Lilium Pearl Melanie

'Pearl Melanie' Asiatic lily belongs to a new series of hybrid lilies called 'Pearl', which brings together vigorous, floriferous, and easy-to-grow plants, in a palette of particularly refined colours. The flowers of 'Melanie' are very large yet graceful, slightly trailing, with petals slightly reflexed. Their colour is lemon yellow washed with green at the throat, discreetly speckled with black, bright and intensely fresh. They bloom in summer on exceptionally strong stems. Once well established, this lily faithfully blooms every year and naturalises quickly in borders, pots, or even large rock gardens. Its flowers are stunning in a vase.

The genus Lilium belongs to the family Liliaceae, its representatives are bulbous plants generally very resistant to cold in soils that do not retain excessive water in winter. 'Pearl Melanie', introduced in 2012, is a hybrid obtained by cross-breeding various Asiatic species, including Lilium longiflorum, which is vigorous and very accommodating. This bulb overwinters underground and vegetation starts around April with a strong leafy stem. It will reach approximately 1m (3ft) high when in bloom, and the clump will spread without any theoretical limit over time, as the bulbs produce bulblets through vegetative multiplication. It flowers for about 4 weeks from mid-June to mid-July. Numerous flowers with 6 recurved petals appear on the leafy stems and can measure up to 15cm (6in) in diameter on a mature plant. At the heart of the yellow corolla washed with acid green, long yellow filaments stand out, covered in dark brown pollen and creating a striking contrast. The stems are sturdy against the wind, covered in beautiful dark green, narrow and glossy alternate leaves.

Thriving in light and fertile soil, this wonderful lily flourishes year after year in any well-balanced and well-prepared soil. You can grow it with perennial plants as it likes having its base in the shade. 'Pearl Melanie' has a strong personality: its dazzling yellow flowers blend perfectly with the lavender-blue blooms of catmints, perennial flax, delphiniums, or agapanthus. In a more romantic setting, it can be planted among bellflowers, white or orange daylilies, white or yellow foxgloves, or even a Crambe cordifolia, for example. Creeping phlox, rock cress, or silver basket will cover its base with an elegant carpet. This tall lily is superb in tall borders or with blue-flowered shrubs like some hydrangeas. It is also an excellent cut flower.