Lilium Aurelianense

Aurelian lilies arose when the tough, recurved Lilium henryi was crossed with stately Chinese trumpet lilies, creating a group renowned for vigour, fragrance and dramatic summer flowers. Seedlings may produce long trumpets, flared bowls or reflexed blooms in white, cream, yellow, apricot, orange and pink, often with coloured backs or throats. Strong stems and a willingness to grow in ordinary garden soil made Aurelians important in twentieth-century lily breeding. Each seedling is genetically individual, offering the possibility of a new colour combination or flower form.