An all white clone of the known Asiatic lily cultivar `Montreux`. The new white clone has creamy "off white" color tepalage with a blush of pink in the nectary zone of the tepals. `Montreux, alba` bears upright flowers from a tightly formed racemose inflorescence (meaning there is often only a few cm between first and second flower pedicel.) The secondary flowers are in a more loose formation. The bud shape and flower form are identical to the parent plant `Montreux`. The white clone should be particularly valuable because of its superior stem strength and bud retention during the winter months under natural light conditions in greenhouse forced production. By comparison, there are few or no white Asiatics that will perform well in the darker months without the addition of high intensity discharge lighting to prevent bud abortion. Like its parent, `Montreux, alba` exhibits excellent long bud form, thick petals and good vase life as a cut flower. It is particularly good for sleeving and shipping because the pedicels are non- brittle. The flowers sit flat when opened compared to other varieties and do not recurve which is often a sign of perishability. The new variety bears all the positive propagation characteristics of its parent, not the least of which is the ability to produce a relatively high bud count from a comparatively small (10-12 cm or 12-14 cm) bulb. The parent plant, `Montreux`, because of its qualities of bud count, virus and insect resistance, has been in commercial cultivation for years. The bulbs are significantly whitish in appearance, more so than `Montreaux`, and are suitable for precooling for greenhouse forced cut flower production. The variety displays good overall vigor and will force in nine (summer) to twelve (fall, winter, and spring) weeks under average to greenhouse conditions. The longest forcing time is 14 weeks under low light and cool 55F conditions. The variety displays good overall excellence of form, color, and habit.
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