Cosmic Gumdrop - J. Mak Oriental™
'Cosmic Gumdrop' is a lily that never would have seen life in Holland. Being semi outfacing, she would not have lent herself well to automated sleeving in bunches of ten for the cut flower trade. Simply put, the buds would have been snapped off with mechanical handling. Only from the breeding house of Johan Mak is such a lily for the garden available. Focusing on the beauty that nature has to offer rather than the convenience of mechanical handling for the florist trade, Johan leads the world in the production of true garden gems such as 'Cosmic Gumdrop'.
Only once in our now 44 years as B & D Lilies have we seen such a color combination close to that offered by this garden beauty. Named 'Bergamo', introduced in the late 1980's, it did not last long and we feel that its demise was that florists felt it too busy color-wise for arrangements. Maybe 'Cosmic Gumdrop' would be also “too busy” for florists, but in the garden, it stands out as being truly unique and wonderful marvel to behold.
The photograph shown here was taken of plants standing in full, direct field sun on July 18 of 2020, where temps were in the mid 80's throughout that week. For a pastel pink, its color was excellent despite the hot, direct sun summer conditions. That being said, we have always suggested some light afternoon shade in areas where July temps are high to promote stronger colors and longer lasting flowers.
'Cosmic Gumdrop' produced a 50 inch stem this year, its 3rd year from scales. This is a remarkable rate of growth and indicates an extremely sturdy and healthy selection which is nothing less than what we expect from Johan. No breeder is more judgmental of his creations nor more selective. We hesitate to think of how many lilies we would have selected over the years from his breeding that were let go as they "were not perfect". Johan is a consummate professional and it shows in his final selections. He reported that the flowers are “smallish” at being about 8 inches, which is about average for most Orientals we feel, but he did say, “there are lots of them”. This is a mid July bloomer, will probably hit 5 feet when fully mature, and carries as heavenly fragrance.
Customers often ask where the names come from. That is a complicated question as they come from a number of sources. In this case, Dianna's first thought was “Gumdrop” while at the same time I had been marveling at photos of various and extremely colorful Nebula's found in our vast universe as photographed by the Hubble Telescope. A marriage of the two lines of thought brought about the name in this case.
Bulb Size - Our standard for bulbs of this lily cultivar ranges from Premium-size (16/18 cm) to Exhibition-size (over 20 cm).
Classification: Oriental Hybrid Lily (USDA Zones 7b-9, lows to +5 F. Winter mulch recommended in the colder climates)
Stock # 7091 - 'Cosmic Gumdrop' - Pink / Yellow / Spotted Oriental Lily
J. Mak Oriental ™ is a trademark of Mak-Leek Inc.
Only once in our now 44 years as B & D Lilies have we seen such a color combination close to that offered by this garden beauty. Named 'Bergamo', introduced in the late 1980's, it did not last long and we feel that its demise was that florists felt it too busy color-wise for arrangements. Maybe 'Cosmic Gumdrop' would be also “too busy” for florists, but in the garden, it stands out as being truly unique and wonderful marvel to behold.
The photograph shown here was taken of plants standing in full, direct field sun on July 18 of 2020, where temps were in the mid 80's throughout that week. For a pastel pink, its color was excellent despite the hot, direct sun summer conditions. That being said, we have always suggested some light afternoon shade in areas where July temps are high to promote stronger colors and longer lasting flowers.
'Cosmic Gumdrop' produced a 50 inch stem this year, its 3rd year from scales. This is a remarkable rate of growth and indicates an extremely sturdy and healthy selection which is nothing less than what we expect from Johan. No breeder is more judgmental of his creations nor more selective. We hesitate to think of how many lilies we would have selected over the years from his breeding that were let go as they "were not perfect". Johan is a consummate professional and it shows in his final selections. He reported that the flowers are “smallish” at being about 8 inches, which is about average for most Orientals we feel, but he did say, “there are lots of them”. This is a mid July bloomer, will probably hit 5 feet when fully mature, and carries as heavenly fragrance.
Customers often ask where the names come from. That is a complicated question as they come from a number of sources. In this case, Dianna's first thought was “Gumdrop” while at the same time I had been marveling at photos of various and extremely colorful Nebula's found in our vast universe as photographed by the Hubble Telescope. A marriage of the two lines of thought brought about the name in this case.
Bulb Size - Our standard for bulbs of this lily cultivar ranges from Premium-size (16/18 cm) to Exhibition-size (over 20 cm).
Classification: Oriental Hybrid Lily (USDA Zones 7b-9, lows to +5 F. Winter mulch recommended in the colder climates)
Stock # 7091 - 'Cosmic Gumdrop' - Pink / Yellow / Spotted Oriental Lily
J. Mak Oriental ™ is a trademark of Mak-Leek Inc.
