Henry's lily
Lilium henryi · Liliaceae
Up to twenty nodding, apricot-orange flowers with swept-back, warty petals on tall, arching, dark stems.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late July to late August
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around henry's lily
The planner designed this bed around henry's lily when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why henry's lily stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Dianthus 'Kahori' × 5, pink
- 2 Leadwort × 19, blue
- 3 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 3, purple
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Henry's lily × 3, orange
- 7 Golden garlic × 12, yellow
Why this plant
- The only trumpets. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only orange.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to foxglove beardtongue (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one clump. A single spire is too slight to hold a place alone, so here the accent is a clump.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From late July to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With dianthus 'Kahori' and leadwort in early August: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. When the flowers are over, dianthus 'Kahori' and globe arborvitae 'Danica' keep the bed from looking bare. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 52% of the visual weight and the right half 48%.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where henry's lily goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
One of the easiest and longest-lived lilies, tolerant of lime and resistant to virus. The stems lean, so grow it through a shrub or stake it.
- Tall, late lilies among shrubs
- Limy soil
- A long-lived clump
What to plant with henry's lily
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Garden phlox: purple against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for five weeks; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; low enough (3½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Japanese anemone: in flower together for two weeks, from mid August; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe': in flower together for five weeks, from late July; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; bold leaves against its medium ones.
Questions about henry's lily
Does henry's lily need sun or shade?
Henry's lily grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does henry's lily grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does henry's lily flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late July to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Early August to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late July to late August |
| Zone 6 | Late July to late August |
| Zone 7 | Mid July to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Mid July to mid August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should henry's lily be planted?
14 in (35 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many henry's lily plants do I need?
At 14 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 9 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 9 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 28 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is henry's lily poisonous to cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to cats. Extremely poisonous to cats: every part, including the pollen and the water from a vase, can cause kidney failure. Not considered poisonous to dogs or people.
It is not recorded as toxic to dogs.
Rated from the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
What can I plant to hide henry's lily's leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Blue false indigo: 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide, in flower late May to mid June.
- Ornamental rhubarb: 6 ft tall and 5 ft wide, in flower late May to late June.
- Rodgersia: 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide, in flower late June to mid July.
What does henry's lily look like in winter?
Henry's lily is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
More Lilium
- Asiatic lily Lilium (Asiatic hybrids)
- Canada lily Lilium canadense
- Easter lily Lilium longiflorum
- Madonna lily Lilium candidum
- Martagon lily Lilium martagon
- Orienpet lily Lilium (Orienpet hybrids)
- Oriental lily Lilium (Oriental hybrids)
- Oriental lily 'Casa Blanca' Lilium 'Casa Blanca'
- Oriental lily 'Stargazer' Lilium 'Stargazer'
- Regal lily Lilium regale
- Tiger lily Lilium lancifolium
- Trumpet lily Lilium (Trumpet hybrids)
- Turk's cap lily Lilium superbum
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 14 in (35 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late July to late August; trumpets; orange
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Liliaceae
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.