A Tough Year For Lilies

It's been a tough year for lilies here at the stone wall garden. Early spring heat, late hard frost, critters, little sun, and excess water all add up to plant stress. As described in the catalog, Lilium speciosum rubrum is a prized circa 1830 heirloom that has crimson-rose flowers with white margins, magenta spots and a pinkish white eye. It is fragrant and reaches four feet tall. Bloom time is August. The picture in the catalog doesn't look like this. Dead leaves and a single sad blossom would hardly send sales through the roof. Still you have to admire this plant for blooming despite the weather. I have to wonder if this 1830 lily will manage to come back in 2010.