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Lilium longiflorum  | Easter Lily, Trumpet Lily

Lilium longiflorum  | Easter Lily, Trumpet Lily

Synonymous Lilium wallichianum (LIL-ee-um   Wal-ik-ee-AH-num)

Liliaceae (Lily Family) (Pronounced Lil-ee-a-see-eye)

Pronounced LIL-ee-um  Lon-geh-floor-um (soft g)

The name "Lilum" is Latin meaning "lily."

The name "Longiflorum" means "long-flowered" representing the long trumpet shape.

This flower is forced to bloom in time for Easter and sold to be displayed in church.

My church has had members buy a lily in honor of someone or some other tribute, which are then displayed in the church bulletin. I have taken my lily home in the past and then planted it in the yard. They still come back faithfully year after year, but they do not bloom at Easter when they bloom during their natural time.

If I purchase one for Easter, I plant it in the ground and it comes back the next year and blooms, but not for Easter, but much later in the year. The plants are forced to bloom at Easter time by the growers and sold in stores.

The pollen can stain clothing and hands, so be careful transporting the plant.

The plant is a bulb.

The flowers are pure white and have the classic trumpet shaped flower. The flowers are large and fragrant.

The plant grows to about 3 feet high.

The Easter lily is native to the southern islands of Japan and Taiwan. The wallichianum species indicates it is from India, Himalaya, and Myanmar.

There is a lot of symbolism for the Easter Lily. Some of what I read I do not believe is good.

First, I like to consider that it is pure white which is a symbol of being sinless, and Jesus was without sin. Second, I like that it is trumpet shaped and that we often have a musician playing the trumpet during Easter service to announce that "Jesus has risen. He has risen indeed."

The Easter Lily is a Division 9 for a true species lily.

Longiflorum hybrids are classified as Division 5. I am not sure what species I own, so it could be 9 or 5.

 

Lily Divisions (classifications)

1. Asiatic Hybrids – Popular; least expensive; wide variety; easy to grow; colorful; unscented

2. Martagon Hybrids – Shade tolerate; expensive; Turscap Lily

3. Candidum | Euro-Caucasian Hybrid – Heirlooms; Madonna Lily

4. American Hybrids – Downward-facing petals; naturalize easily; Lilium lancifolium or Lilium tigrinum

5. Longiflorum Hybrids – Easter Lily

6. Trumpet and Aurelian Hybrids – Bugle-shaped flowers; Tall; needs staking

7. Oriental Hybrids – Similar to Asiatic; needs acidic soil; sweet fragrance; famous Stargazer lily; L. auratum and L. speciosum

8. Interdivisional Hybrids – catch-all group; crossings of other divisions;

9. Species (true) – wild; not hybridized

2024

My plants came out of the ground in the early Spring in April, and were growing to bloom right on time, but with all of the garden work in restructuring it by moving around plants, and in putting in the drainage pipes nearby, they continued to get trampled on. I thought they would recover, but by late July they began to die away. I wonder if they will come back next year and will be watching for them. I think there were 7 of them from the video snippet I took.

2022

2007

2002

 

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