Walk into any florist shop or high-end garden center, and you’ll see them. Huge, waxy petals. Stems as thick as your thumb. A scent that hits you like a freight train the second you open the door. But here’s the thing: most people have no idea what they’re actually looking at. We call everything with a trumpet shape a "lily," but half the plants in your backyard are probably imposters. Daylilies? Not lilies. Peace lilies? Nope. Calla lilies? Not even close.
If you want to grow these things without them dying in three weeks, or if you’re just trying to figure out why your "lily" doesn't smell like anything, you have to understand the types of lilies flowers that actually belong to the Lilium genus. True lilies grow from bulbs. They have stiff, upright stems and narrow leaves that grow all the way up the stalk. Anything else is just using the name for marketing.
The North American Natives and the Wild Side
Most gardeners start with the flashy hybrids, but the species lilies—the ones that grow in the wild—are where the real soul is. Take the Lilium canadense, or the Canada Lily. It doesn’t look like a grocery store bouquet. It hangs its head down, petals recurved like a Turkish cap, usually in a soft yellow or orange with dark spots. It’s subtle. It’s moody.
Then there’s the Tiger Lily (Lilium lancifolium). People confuse these with ditch lilies (daylilies) all the time, but the real Tiger Lily is a beast. It produces these weird little black "bulbils" in the leaf axils. You can literally pop those off, stick them in the dirt, and grow a new plant. It’s one of the few lilies that’s nearly impossible to kill, which is why you see them thriving in abandoned farmyards from 1920.
Why Asiatic Hybrids Are the Gateway Drug
If you’re a beginner, you start here. Asiatic lilies are the earliest bloomers, usually popping up in late spring or early summer. They are the "Lego" of the lily world—sturdy, upright, and available in almost every color except blue.
But they have a secret. Or rather, a lack of one.
Asiatic lilies have almost no scent.
For some, that’s a dealbreaker. For others with allergies, it’s a godsend. They are prized for their "up-facing" flowers, meaning they look you right in the eye instead of nodding toward the ground. Varieties like 'Enchantment' or the deep, almost-black 'Landini' are staples for a reason. They multiply fast. You plant three bulbs, and in three years, you have a colony. Just watch out for the Red Lily Leaf Beetle—those little monsters can defoliate an entire patch of Asiatics in forty-eight hours.
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The Diva Factor: Oriental Lilies
Now we’re getting into the heavy hitters. If the Asiatic is the reliable sedan, the Oriental lily is the vintage Ferrari. It’s temperamental, loud, and incredibly expensive-looking. These are the types of lilies flowers that people think of when they hear the word "fragrance."
The 'Stargazer' is the poster child here. Created in the 1970s by Leslie Woodriff, it changed the floral industry because it was the first Oriental lily that faced upward. Before that, they all drooped.
Oriental lilies like:
- Acidic soil (they’ll turn yellow and die in lime-heavy dirt).
- Cool roots (mulch is your best friend).
- Late summer timing (they bloom when everything else is starting to crisp up).
The scent is polarizing. Some people find it intoxicating; others say it smells like a funeral home. One 'Casa Blanca' lily can perfume an entire house. Honestly, it’s a lot to handle.
The Weird World of Trumpets and Aurelians
Trumpet lilies are tall. I mean, "taller than your neighbor’s fence" tall. Lilium regale, the Regal Lily, can easily hit six feet. They look like old-fashioned gramophone horns.
They are heavy. If you don't stake them, a summer thunderstorm will snap them like toothpicks. But the reward is a flower that looks like it belongs in a Victorian botanical illustration. They have a heavy, honey-musk scent that only comes out at night. It’s a biological trick to attract sphinx moths, which are their primary pollinators.
Cross-Breeding Magic: The "Orienpets"
Nature is cool, but lab-grown hybrids are often tougher. Botanists eventually got tired of the Oriental lilies being so finicky, so they crossed them with the rugged Trumpet lilies. The result? The OT Hybrid (or Orienpet).
