January 5, 2007

A very special lily will soon be popping up in flowerbeds and gardens on campus and off, thanks to the work of the Department of Plant Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources in turning two bulbs into thousands.

Lilium ‘ University of Saskatchewan’, a stately Asiatic variety registered with The Royal Horticultural Society in London, England, was a centenary gift to the University from Donna Hay, a research technician in the molecular genetics lab in Plant Sciences and a lily breeder. In 2002, she gave the University two bulbs of the hardy lily that grows about 2.5-feet tall and displays up-facing flowers. It is the colour of those flowers – white, gold and green – that make is truly a U of S lily.

Since Hay presented her gift, a couple of propagation methods have been used to increase the lily supply to almost 10,000 bulbs. It will make its first public appearance March 23-25 at Gardenscape where packaged bulbs will be sold. The lily will also be grown this summer in a new bed in front of the College Building.

Lilium ‘ University of Saskatchewan’ is one of several images incorporated in artwork used to mark the U of S centennial.