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Pontus Wallstén
Pontus Wallstén has been interested in wildlife from an early age; his interest in plants started at the age of 12, when he began growing tulips, daffodils and radishes using an old unused sandpit in the garden as a raised bed container. As the years went by, he discovered more unusual and rare bulbs, and especially lilies, which became his main interest, in particular the species, which he collects to this day, maintaining a collection of aproximately 45 species and 40 or so hybrids. His other interests include South African bulbs such as Boophone, Brunsvigia, Haemanthus and Nerine, and more recently Arisaema and cardiocrinum, of which he is building an extensive collection in his nursery in Switzerland, Between Lausanne and Geneva.
In 2010, following over 10 years of growth, some plants in his garden had multiplied well, at which point they where divided and potted up. As a "trial", Pontus sold these "surplus" plants at a local market in his village. The interest from customers was great, so he created a small nursery, Pontus Wallstén Plants in 2010. Since then, Pontus has been exhibiting at most of the main rare plant shows in his area of Switzerland, as well as building up a small website. Customers can see his available plants, as well as watch videos of growing tips and interviews made with plant experts from all around the world. The video section is a growing resource, with new interviews and videos being added as time goes by.
In 2018, Pontus published the Lilium species guidebook, entitled "The lily species and their bulbs". This book has photographs of 113 of the 115 or so existing lilium species worldwide and pictures of 69 different bulbs, for ID purposes. The book also contains extra chapters illustrating the rarer species not currently in cultivation, as well as articles and contributions from various lily growers from all around the world, on various aspects of lily growing or finding rare species in the wild.
Pontus is editor of the RHS Lily Group newsletter since 2015, which gets published twice a year, in spring and autumn. He is also a freelance photographer and cameraman, working for various NGO's and international organisations, photographing conferences and events.
Recently, Pontus collaborated with Bob Gibson of B & D Lilies in Washinghton, USA, to complete Bob Gibson's Lilium Species Knowledge Base, which now contains photographs of almost all lilium species and subspecies found today. the knowledge base can be viewed at: https://www.bdlilies.com/research.html
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The mission of the North American Lily Society, is to promote interest in the genus Lilium, scientific research in its breeding and culture; standardization of its varietal names; the dissemination of information concerning the above and promotion of such other purposes as may advance the culture of lilies.
