Romancing The Casablanca LilyLike its movie namesake (but minus the politics and intrigues in the story), the Casablanca lily also evokes the kind of romantic feelings that can mesmerize your senses, and transport you to other places and other time periods. Casablanca lilies (also known as oriental lilies) is the world’s most favorite wedding flowers, favored and adored by the brides, florists, the wedding planners and most of the guests. The reason is simple – they are one of the most beautiful flower varieties of the lily family, itself nurturing some of the most beautiful types of flowers in the world. Gardener’s choice From the layman’s point of view, it is also one of the best-looking flowers ever to grace gardens and carrier pots (and flower vases). Among gardeners, Casablanca lilies top their lists as one of their favorites because of their beauty and their moderate maintenance needs. This hybrid species of some of the East Asian lily species are widely famous for their robust growth and their extremely alluring fragrance (that can overwhelm the whole garden), including, of course, their elegant looks. Casablanca lilies are often mistaken for other varieties, but their characteristics and features always stand out. Their flowers sometimes reach 10 to 12 inches in diameter and their irresistible sweet fragrance are distinctly their own. Meanings Because Casablanca lilies are among the most popular wedding flowers, people associate it mostly with happiness and serenity. Others say the flowers are a symbol of celebration and purity. Still others associate the famous lily with majesty, pride, wealth and innocence, sweetness, and fondness of being with a loved one. (For less-informed people, the impression that Casablanca is a flower for mourning is farthest from the truth.) Growing the Casablanca For all its beauty and elegance, all your favorite flower needs is a warm condition and a fair amount of soil moisture. (Of course, the soil must drain well.) They are herbaceous plants, meaning they can be grown from bulbs. However, they can not go completely into a dormant stage. This means the lily can also be cultivated using tubers for planting materials. The plant body can grow from 4 to 6 feet in height. To get the right exposure to the sun, they need to have around 18 to 24 inches of space around them. Midsummer is their bloom time. They grow very well in relatively warm places with good moisture-retaining soil that drains well. Caring for the Casablanca Talking garden techniques, the Casablanca would love a slightly raised soil bed mixed with a lot of peat moss and has a pH (acidity) of around 6.5 to 6.8. Plant the lily bulbs before winter arrives and cover them with at least 4 inches of soil. (Slightly deeper is better.) Use a complete fertilizer mix to protect them from diseases and pests (lily leaf beetles). If you see them, immediately pick out the beetle eggs from the leaves and destroy them yourself. Fertilize at once. Would the Casablanca in your garden needs some company? That would depend on you. As it is, Casablanca lilies are already marvelous by themselves. You could probably include some white petunias and hydrangeas and some others to make your garden look vibrant. Of course, there is no question the Casablanca is the queen of them all.
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