GardenLine | Porpourri - Miscellaneous | Prairie Lily Breeders: A Breed Unto Themselves

"If anything annoys me, it is the inevitable discouraging statements by supposed experts in any science to the effect that 'we have gone as far as we can go.' How often history has shown them wrong!" [North American Lily Society Yearbook, 1980].

Thus wrote Jean Ericksen of Wauchope, Saskatchewan, herself a well-known breeder of Asiatic lilies. She was discussing the history of Asiatic lily breeding, particularly in the Prairie provinces of Canada.

Many of these early breeders worked diligently on their own, and were geographically isolated. But they were prodigious correspondents, generous in their sharing of ideas and plant material. When they were able, they went to great lengths to visit their cohorts.

Among these breeders were: Dr. C.F. Patterson, first head of the Department of Horticulture, at the University of Saskatchewan; Dr. A.K. (Bert) Porter of Honeywood Lilies, Parkside, Saskatchewan; and Dr. Frank L. Skinner of Skinner's Nursery, Dropmore, Manitoba.

While Dr. Patterson had the advantage of a formal education and access to University and associated facilities, Frank Skinner and Bert Porter were largely self-taught, working in the relative isolation of the small rural communities in which their parents had homesteaded and where they had grown up. Both were later to earn honorary doctorates for their work in horticulture.

Together, these three men made a enormous contribution to the development of hardy Asiatic hybrid lilies. These are species lilies native to the temperate, colder areas of Asia. They are of value because they come from a climatic zone similar to that of the Canadian Prairies - cold and dry. About a dozen different Asian species have been used as parents in the hybridization of hundreds of garden lilies. It is because of the large number of species used that the potential genetic combination in the progeny is so enormous. Thus the validity of Jean Ericksen's comment at the beginning of this article.

The Patterson hybrids:

"Experience has shown that a period of ten years. .. is required to convince the introducer that a given selection in very hardy lilies is worthy of introduction and to multiply that selection to the point where introduction is feasible." [North American Lily Society Yearbook, 1959]

Dr. Patterson worked at selection and introduction of his lilies in the 1930s and 1940s and was well aware of the time required for selection, propagation, and introduction.

Previous to his work, lilies which were hardy enough to survive prairie winters had been limited to oranges and orange-reds. Patterson's goal was to develop hardy pink and white lilies and lilies with trumpet form. He was successful in his first objective but not in his second.

To develop winter hardiness he used the Asian species lilies, L. davidi willmottiae, L. daurium, and L. tigrinum as well as the hybrids "Grace Marshall" and "Oriole." He used the relatively weak L. cernuum to impart pink and the tender L. regale to impart white.

Among his selections, "Edith Cecilia", "White Princess", "Jasper", and "Apricot Glow" are still considered of great value today - fifty years after they were first selected and introduced!

"Edith Cecilia" is still widely used by other hybridizers to develop new pink lilies. It is a cream and pink martagon-type lily 1 m (3 ft) in height with nodding flowers (up to 40 per stem).

"White Princess" was one of the first hardy white lilies for the prairies. The flowers are creamy white to apricot, nodding, and on 1.2 m (4 ft) stems.

"Jasper" has bell-shaped, down-facing flowers 10 cm (4 in.) across in an old rose shade of pink on sturdy, 1.07 m (3 .5 ft) stems. A L. tigrinum hybrid, it is an extremely durable garden lily.

"Apricot Glow" is also an excellent and durable garden lily. It is a vigorous plant 1.2 m (4 ft) high with out-facing apricot pink flowers, 18 cm (7 in.) across, with up to 35 buds per stem.

All are sturdy plants, seldom needing support even on the windy prairies.

Williams is a specialist in horticulture with the Extension Division.

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Sustainable horticultural information, offered free of charge to the public with the support of the University of Saskatchewan Extension Division, the Department of Plant Sciences and the Provincial Government.