Lilium Philadelphicum - Tiger Lily

While most people like roses or chrysanthemums, my most favorite flower over all others are the Tiger Lilllie's. Known by their Latin name of Lilium Philadelphicum, Tiger Lillies are a very attractive oriental flower. The coloring can be from a light orange to a deep sanguine (almost reddish brown), and have dark spots on them . I don't know why having spots it is called a tiger lilly. It was just named that by someone long ago.

These specific flowers prefer a whole lot of sun. Although I have seen some that get half a day's sun and still grow rather tall. Some variety can grow up to five feet tall, but those are usually wild. A cultivated tiger lily can reach a height of four feet, but even that can be pushing it. You would have to be able to duplicate the soil conditions where it grows wild in order to get them any taller. As these lillies become more sought after and re-cultivated they seem to grow much shorter than their predecessors. The average height you can get out of one at a garden center is anywhere from 18" to 30" tall.

The variety of tiger lillies that I have always grown have their leaves grow out from a single stalk. You can see the pattern that the leaves grow in not long before buds start to show up on the plant. If the plant is in its second year of growth you may notice a woody looking knob at the base of each leaf up next to the stalk. Don't be alarmed. These are the bulbs. Allow them to fall to the ground on their own before harvesting them. Should you force it off the plant you may not be able to get them to grow.

The first time I ever saw Tiger Lillies was when I was a child and thought they were fake flowers. I felt so bad after touching them to see if they were real because one of the unopened buds fell right off. My parents were looking for flowers to plant out in the yard to liven it up. Neither one of them asked me if I liked the flower. I got the usual, "Stop playing around, and stick with us." Oh, well. Since then, I have found that most lillies have delicate buds. It doesn't take much to knock a bud or two off a plant.

I think it's odd how I wound up attending OSU in Oklahoma, not even associating the colors with that of the Tiger Lilly. I did not think I would like the color orange so much, or black for that matter. Artificial versions of this flower are in my bedroom, and there are some growing right outside my bedroom window. Call it an obsession, or just a fondness for this particular flower, but I don't think I will ever grow tired of them.

I have grown these oriental lillies as a back border to a garden as well as a mid-filler with taller yellow and other accented colored flowers. A simple three flower tiered garden with Tiger Lillies in the middle would have white alyssum as the edge border, and African Foxglove. I usually plant my plants an inch or two closer than recommended, and not planted in straight rows to give it a wild growing look to the garden. You can choose your own method for planting Tiger Lillies, just remember that they are not shade loving flowers. They can take as little as five hours of sunlight in a lightly shaded area, but you will need really good soil for them.

You can find out more on how to plant Tiger Lillies in my article "Morning Tiger View" here at Associated Content. Granted there are many other wonderful flowers that God created in the world, but none compare to this wonderful garden variety that I especially care for. If you are a fan of Tiger Lillies, you will obviously know how wonderful these are to grow.