Lilium 'Stargazer'

Lilium 'Stargazer': Freckled Pink Faces Turned to the Sky

'Stargazer' faces straight up like it's waiting to see its own name in lights. Deep rose-pink petals edged in white, sprinkled with dark freckles, and a perfume that walks into the room first. THE DIVA HAS ARRIVED.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Lilium 'Stargazer' (Oriental hybrid)
• Common Name: Oriental Lily, Stargazer Lily
• Height: 60–90 cm (2–3 ft)
• Spread: 30–45 cm (12–18 in)
• Flowers: Large, upward-facing, deep rose-pink with white edges and dark freckles. Very fragrant.
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to late summer (July to August)
• Foliage: Narrow, glossy, dark green leaves along upright stems
• Features: Strong fragrance, excellent cut flower

Where to Plant: Plant it where you'll catch the scent: beside a patio, along a path or under a window you open on summer nights. Its stems can look a little bare at the bottom, so give it lower neighbours to hide its ankles and keep the roots cool.

Companion Plants: Give 'Stargazer' a sunny or part-shade bed with white anemones, fragrant yellow daylilies and red rudbeckia. Anemone sylvestris opens white snowdrop anemones at 30 to 45 cm in May and June. Hemerocallis 'Hyperion' adds fragrant lemon-yellow daylilies at 90 to 100 cm in July and August. Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' brings cherry-red daisies at 50 to 60 cm from July to September. Miscanthus 'Silberfeder' rises behind at 180 to 225 cm with silvery plumes.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in rich, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Oriental lilies prefer soil on the slightly acidic side and hate standing water, so avoid wet clay. Water during dry spells and mulch to keep the roots cool and moist. Deadhead faded flowers but leave the leaves and stems until they turn yellow in fall, then cut them down. Inspect the leaves from spring onward for the red lily leaf beetle and hand-pick adults and larvae. Deer and rabbits also enjoy lily buds. Lilies are highly toxic to cats, including the pollen and vase water, so keep plants and bouquets out of their reach.

History: Leslie Woodriff, a lily breeder in California, bred 'Stargazer' in 1974, and because his seedling held its flowers facing up instead of sideways or nodding, he named it for the way it gazes at the sky. It has been a favourite in gardens and flower shops ever since.

Final Thoughts: Plant it near the patio so the fragrance hits at cocktail hour. Cut a stem and your kitchen becomes a flower shop. STARRING ROLE, NO AUDITION.