Purple Leopard Lily Bulbs

Lilium Oriental Hybrid — Purple Leopard. Purple Leopard is a lily with two personalities. From a distance it is simply a big, luminous flower with a deep wine-coloured centre. Step closer and the petals reveal dozens of dark plum freckles, densest at the throat and thinning as they travel outward until they stop short of the white tip.

Each bloom opens flat and wide — six to eight inches — and stays that way for close to two weeks, unusually long for an Oriental. Stems are thick, 36–44 inches, and carry three to five flowers with buds that open in sequence rather than all at once, so the show stretches out.

Grow it against a pale wall. The freckling is the whole point, and it needs a quiet background to be seen.

What you get

• White petals with a rich magenta-wine centre and dense plum freckling.
• Wide-open 6–8 in blooms that hold their shape for up to two weeks.
• Buds open in sequence — a long, staggered flowering period.
• Strong colour contrast; the freckles deepen in cool weather.
• Top-size bulbs, perennial in zones 4–9, multiplying each 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.