 | 'Pentimento' - L. henryi HybridFlower Description: “Pentimento” is defined as an alteration in a painting that is evidenced by the tracings of an earlier work - indicating that the artist changed his/her mind during composition. This is an interesting “L henryi” type lily originally “discovered” in the gardens of a convent in Oregon. Purchased sight unseen by the grower as L. henryi var. citrinum, after years of raising the lily in Northern Wyoming – with nothing but botanical descriptions for comparison – Bob remarked that the color was not true for citrinum when he visited the Wyoming plantings in late July. Flower size, shape, and markings were typical of citrinum, but the soft gold to near apricot shading was not. This altered ‘composition’ suggested the name ‘Pentimento’. Both Len Sherwin, the grower, and Dianna are visual artists; as such, they are familiar with evolving perspective during the composition of a painting. Is ‘Pentimento’ a hybrid of L. henryi and the yellow color variant citrinum, both natives of China? Is it a natural color variant of the true L. henryi v. citrinum? Time has forever locked away its secrets. Possibly its unique colors are influenced by the highly alkaline soil in the garden where it has thrived for over 20 years. In his book ‘Growing Lilies’ by Derek Fox of England, he says that “L. henryi is a gift to gardeners with limy or chalky soil” while at the same time with over 30 years of growing experience here shows that both types of L. henryi thrive in the acidic soils of our Washington and Oregon fields. With this in mind, a color shift due to pH is unlikely; the fact that it is at home in both “sweet and sour” soils would indicate the color is fast in both. Most importantly, this curious lily is a superb garden subject. Perfectly at home in the high alpine desert environment of northern Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin, the lily reliably produces sturdy, 6 foot stems, even with a short 115 day growing season. Not only have its exotic flowers proven to be colorfast in high heat and intense sunlight at an altitude of over 4,200 feet, it is important to note that while photographing this lily, ‘Pentimento’ was regally indifferent to the swarms of mosquitoes that kept Bob wildly flapping his arms like an albatross trying to take flight! ‘Pentimento’ will not officially be released until the spring of 2012. As these bulbs have been down for many years, it is impossible to judge size and numbers from the multitude of stems produced in the summer of 2011. After harvest and grading, they will be listed by size. *At our nursery, L. henryi as well as v. citrinum have been known to produce bulbs weighing over 4 pounds; sinking a digging fork into the ground around these babies will be memorable! If interested in ‘Pentimento’, B & D Lilies customers who receive our monthly Newsletter and/or have “Liked Us” on Facebook will receive a “heads up” for first chance to order. Classification: Trumpet/Aurelian Hybrid Lily Bulb (USDA Zones 5-10, the colder climates of this range require winter mulching) This lily has been grown unmulched in a zone 4a environment with snow cover. Stock #L6655 - 'Pentimento'' - Trumpet Lily Bulb | 
Wild Lilies Wild Lily bulbs making up the genus Lilium belong to the family Liliaceae comprising of approximately 200 genera made up of approximately 2,000 lily species. There are in the neighborhood of 110 to 120 Lilium species depending on whose classification you reference. For the full article, click Knowledge Base |
