Citronelle Lily

Other Names: Citronella Lily

Group/Class: Asiatic Hybrid

Description:

A striking hybrid lily producing large, nodding, yellow bloom with burgundy spots, crowning sturdy straight stems that are excellent for cutting; this variety is a good choice to create focal interest in areas around shrubbery or border plantings

Ornamental Features:

Citronelle Lily features bold nodding lemon yellow trumpet-shaped flowers with burgundy spots at the ends of the stems in mid summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It's glossy narrow leaves remain green in colour throughout the season. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.

Landscape Attributes:

Citronelle Lily is an herbaceous perennial with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This perennial will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Disease
• Insects

Citronelle Lily is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• General Garden Use
• Mass Planting
• Container Planting

Plant Characteristics:

Citronelle Lily will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 feet from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This perennial does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This plant can be propagated by multiplication of the underground bulbs.

This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.