Asiatic Lilies

Asiatic lilies make lovely cut flowers to brighten up a room. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Asiatic Lilies

Besides orchids, Asiatic and Oriental Lilies are my favorite room decor addition. Any room will look better with a sprig of fresh flowers, be they wildflowers or lilies.

They are not the same but are often confused for each other. The easiest way to remember the difference is Asiatic lilies do not have a fragrance. Asiatic lilies also bloom earlier than Oriental lilies.

Asiatic lilies are native to several areas of Asia. The plants reach mature heights of 1 to 6 feet and have long, slender, glossy leaves. They are hardy, early bloomers that produce flowers in a wide variety of colors.

I started adding Asiatic lilies to my garden when I wanted a pop of red. I ound several packets on sale, usually in spring where I live in mid-Missouri USDA Hardiness zone 5.

Beware of Exposure to Cats

Asiatic lily pollen can be deadly to cats. I know cut the pollen tips off and wash all pollen off the flowers before bringing them inside.

I also keep the flowers in a spot where the cats can’t get to them.

In my garden, both asiatic and oriental lilies grow in dabbled sunshine. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Asiatic lilies thrive in nearly any type of well-drained soil. The bulbs multiply quickly and can double every year.

Oriental Lilies

By comparison, Oriental lilies are native to Japan. The plants gain height every year and are considerably taller than Asiatic lilies. The deep green leaves are wider , somewhat heart-shaped, and further apart than the leaves of Asiatic lilies.

Oriental lilies bloom about the time Asiatic lilies are fading.

The huge blooms, primarily in shades of white, pastel pink and pastel yellow, are heavily scented.

The bulbs multiply much more slowly than Asiatic lily bulbs.

As with most plants, they both benefit from splitting the bulbs every few years to prevent overcrowding.

Asiatic lilies are pretty in both outside gardens and inside bouquets. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I now have both growing in my garden. Since Oriental lilies grow after Asiatic lilies, that gives me an extended growing season for these lovely plants that make excellent cut flowers.

To Keep Asiatic Lilies Fresh

Change the water in the vase every couple of days. Cut off an inch from the bottom to help the stem absorb moisture. Keep out of direct sunlight.

Charlotte

Rooting Pussy Willow Branches

Love being greeted by this flower vase full of pussy willow branches. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Rooting Pussy Willow Branches

Talk about doing double duty!

I found these pussy willow branches several weeks ago and brought them home with the intention of trying to root them for plant starts.

For many years I’ve had pussy willow shrubs on my short list of plants I want to add to my Missouri limestone hill garden. I am sure the drawings I saw as a child of little kittens springing from pussy willow branches has shaped my decision. Not that I expect that to happen, mind you, but I love the little fluffy soft buds that sit along the stems.

Last year I bought one on sale to mark the grave of my last cat, Margaret, who died just shy of being 21 years old. She was a constant companion, often injecting herself in the middle of whatever I was doing. I miss her dearly still, especially the places she would drape her tail. I once almost sewed her tail into a blouse I was mending. She waited right before I started sewing to drape her tail over the fabric in front of the sewing foot. Oh, it was deliberate, she was a master at it. It was her unique way of getting my attention!

These lovely pussy willow branches sat in my garage for a couple of days until the weather turned colder. Knowing full well they would not survive outside, I decided to keep them inside in water to see if they would sprout roots. Not having a good place to set them aside, I placed them in a nice vase and made the pussy willow branches into the centerpiece of a coffee table. And they look stunning.

I took these pictures just before I changed the water in the vase.

Pussy willow branches in a flower vase waiting for roots to sprout. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I change the water every other day. It gives me a good opportunity to see if any roots are starting to sprout at the end of the stem’s growing nodes.

Roots should sprout from the growing nodes at the end of the stems. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

If they do sprout, I have pots ready to get the rooted starts into soil so they have time to grow before May, when they will get moved outside.

If nothing grows, I am still enjoying the pussy willows as a centerpiece.

And believe it or not, neither one of my current two cats have yet to knock it over.

Charlotte