Lilium (x) longiflorum 'Crosscourt' Butterfly Luna® - Easter Lily

The Lilium 'Crosscourt' 'Butterfly Luna' is a hybrid of longiflorum and Asian lilies that brightens floral compositions with its bright yellow colour and generous shape. This cultivar, of medium to large size, bears numerous floral buds, ensuring a long flowering period. Its vivid and luminous colour is ideal for enhancing bouquets. Without pollen and speckles, its double flower has a sleek and refined look.

The 'Butterfly Luna' Lily is a recent Dutch horticultural creation. It is a bulbous plant with deciduous vegetation from the lily family. This cultivar is part of a group of hybrids resulting from, among others, Asian species such as Lilium longiflorum and L. formosanum. These varieties are prized in floristry for their large, brightly coloured flowers that last several days in a vase. At full bloom, 'Butterfly Luna' will reach between 1 m and 1.30 m in height, and its vegetation will spread over time, with bulbs producing numerous bulblets through vegetative propagation. Each floral stem bears 7 to 9 double flowers measuring approximately 15 cm in diameter, facing upwards. Their colour is a bright and pure yellow. At the heart of each flower are yellow stamens with mahogany anthers that are devoid of pollen. The long, glossy leaves, dark green in colour, are narrow and lanceolate, with parallel veins running through them. The vegetation dries out in autumn, while the bulb goes into dormancy. The bulbs are reserve organs with fleshy, overlapping scales.

Hybrid longiflorum lilies such as 'Butterfly Luna' bloom after 10 or 11 weeks of cultivation, they can be "forced" by planting them early in the season in a veranda or a warm room. The soil they are planted in should remain moist throughout the growth and flowering period.

In a flowerbed or bouquet, you can pair 'Crosscourt' with the Shasta Daisy 'Wirral Supreme', the blue Delphinium 'Blauwal', and the decorative dahlia 'Babylon Bronze', for example. Winter protection, in the form of a thick mulch, is not unnecessary in very cold regions. Lilies appreciate having their feet in the shade, with neighbouring plants helping to prevent the stems from bending in the wind.