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Conserving North Hybrids – an Update on an ongoing endeavour * Note - This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2006 RHS Lily Group Newsletter, and is included on this webiste with the kind permission of the RHS Lily Group. On Saturday the 15th July the Lily Group had their Lily Day at Wisley Garden. As part of the proceedings, I was invited to talk about what I, and other people, had been doing to conserve North Hybrids. In this article, I would like to update Lily Group members about developments since my talk. To achieve this, I am reiterating the steps taken to conserve North Hybrids, which were covered during my Lily Day talk (ref: bullet points below), so that I can elaborate on developments in relation to each bullet point. ddre2003 – 2004 “Lilies and Related Plants” article, “Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” – possibility of conserving North Hybrids suggested
With reference to the first, second and last bullet points it is likely that these and other relevant articles (currently being identified) will be included in the “Articles” part of the Chris North website, as will Chris’s “Mylnefield Lilies” CD. However, the website will have a “Discussion Forum”, which will enable both RHS Lily Group and NALS members to submit articles. This facility will also enable “lily surfers” to submit photographs, exchange views, ask/answer questions etc, etc. Essentially, David Sims and I felt that a website without an interactive dimension would soon become static and boring, whereas providing people with the opportunity to make their own contributions, to the website, should engender activity and interest. As someone who is only semi-computer literate, I am conscious of the danger of seeming to ignore Lily Group members who have not yet grappled with the use of the computer. To dispel this danger, I would be more than willing to take receipt of any relevant information and have it posted on the website (see the cut-off slip at the end of this article for my contact details). I’m sure the new and imaginative custodian of the Lily Group website, Jeff Coe, would also be more than willing to assist with this process. Having, essentially, dealt with bullet point four, i.e. the Chris North website, I would like to use the next paragraph to report on the successes and failures of the Lily Group members who were sent bulbs to scale last October (ref: bullet point three). From the two dozen bulbs that were sent to Lily Group members in England, Switzerland, Holland and Germany 68 small bulbs have been produced. The actual breakdown, by cultivar, is: ‘Eros’= 12 bulbs, ‘Rosemary’= 18 bulbs, ‘Bronwen’= 31 bulbs and ‘Angela’= 7 bulbs. Some rotting of scales was reported, but losses of this nature can be recouped by re-scaling the original bulb and either giving the scales more exposure to fungicide and/or using an alternative to vermiculite in the plastic bags (I’ve gone back to using sphagnum moss, as scale rot seems to be less of a problem). As for what will happen to the 68 bulbs when they reach flowering size, I’ve left that to the people who have done the work. My contact in the Hardy Plant Society gave three of the original bulbs to Steve McNamara, of the National Trust for Scotland’s Branklyn Garden, which seemed the right thing to do, as the Branklyn Garden hosts the National Collection of North Hybrids. Another of last October’s bulb recipients, who works at the Eden Project, intends using her bulbs in an exhibit of lilies. However, it’s likely that most people, who participate in scaling and producing more bulbs, will simply want to use the results to enhance their garden and perhaps the gardens of their friends. Although apparently modest, the praiseworthy aspect of this aim is that gradually a significant contribution will be made to the conservation/survival of North Hybrids in peoples’ gardens. Some Lily Group members will be aware that Dr Peter Waister and Chris North set up a project through the Border Belles Nursery with the aim of making North Hybrids available commercially. Unfortunately, when I contacted one of the Border Belles, Kirstie McManus (ref: bullet point five), earlier this year, she indicated that the business, as such, was about to be wound up, but – fortunately - she had decided to continue with the project and should be in a position to offer bulbs for purchase by next October. Some months later, I visited the estate where a kindly landowner has allowed Kirstie to site her singular and precious collection. The purpose of my visit was to photograph her North Hybrids for inclusion on the Chris North website. These and other photographs, generously sent to me by Lily Group members, are with David Sims, in Idaho, where I’m sure his judicious eye will select the best examples