Lilium Fata Morgana - Asiatic lily

Lilium ‘Fata Morgana’ is an Asiatic lily with double flowers of an almost golden yellow, punctuated with small dark red spots and pollen-free. Each stem bears several upright flowers which open from June to July, forming bright cut flower arrangements. This bulb remains compact; its neat-looking foliage is perfectly suited for decorating borders and pots.

The Lilium genus comprises perennial bulbous plants from the Liliaceae family, mostly native to the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere.
Lilium ‘Fata Morgana’ is classified among the Asiatic hybrids (Division I), known for their early flowering, robust stems and near absence of fragrance. It is a double form, with upright flowers, reaching 70 to 90 cm in height, with 4 to 7 flowers per stem, depending on the bulb size. Obtained by the Dutch company Gebr. N. & B. Laan in Bovenkarspel in the late 1980s, it was registered in the mid-1990s and received the Award of Garden Merit from the RHS, a guarantee of reliability in the garden. The flowers measure 10 to 12 cm in diameter; they have several rows of tepals, which completely conceal the stamens. The deciduous foliage is formed of narrow, lanceolate, dark green leaves, tightly packed along straight, non-branching stems. A few weeks after the summer flowering, the vegetation dries up, and the bulb remains dormant in the soil; it will regrow the following spring. ‘Fata Morgana’ is hardy down to at least –20 °C, provided the soil is well-drained in winter (it is excess moisture that causes the most problems for bulbs, more so than the cold itself).

In the garden, the ‘Fata Morgana’ lily can be planted in groups of 4-5 bulbs in the middle of a sunny border or in a large planter, where its double yellow flowers are visible from a distance. It pairs well with the plumes of Love-Lies-Bleeding 'Green Cascade' which surround its stems without hiding them. You can also combine it with the umbels of Achillea millefolium ‘Terracotta’ or with the daisies of Echinacea ‘Sunrise’. In a vase, its very straight stems are perfect with some grasses and the white umbels of Orlaya grandiflora.