Sun Valley Group: Oriental Lily Origins

Mother’s Day is the ultimate day to celebrate with gorgeous, dramatic Oriental lilies. Sun Valley is renown as the birthplace of the legendary Stargazer Lily in 1974, by Dr. Leslie Woodriff. This is the most popular lily of all time and holds a prominent place of honor in floricultural history.

Early on a recent morning, I posed the question to Lane DeVries, “What came before Stargazer?”

This question led to a brief history lesson on Oriental Lilies.

The pre-runner to Stargazer and most other lilies currently identified as Orientals is Rubrum (L. speciosum var. Rubrum).  This was the stock Dr. Woodriff was working with when Stargazer was created.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Sun Valley Group's Flower Talk