Onings Holland took home an innovation award for its new, not yet named, double lily that has 18 petals.

Some thought the new double Oriental lily showcased at the Keukenhof Lily Show held in May was just too good to be true.

The new lily variety, bred by Onings Holland Inc. won an innovation award at the Netherlands show, and Henk Onings says he's not surprised: "We had to move the flowers away from the aisles as many people were touching it to make sure they were real."

What makes this lily so irresistible? Onings explains that a typical oriental lily features six petals; the not-yet-named double lily features 18 petals.

"Even in closed stage, the flowers of this variety present very nicely and do not show 'parrot-beaks,'" Onings says.  "This variety, along with new varieties/colors that will be released shortly, all open double."

The company is unsure when the variety will be introduced to the market. Onings says it might take a while to build up the planting stock of the double lily and might not be available to growers until 2010.

--Kori Kamradt
kkamradt@safnow.org

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