pollinated mainly by insects, which are attracted by the aroma of nectar and the colorful color of the petals. In nature, Henry's lilies reproduce both by seed and vegetative, by means of daughter bulbs.

Planting and leaving

Lily Henry, for all its decorativeness, does not require special care, if you create comfortable conditions for growth in advance, then further care can be reduced to regular watering, loosening and periodic feeding. The main and, probably, the most important condition for the growth of the plant is the location of the garden, since the beautiful and colorful flowering of Henry's lily shows only when drowning in intense sunlight, the plant does not bloom in the shade and is likely to die.

Planting lilies, including the species in question, can be carried out starting from the third decade of August. It is advisable to prepare the soil in advance, 2-3 weeks before planting, the deadline is 7-10 days. Initially, you need to carefully dig up the selected piece of land and apply organic fertilizers to it. It is not recommended to plant the bulbs in heavy, clayey and highly acidic soil. If the soil contains a lot of clay, it must be diluted with sand, with increased acidity, add lime, with an abundance of sand, add peat.

It is not recommended to plant the bulbs of the plant immediately after preparing the soil; it is necessary to wait until the soil settles, and the fertilizers are soaked and decomposed, otherwise the plant may get burns incompatible with further growth. After planting the plant, already in the third year of life, you can observe the first opened inflorescences, after another two years the first babies will begin to form in the bulbs.