Derived from species native to Asia, these lilies are among the earliest to bloom in the home landscape. They have a very broad range of colors including White, Pink, Plum, Yellow, Orange and Red. Flowers of this division tend to be upward facing, outfacing or pendant. Generally they do not have much fragrance, if any.

 

Most of these cultivars are formed by cross breeding species including  L. tigrinum, L. cemuum, L. davidii, L. maximowiczii, L.x macultum, L. x hollandicum, L. amabile, L. pumilum, L. concolor, & L. bulbiferum.

These lilies bloom early along with the Asiatic lilies and have small, downward facing flowers. The stems have whorls of leaves spaced along their length. Martagons are considered shade tolerant but will also thrive in the sun. They do well in the same conditions as hosta. It may take several years for plants to become well established in the garden due to their slow growth rate. Flowers are most commonly Pink or deep dark Red but cultivars also come in White, Yellow, lavender, light Orange with dark speckles and spots on the petals.

Lily cultivars in this group are most commonly the result of crosses between L. martagon, L. hansonii, L. medeoloides & L. tsingtauense.

These are cultivars of combinations of L. candidum, L. chalcedonicum, L. monadelphum, & other species native to Europe with the exclusion of L. martagon. Only a few cultivars make up this division.

Northern North America has an abundance of native lily species and many of them have been crossed to produce a large group of cultivars. The bulbs have jointed scales and the blooms are borne up swinging, curved pedicels. As their native environment would indicate, these do best in cool summers and may tolerate dappled shade.

Species commonly used to develop these cultivars include  L. pardalinum, L. humboldtii, L. kelloggii & L. parryii among others.

These cultivars come from a cross of L. longiflorum & L. formosanum. Plants in this division have White, trumpet shaped flowers and they are not especially hardy.

Plants in this division are characterized by large, waxy, trumpet shaped flowers with a heavy fragrance. The most common color is White but many cultivars are available in Gold, Yellow, Chartreuse, Pink, Plum and Apricot. These are mid to late season blooming lilies.

The species, Lilium henryi, is common in the breeding of these cultivars. It is often combined with L. luecanthum, L. regale, L. sargentiae & L. sulphureum.

This group of cultivars from Asian species is particularly tolerant of hot summer climates. The flowers are in shades of White, Pink, salmon and crimson with most of them being very fragrant. They like their "feet" cool so cover the soil with mulch to keep them happy.

Species involved in the development of these cultivars include L. auratum, L. speciosum, L. nobilissimum, L. rubellum, L. alexandrae & L. japonicum.

This division is made up of cultivars not included in Horticultural Divisions 1 to 7 including crosses between divisions.

To be a species, a plant must be known to currently exist in the wild or there must be evidence that it once existed in the wild. Lily species come from many of the temperate zones of the world including North America, Northern Europe and Asia. Although may of the lilies commonly grown in the home landscape consist of cultivars, many of the species are also available in the nursery trade.