One of the most beautiful flowering plants you can have in your garden, or in a pot, son los Lilium regale. These are bulbous plants easy to find for their attractive flowers.
But what do you know about them? And what about the care they need? Don’t worry; We have prepared a guide for you so that you can get to know it more thoroughly and you can have them without worrying about losing the economic outlay that they sometimes have. Shall we start?
How is the Lilium regale
It is possible that you do not recognize the name much, but if instead of Lilium regale we talk about a lily, things change. The Lilium regale is one of the most beautiful lilies in the world. And this one in particular comes from China (specifically from Sichuan). The discoverer of her was Ernest Henry Wilson and you know that it cost him, literally, to lose a leg to find her. The reason is that, when he was discovering it, there was a landslide and that caused him to break his leg. As we are also talking about the Victorian era, in which there were not the advances that we have now, the transportation, as well as the non-existent medical assistance, caused his leg to develop gangrene and in the end he ended up lame.
Also known as royal lily, or royal lily, This plant’s characteristic flower is a trumpet flower with six petals that are white and pink on the outside, and yellow on the inside. Its size is quite large, almost more than the plant itself. In addition, it has a rather strong smell, fortunately very pleasant to smell.
As for the plant itself, it can easily grow up to 80 centimeters, even more so even if it is given the necessary care. Its leaves are lanceolate and will be present throughout the stem. And speaking of the stem, It is one of the few plants that, when it emerges from the ground (when it grows) can already come out with advanced flowering. It will continue to grow, but it is a way of anticipating to soon see the flowers that will grow at the same time as the plant.
Lilium regale care
As we told you before, the Lilium regale is not a cheap plant. Due to its beauty, as well as the needs it has, it can be more expensive than other lilies. It’s worth it? yes but We do not recommend it if you are a beginner because at most you will only enjoy it for a few months.
That said, if you want to try and have it at home, what we can recommend is that you follow the following care to have more opportunities for it to succeed.
location and temperature
The best area to have the Lilium regale is in semi-shade. Although it will depend on the climate you have, as well as the temperature. If you live in an area where sunlight is hardly strong then you could leave it in full sun. But if it is very intense, it is always better in semi-shade so that the flowers do not burn.
It must have, at least, between four and six hours of sunlight. So choose to place it in a specific part of the garden or in a pot that you can move if it needs to be changed.
Regarding the temperature, its ideal is between 16 and 25ºC. If you are over 25, or reaches 30, the normal thing is that the plant stops and does not flower anymore or does not grow. For its part, if it falls below 12 degrees, the plant will suffer, and it could lose its leaves. So it is not advisable for that to happen (the best thing at that moment will be to protect her.
In this sense you can try to put it in a greenhouse or, if the leaves have already fallen, you can dig up the bulb and store it in a dark, dry place until spring.
Substratum
Acid, rich in organic matter, with drainage and very fertile. So we can define the type of soil that you should give the Lilium regale. In fact, we even recommend changing the soil every year because it easily depletes the nutrients and that will mean that not as many flowers come out, not even in the quality that they should.
Irrigation
The Lilium regale loves water, but not to the point that you drown it in it. So you will have to establish a good watering pattern so that it is well. For example, in summer you may have to water it daily if you live in an area where the thermometers rise a lot; while if they are cool summers two or three times a week will be enough.
What you should keep in mind is that you have to stop watering at the end of the summer about 10 days before you are going to dig them up so that the bulb is as dry as possible.
Subscriber
In this case, the Lilium regale is going to demand a lot of subscribers. You will have to use it first before planting it (with the substrate you put in it) and also in the middle of spring and again in summer.
This way you will make sure that it grows and above all that it has nutrients to flourish correctly.
pruning
One of the expert tricks for the Lilium regale is that, when the buds begin to sprout, the main one should be removed, which is the one that consumes the most nutrients. (leaving the others almost without them). In this way they can develop better.
Also, you will have to remove any damaged or dead branches, as well as those that are too long.
After flowering, remove the flowers so that it can have new buds, but also to avoid pests or diseases.
Multiplication
Finally, if you want to propagate your Lilium regale then you should know that it can be done in two different ways:
- Through seeds, which you will collect from the flowers that I throw at you.
- Through the bulbs, since they can grow shoots and, when they are big enough, you can cut themwait for the wound to heal, and plant them all to have new plants.
As you can see, the Lilium regale is a real beauty for your garden. Would you dare to grow them? Or would it be difficult to have them where you live?
