Lilia Regale: planting and care in the open field, description and characteristics of the variety

Flower growers, through selection and hybridization, create new varieties of ornamental plants to decorate the natural landscape. Wild species are used as parents. The sophistication of the luxurious flowers of the Regale lily is the creation of mother nature. The plant was introduced into the culture unchanged, it is so beautiful, and also unpretentious in breeding and growing.

History of occurrence

Growth area - rocky spurs in Sichuan province. Huge snow-white flowers with a strong pleasant fragrance served as the basis for the name Regale, which means regal.Lily Regale was introduced into culture in 1910 in the USA. The researcher of Chinese flora, E. Wilson, sent the bulbs of the plant to England in 1903, where they took root and bloomed. In England, the plant did not spread. Wilson sent several thousand bulbs to Massachusetts, where the lily began to be bred and grown as an ornamental flower.

Dutch flower growers are interested in the new species. Fifteen years after an English botanist discovered the new daylily, Regale has become the most popular variety of its kind in Europe. The wild-growing form became the ancestor of modern lily varieties, combined into a group of tubular hybrids.

Description and characteristics of Lily Regale

Stem height - from 0.5 to 2.5 meters. Shoots are thin, flexible, leafy. The top and lower tiers end with racemose inflorescences with fragrant "gramophones". The diameter of the snow-white corolla is from 10 to 20 centimeters, the inner part and stamens with a pistil are bright yellow.From the outside, the petals are painted in a light lilac color. The number of flowers on the stem is from 5 to 30 pieces. The flowering period is the second half of July. The fruit is a capsule opening at the top, filled with translucent seeds.

The leaves are dark green, narrow, leathery, arranged alternately. The bulb is loose, consists of scales, has a diameter of up to 15 centimeters. The scales of an onion dug out of the ground change color from white-pink to burgundy-purple. Roots grow on the bottom of the bulb, reaching a length of up to 50 centimeters. Here division takes place: new onions are formed, which eventually become isolated from the mother. In the center of the bulb is a growing point from which a single stem grows.

Pros and cons of the variety

Lily bulbs can withstand soil freezing down to -15 degrees, subject to gradual freezing and thawing. In culture, Regale can produce 30 large, heavy flowers, under the weight of which the tall stem breaks off.To preserve the decorativeness of the plant, support or removal of part of the buds is required.

Features of growing flowers

If you do not adhere to the conditions for the growth of lilies, then the flowers lose their shape, become smaller. They dig Regale in the fall, using a pitchfork, so as not to damage the root system. For planting next year, the bulbs are stored in a dry place at a temperature not higher than +8 degrees. When planting in the fall, the bulbs are placed in prepared holes.

In the first season, the bulbs form the root system and grow a flowering stem. Flowering starts next year.

Choosing a landing site

Regala needs a lot of sunshine throughout the day. For its thin stems, burdened with luxurious inflorescences, strong drafts are not desirable. For a perennial, choose a place where it will grow for 5 years.

The soil layer should be loose, well absorbing water, breathable, saturated with nutrients. Lilies do not tolerate additives that increase the acidity of the soil. Organic fertilizers (rotted manure) are applied once, before planting the bulb.

Selection of Bulbs

For planting, choose dense, without damage, with a well-developed root system of Regale bulbs. Before planting the bulbs in the ground, they are disinfected in a solution of manganese (several grains per liter of water) for 30 minutes. After drying, the roots are pruned, leaving shoots 5 centimeters long.

Boarding process

Bulbs in the open field are planted in groups: distance in rows - up to 20-25 centimeters, in row spacing - 30-40 centimeters. The depth of the hole depends on the size of the bulb: 15-25 centimeters. Landing time - May-September. In a temperate climate, the planting site, seedlings should be protected from frost on the soil.

Recommendations for plant care

The Regale lily is not immune to the May return cold. The top of the plant with flower buds dies irrevocably. The plant should be covered with paper or plastic caps. It is equally important to observe the agricultural practices of growing and preparing flowers for the winter cold. To slow down the emergence of seedlings of bulbs planted in autumn, use a snow cover with sawdust, which prevents the soil from warming up.

How to water properly

Moisten the soil under the lilies, depending on the temperature, air humidity from May to the end of July. Regale does not tolerate dry and waterlogged soil. Contact with water on the leaves and flowers causes a burn. Irrigation should be done in the morning, if the top layer of the earth has dried out by 2-3 centimeters. With the cessation of budding, watering ends.

Mulching

Soil mulching is used if lilies are planted in a separate group in a flower bed. After planting the bulbs, the holes are covered with a layer of dry peat, straw, sawdust of deciduous trees. Coniferous sawdust for mulching is not used so as not to acidify the soil. Wood ash is added to peat for the same purpose.

If Regale grows among perennials, then the landing site does not require additional protection.

How to fertilize

For top dressing Regale use mineral fertilizers so as not to infect the bulbs. At the beginning of the lily growing season, calcium nitrate is needed (1/4 teaspoon per half a bucket of water). Fertilizer is applied to the soil after watering 2 times with a 2-week break. For abundant flowering in July, the plants are supported with complete mineral fertilizer (2 times during the month during irrigation): 30 grams per bucket of water. With the end of flowering, phosphate and potash fertilizers are applied once.

Preparing for winter

By winter, the aerial parts of the plant die off. A bulb remains in the ground, in which a growth point for the future period has formed during the warm period, and in the scales - a supply of nutrients. Lily is a frost-resistant plant. In regions with warm winters, it is not necessary to protect the bulbs from freezing. In other areas, the flower bed is covered with a thick layer of foliage, spruce branches.

Protection from diseases and pests

In Regale lily, a fungal and viral infection affects not only the aerial part, but also the bulb. Fungal infection, foci of disease:

• rust - leaves;
• penicillosis - all parts;
• blue mold - bulbs;
• gray rot - leaves, stems;
• phytium - roots;
• rhizoctoniosis - bulbs;
• anthracnose - all parts;
• fusarium - bulbs.

With the exception of gray mold, it is impossible to overcome the infection. The flower should be dug up and burned, the soil should be changed or nothing should be planted in this place for 5 years. Prevention is he althy planting material. Through aphids, a viral infection occurs with mosaic, variegation, rosette. Sick plants are destroyed. Prevention - fight against aphids.

Lily pests:

• aphid;
• spider mite;
• lily fly;
• May beetle larvae;
• lily rattle.

Control methods - timely treatment with insecticides.

How to propagate properly

Lilies are propagated by seeds, babies, scales. Seeds can be planted in March and seedlings or sown outdoors in May.In the first case, planting is carried out in a container with sandy-humus soil in rows to a depth of 2 centimeters. Shoots appear on the 20th day. In May, the grown seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place.

In open ground, seeds are sown in the same way as for seedlings. To preserve moisture, the soil is mulched until sprouts appear. The division of the bulb is carried out in the 5th year. By this time, additional bulbs ripen and produce flower-bearing stems. The bulb is divided when it is at rest and the aerial part dies off. After being removed from the ground, the bulbs are separated from one another and planted in prepared places.

Landscape examples

Lilies are planted in a separate group in the center of the flower bed, next to undersized annuals or perennials. Regal in this case is the main color accent, which sets off the lower decorative tier. When planted among tall plants, lilies with their snow-white texture emphasize the shades of perennials growing nearby.Regala is not recommended to be planted in the shade of trees.

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