Indigo Bloom Lily Bulbs

Lilium Oriental Hybrid — Indigo Bloom. Blue on the inside, magenta on the back. Cut a stem and you get both.

The face of the petal is indigo, deepening to navy at the tips and speckled with dark freckles; turn it over and the reverse is hot pink fading to red, so a bunch in a vase looks like two different flowers at once. Orange stamens finish it off. Six to seven inches across, four to six blooms per stem, and it holds for close to ten days in water.

Plant it against a warm wall and the reverse colour does half the work for you.

What you get

• Indigo face, hot pink reverse — two colours on one petal.
• Dark freckles and orange stamens for contrast at close range.
• 4–6 blooms per stem, each 6–7 in across.
• 10 days in the vase; excellent as a cut flower.
• Top-size 14/16 cm bulbs — flowers the first season.

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.