How to choose a lily?

Choosing a lily based on flower colour

Lilies are a source of inspiration when it comes to their colours: they present us with a rich and diverse colour palette, ranging from the most refined whites to the most flamboyant hues. Only blues and purples are not represented.

While cultivars can be solid-coloured, they more often feature patterns: striated, maculate, or spotted.

White Lilies

Certainly the most elegant and refined varieties. The white lily, a symbol of purity, easily finds its place in well-tended or romantically inspired gardens. It also adds a light touch to a flower bed, enhancing the colours of other plants.

For example, opt for a royal lily like Lilium regale ‘Album’, with its large pure white trumpets highlighted by a lemon heart.

The Asian lily ‘Navona’ offers an immaculate white contrasting with its black stamens, while the double oriental lily ‘Polar Star’ produces delicately green-tinged white flowers.

Pink Lilies

Pink lilies are also perfect candidates for romantic gardens or for creating sophisticated flowering pots.

Their shades can be very soft or more pronounced:

• The Asian lilies ‘Rosella’s Dream’ and ‘Elodie’ offer a very delicate pale pink, just like ‘Broken Heart’ with its candy pink accompanied by white;
• ‘Salmon Tiger’ produces flowers of a more surprising salmon pink speckled with brown;
• ‘Foxtrot’ prefers a bright pink highlighted by a heart of yellow stamens;
• The botanical lily Lilium martagon ‘Rose’ leans more towards purplish pink, speckled with brownish-purple;
• The trumpet lily ‘Pink Perfection’ graces us with a pink leaning towards lilac;
• Incredibly colourful, the botanical lily ‘Uchida’ displays a bright cherry pink, edged in white and speckled with purple-brown.

→ Read also 5 pink-flowered lilies for a romantic garden.

Red Lilies

Among the varieties with red flowers, choose between flowers of a burgundy red colour (martagon lily ‘Claude Shride’), shades of incandescent coral red (‘Red Twin’), or a fascinating garnet red that appears almost black depending on the light (‘Landini’).

The cultivar ‘Arabian Night’ is also charming, with its warm mahogany red flowering against a golden backdrop.

→ Read also 5 red-flowered lilies for a flamboyant garden.

Orange Lilies

A touch of exoticism and plenty of vitality: orange lilies undoubtedly brighten up gardens.

Quite soft, ‘Apricot Fudge’ and ‘African Queen’ offer an orange leaning towards apricot. For a brighter bloom, opt for the luminous ‘Orange Pixie’.

And for a tropical charm, turn to speckled varieties, such as ‘Flore Pleno’ or ‘Henryi’.

Multicoloured Lilies

Some even more exuberant varieties offer us bicoloured or multicoloured flowers.

This is the case with ‘Netty’s Pride’, with its astonishing almost black and white flowering: the heart is dark purple while the tips of the petals offer a pristine white.

Like a sunrise, the flamboyant ‘Avalon Sunset’ blends the warmest colours: pink, orange, peach, and yellow.

Particularly elegant, the cultivar ‘Garden Party’ is dressed to the nines with its white flowers striped with yellow and old rose, delicately speckled with brown.

Other Colours to Discover

Somewhat less common, but just as beautiful, discover the sunny yellow-flowered lilies (the giant ‘Honeymoon’) or the elegant purple lilies (‘Night Flyers’, ‘Royal Kiss’).

Choose Lilies based on their colours to best harmonise with the colours of your garden (Trumpet lily ‘Pink Perfection’, ‘Claude Shride’, Lilium regale ‘Album’, Lilium ‘Orange Pixie’ and ‘Netty’s Pride’)

Choosing a lily based on the shape of the flowers

Lilies are not just about a beautiful diversity of colours. They offer an equally wide range of flower styles.

They can be upright, inclined, or trailing. Their shape can be trumpet-shaped (trumpet lily, Regal lily, …), star-shaped, or even turban-shaped with reflexed petals (Lilium pumilum, martagon lily ‘Rose’, …).

The smallest flowers measure only 2 to 5 cm in diameter, as seen in martagon lilies, while the most impressive can exceed 20 cm. Among the varieties with large flowers, we can mention the trumpet lily ‘Muscadet’ (18 cm in diameter), the giant lily ‘Lavon’ (20 cm), the oriental lily ‘Joséphine’ (22 cm), or the Asian lily ‘Soft Music’ (nearly 30 cm in diameter).

