Gilded Noir Lily Bulbs

Lilium Oriental Hybrid — Gilded Noir. This lily looks cast rather than grown — as if someone had made it in bronze and then remembered to add the flower.

The petals are black at the base, lifting through deep red into copper and gold along every vein, with the tips curling back on themselves like worked metal. Add the teal cast where the light hits the curve and it reads as sculpture from three feet away. Six to seven inches across, three to five per stem, on stems dark enough to disappear.

It is not for everyone. It is absolutely for someone.

What you get

• Black, copper and gold veined petals with curled, sculptural tips.
• Metallic sheen that changes with the angle of the light.
• 6–7 in blooms, three to five per stem.
• Top-size 14/16 cm bulbs — flowers the first season.
• Dark stems and foliage that make the flower look suspended.

How to grow it

• Plant: 6 in / 15 cm deep, 8–10 in apart, in full sun and well-drained soil. Pointy end up. Mark the spot — lilies are late to emerge in spring.
• Water: soak after planting, then whenever the top inch of soil dries. Never let water sit in the hole.
• Light: 6+ hours of direct sun; light afternoon shade keeps the flowers from fading.
• Cold: fully hardy in USDA zones 4–9. Mulch the first winter; no lifting needed.
• After flowering: cut only the flower stems. Let the foliage yellow on its own — that is next year’s bulb being built.

Shipped dormant and cleaned, 14/16 cm top-size bulbs. Dispatch in 5–7 working days, 8–25 working days in transit. Colour depth varies with soil, light and season — the first flower from a fresh bulb is usually the most intense.