Lily is an important plant family of the temperate regions of the world, especially East Asia and North America. The name is used for many garden and hothouse flowers, such as the tiger lily, the Madonna lily, the white Easter lily, and the Chinese and Japanese lilies. The lily family also traditionally includes a number of plants that are important to agriculture, such as asparagus and aloe. A few flowers that do not have lily as part of their name, such as the fritillary, the tulip, and the dogtooth violet, are also in the lily family. But the calla lily and water lily are not members of the lily family.
Most lilies have clusters of white or bright-colored flowers on upright stems. The blossoms are trumpet-shaped and have six petals.
There are hundreds of species (kinds) of lilies. Several species are native to the United States. The meadow lily of the southeast is reddish-orange with purple spots and grows up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. The southern red lily also grows along the southeastern coast. It is about 2 feet (0.6 meter) high with bright red and yellow flowers spotted with purple.
The tall leopard lily grows along the West Coast from California to Oregon. It is about 6 feet (1.8 meters) high with reddish-orange flowers spotted purple. The Sierra lily of the same region is about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. It has red-orange flowers that are also purple-spotted.
The wood lily grows from Maine to Missouri. Its flowers are also orange-red with purple spots, and it grows to a height of 3 feet (0.9 meter).
Lilies grow from scaly bulbs. The plants grow best in deep, sandy loam that is well drained. They should be sheltered from strong winds and hot sun. Bulbs of most lilies are planted 6 inches (15 centimeters) or more under the soil in late fall or early spring. They are placed deep because many produce roots from the stem above the bulbs. As soon as the plants bloom, the seed pods should be removed. The Madonna lily is planted only in August and is set only 2 inches (5 centimeters) deep because it starts a growth of foliage in late summer. It lives through the winter.
The most serious disease that attacks lilies is mosaic virus. It is carried from plant to plant by aphids and attacks every part of the plant except the seeds. When one of the plants becomes infected, it should be removed immediately and destroyed. Another disease, called Botrytis blight, also attacks lilies. It can be controlled by spraying the flowers once a week with appropriate fungicides (substances that kill fungi).