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These are arguably the best types of lilies flowers for the modern gardener. You get the massive size and heat tolerance of the Trumpet, but the colors and fragrance of the Oriental. 'Conca d'Or' is a legendary example—giant lemon-yellow bowls that smell like vanilla and spice. They don't mind the heat of the American South as much as the pure Orientals do.
Martagons: The Weirdos in the Shade
Most lilies crave sun. They want to be baked. But the Martagon lily (Lilium martagon) is the goth kid of the family. It likes the dappled shade of a woodland garden.
The flowers are tiny compared to a 'Stargazer,' but they grow in huge "candelabras" with dozens of blooms on a single stem. The petals curve back so far they almost touch the stem, earning them the nickname "Turk’s Cap." Fair warning: they hate being moved. If you plant a Martagon bulb, don't expect it to do anything the first year. It’s sulking. It might not even send up a shoot. Just leave it alone. By year three, it’ll be the star of your garden.
Longiflorum: More Than Just Easter
The Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum) is a tragedy of marketing. We buy them in foil-wrapped pots in April, keep them on the dining table until the flowers fade, and then toss them in the trash.
That’s a waste.
These are actually hardy garden plants in many zones. If you plant your spent Easter lily in the ground after the frost, it will often bloom again the following summer. They have a pure, clinical whiteness that’s hard to find in other hybrids. In the wild, they’re native to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, where they grow in rocky, well-drained soil near the sea.
The Danger Nobody Mentions
We have to talk about cats. This isn't just "don't let them chew the leaves." For a cat, lilies are lethal.
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Every single part of the plant—the pollen, the water in the vase, the petals—causes acute kidney failure in felines. Even a tiny bit of pollen groomed off a paw can be fatal within hours. If you have indoor cats, keep the Orientals and Asiatics out of the house. Stick to roses or snapdragons. It’s not worth the risk.
How to Actually Keep Them Alive
Growing lilies isn't actually that hard if you follow the "Feet in the shade, head in the sun" rule. They want their roots to stay cool and moist, but their flowers to be in the bright light.
- Drainage is everything. If a lily bulb sits in wet, soggy soil over the winter, it will rot and turn into mush. If your soil is heavy clay, plant them in raised beds or pots.
- Plant them deep. Most lilies should be planted about 8 inches deep. They actually grow "stem roots" above the bulb that help stabilize the tall stalks and provide extra nutrients.
- Don't cut the foliage too early. After the flowers die, the plant looks ugly. It gets yellow and brown. But those leaves are charging the bulb for next year. If you cut the stem to the ground in July, you won't get flowers next year. Wait until the stem is completely brown and crispy before you prune it.
Making the Choice
Which one should you get? It depends on your patience.
If you want instant gratification and bright colors, buy Asiatics.
If you want your neighbors to smell your garden from down the street, go with Orientals.
If you have a shaded, established garden and a lot of patience, hunt down some Martagons.
If you want a "legacy" plant that will grow five feet tall and live for twenty years, get an Orienpet.
The world of types of lilies flowers is way bigger than the clearance rack at the grocery store. Whether it’s the wild, spotted natives or the engineered giants of the hybrid world, these plants offer a level of drama that few other perennials can match.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Test your soil pH: Before buying Oriental lilies, use a simple litmus test to see if your soil is acidic. If it’s alkaline (above 7.0), stick to Asiatics or Trumpets.
- Check for the "True Lily" sign: When buying, look for a scaly bulb. If the root looks like a cluster of fingers (Daylilies) or a smooth potato (Calla lilies), it’s not a true Lilium and will require totally different care.
- Order for Fall: While garden centers sell lilies in the spring, the best selection of high-end bulbs comes from specialty growers in the fall. Mark your calendar for September to snag the rare varieties like 'Black Beauty' or 'Scheherazade'.
- Pollen Management: If you’re using lilies for indoor arrangements, snip off the anthers (the pollen-covered bits) with scissors as soon as the flower opens. This prevents staining on your furniture and helps the flower last a few days longer.