Christian legend has it that when a perspiring Christ went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his execution. From his sweat sprang the lily, ever since a symbol to Christians of the Resurrection.
Be that as it may, the white, deliciously scented flowers associated with Easter today originated far from the Holy Land. Lilium longiflorum is native to Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands of the orient via Bermuda. Hence it is also known as, besides St. Joseph's Lily more commonly as the Bermuda Lily.
According to an oft-told tale, sometime in the 1870s, a storm-battered ship sort shelter in Bermuda's St. George's harbour. On board was a missionary on his way home from Japan who found a kindred soul in the island's Reverend Roberts. Presented with a few bulbs, the clergyman planted them in his rectory garden. There they bloomed in summer, multiplied and were much admired by residents and visitors alike.
In due course, a Philadelphia nurseryman, convalescing on the island, saw the commercial possibilities of forcing the 'Bermuda Lily' to flower early in time for Easter. He commenced raising the bulbs on Bermuda so successfully that, by 1900, three million were being exported to New York every year.
The trade continued into the 1920s, despite being hit by disease. The USDA countered this with disease-free bulbs and seeds. It was also observed that a slightly different variety from the Ryuku Islands, L. longiflorum var. eximium, was both taller and a stronger grower. A dwarf form was developed by the USDA, commercialized in 1929.
Despite this, supplies from Bermuda appear to have given way to those from Japan, at least until Pearl Harbour intervened. Today, most of the North American trade relies on growers in northern California and southern Oregon.
Unfortunately, most of these lovely flowers end up on the compost heap. They should not meet such an unkind fate. Kept watered, they can be planted outside as soon as the danger of frost is over. They require a rich, sandy well-drained loam in full sun. Bury with the tops of the bulb six inches below the surface. Try not to disturb them that season. They should flower again the summer of the following year.
Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.