for inclusion in the aforementioned website. As a hard-nosed Scot, I have to admit that I don’t much believe in coincidence or fate, but the experience I am about to recount caused me, albeit briefly, to reconsider my scepticism. Kirstie and I were walking in a beautifully kept walled garden, adjacent to where she keeps her stock of North Hybrids, when we paused to look at a long row of flowering lilies. She asked me what variety I thought they were and added that they had been purchased from Highland Liliums many years ago. Having brought a flowering plant of ‘Minos’ from my garden, at Kirstie’s request, I smiled wryly as I answered that the first several dozen lilies in the row were ‘Minos’, while the last several dozen lilies were ‘Orestes’ and although I suspected that the equally numerous paler orange lilies in the centre of the row were from the Greek Gods series, I couldn’t be sure. Given that Kirstie did not have ‘Minos’ or ‘Orestes’, in her collection, and that it seemed highly likely that the owner of the lilies would be prepared to gift her a bulb or two, my scepticism about coincidence or fate softened, as I considered the fanciful notion of something mysterious assisting the conservation effort. Well, I thought, whether physical or metaphysical, all contributions are to be welcomed. Before I left Kirstie’s we talked about some of the North Hybrids she doesn’t have in her collection, i.e. ‘Odysseus’, ‘Phoebus’, ‘Achilles’, ‘Pandora’, ‘Adonis’ and ‘Chris North’. I mentioned to her that David Sims had established through Victoria Matthews, RHS International Lily Registrar, that ‘Chris North’ (L. pyrenaicum x L. pomponium) had never actually been registered. This omission probably resulted because Chris wanted to name the hybrid ‘Europa’, but this name was already being used. Mrs Dee Simmons then suggested the alternative name of Chris North (after Chris’s grandson), but the actual registration of this hybrid never took place. Victoria Matthews informed David that it was still possible to name this hybrid ‘Chris North’, if it still existed. Fortunately, I was able to add to Kirstie’s almost certain acquisition of ‘Minos’ and ‘Orestes’ bulbs by informing her that I had 18 small bulbs of ‘Chris North’ to share with her, which were grown from scales given to me by Chris some time ago. I also mentioned that, as ‘Chris North’ is still extant I would be making contact with Victoria Matthews to make sure this fine and still thriving hybrid was finally registered. At the end of my Lily Day talk, on conserving North Hybrids, (ref: bullet point six) a number of audience members asked questions (always a positive sign) and I was able to obtain confirmation, from Colin Crosbie, that one of the stands of lilies I had passed en-route to the Hillside Events Centre was ‘Adonis’ (one of the Greek Gods series). After I spent some time eulogising the perfection of ‘Adonis’, Colin asked me if I would like a few bulbs for conservation purposes. However, I’m sure this offer was made because Colin is a professionally interested and naturally generous chap and had little to do with my OTT appraisal of ‘Adonis’. Colin also reminded me about the numbered/unnamed selection of North Hybrids, (22 are listed in Chris North’s “Mylnefield Lilies” CD), so that these lilies are not overlooked in the conservation effort. Coincidentally, just after Colin’s reminder, I was approached by a Lily Group member who had a spare bulb of one of the numbered/unnamed selection, which he said he would send me in the autumn, for scaling and bulb production. Looking back over the last year or so, progress has been made in relation to the various strands that have been deployed to conserve North Hybrids and I would like to thank everyone for their efforts, which I’m sure will continue. Hopefully, over the next year or so, more interest will be generated, among Lily Group and NALS members, and thereby more progress will result from the conservation steps that have been taken thus far. To state the obvious, for this endeavour to succeed it is essential that people continue to participate, so come and join us. PS I have constantly been aware that a key question has remained unanswered in relation to the conservation effort and that is, “Which North Hybrid cultivars do Lily Group members grow in their gardens? The answer to this question would be very useful, as it would quantify the incidence of North Hybrids, i.e. common or rare, and the incidence of specific cultivars, e.g. more of the Greek Gods series, rather than the North Ladies series etc. Hence, I would appreciate it if readers could help me to remedy this omission by taking time to complete the form below. The form will be emailed to me. Please note that your email address will not be shared. Thank you. |
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