' All About Gardening and Gardening Q & A by Pernell Gerver Bookmark this page or add it to your favorites now! (Reload or refresh each time you visit to get the current week's columns.)

"You'll Love These Lilies!" Of all the summer-blooming bulbs, lilies are probably my favorite. They have such a wide range of flower colors and many have fragrant blooms. There are many types of lilies and growing some from each group ensures that you'll have a lily of one type or other in bloom nearly all season long. They are an easy-to-grow perennial bulb, returning year after year in the garden. There's no need to dig them up. The earliest-blooming lilies are the Asiatic lilies. These lilies begin blooming as early as June and continue into July. There are many different Asiatic lily varieties, but one of the most striking is 'Jacqueline.' It's a new variety that bears vibrant, bicolored flowers. The petals are reddish orange with a bright, golden-yellow center. The flower petals are slightly recurved and are outward facing. It grows to two feet tall and bears up to a dozen flowers. Oriental lilies are prized for their large, fragrant blooms. When in bloom, their sweet fragrance is carried on the breeze, perfuming the summer garden. Oriental lilies have upward- or outward-facing flowers. Of all the different types of lilies, Oriental lilies bear some of the largest flowers. Some varieties can reach up to 10 inches across. They are also among the tallest lilies with some varieties reaching five feet tall. 'Stargazer' is one of my favorite Oriental lilies I grow. It is also one of the most popular. It has deep-rosy-red flower petals edged with white and with deep-red "freckles." Its flowers are intensely fragrant. It's a shorter variety, growing just 18 inches tall, making it a good choice for a container. Another stunning Oriental lily is 'Casa Blanca.' This one is huge, easily reaching five feet tall and it bears some of the largest flowers of any Oriental lily. The flowers are nearly 10 inches across and are pure white with a hint of yellow in the center. As many as eight flowers are in bloom at a time from late July through early August. Tiger lilies are old-fashioned lilies that have been grown in gardens for generations. Known for their spotted flowers, they have a long blooming period, ranging from July to September. They range in size from two to four feet tall and bear one to two dozen flowers per bulb. The variety 'Red Twinkle' has bright-red flower petals with black spots. The flower petals are slightly recurved. 'Salmon Twinkle' bears salmon-rose flowers with a pale-yellow center with just a sprinkling of spots in the center. It's a new flower color for a tiger lily. Trumpet lilies, also called Aurelian lilies, are some of the tallest lilies, growing three to six feet tall. They bloom from June to August and bear large, trumpet-shaped flowers in a range of colors. The flowers can reach eight inches long or more and are highly fragrant. 'Regale' is the most common trumpet lily. Its flower petals are white on the inside and purple on the reverse with a bright-yellow center. It grows three to five feet tall. 'Pink Perfection' bears enormous flowers that are seven to eight inches long atop five-foot-tall stems. The rich-pink flowers have a sweet fragrance.

by Pernell Gerver

"Linden Is an Attractive Shade Tree with Fragrant Flowers" Q. Four years ago I planted a linden tree which I bought at a local nursery. For two years it had beautiful blossoms, but the last two years the tree had no flowers. It was growing nicely however. What am I doing wrong? A. There are several types of linden trees including America linden, little-leaved linden, Crimean linden, and silver linden. Lindens are tall, stately trees with a dome-shaped crown. They grow from 40 to 70 feet tall, depending on type, and about half as wide. They have thick, leathery, heart-shaped leaves that are bright green on top and pale green underneath. They bear small yellow flowers in summer that have a sweet fragrance. Following the flowers are small pea-like fruit that hang in clusters and sometimes stay on the tree into midwinter. They're long-lived trees and are often used in parks where they have plenty of space to grow. They are a good street tree and an ideal shade tree. They leaf out early in spring and their leaves will remain green during a warm fall until frost kills them in late autumn. During a fall with normal temperatures the leaves turn yellow. American linden is a fast-growing tree, reaching 20 feet tall in only four to five years. Its ultimate height is 80 feet tall and about half as wide. Little-leaved linden is an equally rapid grower, reaching a height of 70 feet tall at maturity. It's an excellent street tree. Crimean linden grows to 60 feet tall at maturity with a spread of 20 to 30 feet. Silver linden grows to 70 feet tall with a symmetrical shape. It makes a good specimen tree in a home landscape. All lindens do best in full sun to partial shade. They have deep roots and prefer a deep, moist, fertile soil. Regular, thorough waterings are important, especially for young trees that are getting established. Fertilize the tree regularly, as well, with Electra Plant Food and Electra Bloom Food. Pruning is not generally necessary on lindens. They form their attractive shape naturally. Click here to read more about Electra fertilizers and order them from Pernell Gerver's Online Store. Click here to submit gardening questions for Pernell Gerver's online Q & A column. Click here to read previous online columns in the archives.

© Copyright Pernell Gerver, Horticultural Communication Services All rights reserved.