Most lilies have single flowers, formed of 6 tepals (three petals + three sepals of similar appearance) and featuring a heart of decorative stamens. However, some varieties produce double flowers that further enhance the spectacular effect. This is the case with the tigrinum lily (up to 36 tepals), Asian lilies ‘Red Twin’ or ‘Elodie’, and oriental lilies ‘Magic Star’ and ‘Polar Star’.

Even more surprising, the double flowers of the Asian lily ‘Apricot Fudge’ have shorter petals than other varieties, giving them a rose-like appearance.

Lilium ‘Honeymoon’, ‘Peppard gold’, ‘Brocken heart’ or ‘Magic star’ showcase varied flower shapes… it’s up to you to choose your favourites!

Choosing a lily based on fragrance

Lily flowers are often renowned for their fragrance. Their scents are floral, quite sweet, and sometimes spicy.

Among the most fragrant varieties are:

• the Candidum lily or Madonna lily, with a powerful floral scent that intensifies in the evening;
• the botanical lily Lilium speciosum ‘Uchida’, with sweet and spicy notes;
• the giant lily ‘Lavon’, with a strong sweet and floral fragrance;
• oriental lilies like ‘Garden Party’ or ‘Broken Heart’, exuding an intense and heady fragrance;
• the Asian cultivar ‘Soft Music’, milder with its bitter almond notes;
• the royal lily, with powerful and sweet notes;
• the trumpet lily ‘Muscadet’, fragrant from the blooming of its buds until fading.

For more information, we invite you to consult our dedicated article “Lilies: the most fragrant.”

Choose a lily according to the flowering period

Lilies flower at the end of spring (May-June) or at the beginning of summer. The flowering can extend until autumn, in September, depending on the varieties and the climate.

Among the earliest, we find Lilium pumilum, flowering from May until the first summer heat, usually in June.

For the later varieties, we can mention ‘Muscadet’, ‘Polar Star’, ‘Uchida’, or the oriental hybrid ‘Black Beauty’, which flowers between August and September.

Choosing a lily based on its shape and use

Chez les lilies, there are compact varieties measuring around 50 cm tall. Others, larger, can reach nearly 3 metres in height. Depending on their size, you can grow them in various situations in the garden, whether in large spaces or in containers.

And if you wish to plant lilies in a more natural and less cultivated garden, feel free to check our article “The Best Lilies for a Naturalistic Garden”.

The Small Varieties

These are the easiest lilies to integrate. They grow easily in small spaces, as well as in pots or containers on the terrace or balcony.

Among the varieties measuring less than 1 metre in height, choose from the adorable dwarf lily ‘Orange Pixie’ (40 cm tall with a 30 cm spread), the very sweet ‘Foxtrot’ (45 cm tall with a 30 cm spread), or the beautiful ‘Garden Party’ (40 cm tall with a 30 cm spread).

A bit larger, equally suitable for container growing as well as in borders, opt for ‘Stargazer’ (75 cm tall with a 50 cm spread), ‘Navona’ (70 cm tall with a 40 cm spread), or ‘Landini’ (80 cm tall with a 50 cm spread).

The Larger Varieties

In borders or in a flowering hedge, these tall lilies will bring height and structure with their beautiful verticality.

Adopt the Henryi lily (2 metres tall with a 40 cm spread), which will be covered in small orange lanterns in summer.

The leopard lily is also quite impressive, reaching at least 1.8 metres.

The giant lilies ‘Lavon’ and ‘Honeymoon’ reach 2 metres tall with a 50 cm spread and are almost considered shrub-like. Spectacular varieties!

Small and compact or giant… also adapt your choice based on the destination of your lilies: in pots or in your borders

Choosing a lily based on growing conditions

Lilies generally prefer sunny or partially shaded situations, in well-draining soil that does not retain water. They favour soil with an acidic to neutral pH.

However, a few exceptions tolerate calcareous soils. This is the case for Henry’s lily, martagon lily, and Madonna lily, which are very tolerant.

The latter also has the particularity of being able to withstand drought well, allowing it to be grown even in regions with a Mediterranean climate. It will thrive in both heavy (clay) and light (poor and well-draining) soils, as long as the planting is done carefully.

Leopard lily also requires slightly different growing conditions. Native to California’s wet areas, it prefers to have its roots in the shade and will flourish at the edge of woodlands or in cool rocky areas.