Planting Oriental Lilies

[GardenGeisha]

I read that you should plant your Oriental lily bulbs in the ground by the middle of October, so I am moving mine from tubs into the ground. I planted them in the tubs in May, and some bloomed and some didn't. Some just sent up foliage and sat there all summer; others had big lovely blooms. Others came up and then fizzled. I figured the store-bought soil in the tubs would make it easier for the bulbs to take off and grow than my ground soil which has clay in it. I've been letting the lily foliage 'cure' as long as possible before moving them to the ground. I realize they may be dug up and eaten by rodents, but I figure they are better off in the ground, as far as being insulated from the cold winter weather, than they would be in the plastic tubs, and I'm afraid they'd get too warm inside the house if I tried to save them over the winter indoors, to plant in the spring. So planting them in the ground seems my best option.

When I was digging them up, some of them came out whole, in clumps, with the nice foliage still attached. Some have yellow-brown foliage; others still have bright green foliage. A couple of them that still had green foliage broke off as I was digging them up-- the green foliage came off with the stem, leaving the bulb separated from the stem and foliage. Do you think those bulbs have a chance of making it over the winter, since the foliage has come off? It wouldn't have been too long, I think, before the green foliage would have frozen, since it is getting colder out... I also found a bulb from a lily that fizzled, but the bulb seems fine. Maybe it was immature this summer and will bloom next summer just fine? It was super hot this summer, and I don't think the bulbs liked the 105 degree temps.

I've also read that it is a good idea to cut the stems and foliage off the bulbs, once planted, because the stems and foliage are a beacon to mice and squirrels, saying "Dig here! Dig here!" But I want to let the foliage ripen as long as possible, so do you think it would be okay if I cut it off right after the first hard frost, even if it's still green?

I am filling in the ground holes where I'm planting the lilies with nice, loose soil from the tubs, but could that be a mistake if some of the bulbs may have rotted in the tubs? Could that add pathogens to the ground that might make the lilies sick over the winter? I don't know that any lilies in the tubs rotted, but it is possible.

Thanks for your help!

Clare

 

[so lucky]

If some of the bulbs rotted in the tubs, I would assume it was just too much water around them. The thing to worry about bulbs is if you cut them or bruise them when digging. They could start to rot at the wound.
You know, clay soil might be good for them. They get so heavy when fully grown and laden with buds, they may be unstable in really loose, friable "artificial dirt."

 

[GardenGeisha]

Actually, a few of the bulbs seemed a bit too soft when I planted them. I think they had gotten overly soft in the package they were sold in. Those would be the ones that I would think would have rotted. It is hard to overwater anything here in the desert. :>)

The ones that 'fizzled' came up okay and were green for a bit and then turned yellow and stayed that way for a time until the foliage disappeared. I think they were immature.

 

[digitS']

You may find that lilies aren't so tough to take care of. They do fine here where it is quite arid with next to zero rain during the summer months.

The soil here is very gravelly, at least where I garden. That good drainage is important to lilies as I understand it. I guess all that gravel is a win for me . . .

Fall is THE time to plant lilies. Often, we are misled by what is in the stores, when. We are also misled by our desire to have something beautiful around our homes in the spring. It is okay. The commercial outfits have good storage. We aren't likely to. Every darn species has its own requirements for winter storage!

Steve

 

[GardenGeisha]

I know that fall is the best time to plant lilies, but I am on a tight budget, and so I bought the only lilies I could afford, which are only available in the spring at a certain store I shop at. They were only $1.98 a box, for 3 lily bulbs per box. I couldn't hold them over until the fall to plant. They would have dried up.

 

[digitS']

I don't even know if they could have survived in your refrigerator, Clare.

It is the industry responding to the consumer in a wholesale way.

They have carved out a market niche for the time when most people choose to buy, keeping them in storage thru the winter. I am sure that they have it down to a science.

Steve

 

[GardenGeisha]

Nothing survives in my refrigerator. LOL. I tried overwintering dahlias in it, and they dried out. Same with tulips, daffodils and hyacinths. So now I plant bulbs immediately-- whenever I get them.

Is it okay to plant tulips, hyacinths, and lilies together? I seem to recall reading somewhere that there is something you should not plant with lilies-- I think it was roses? It causes some sort of disease? But I can't remember whether it is okay to plant tulips and lilies near each other?

Also, one of my Oriental lilies is growing right up the middle of a clump of chives. If I dug out a huge rootball with the chives and lily intact, could I plant that now, or would the chives die from the shock? Aren't chives and lilies related? It's okay to plant them together; right? The lily growing up the middle of the chives plant bloomed beautifully!

Also, there may be some lily bulbs under a beautiful huge purple clump of alyssum. Alyssum is an annual, I know, but it sometimes reseeds and comes back. If I dug way deep under the alyssum for lily bulbs could I transplant a big clump of it into the garden now and have alyssum blooms until too hard a frost occurs here? It is gorgeous. I'd hate to dig it if that will kill it right away...

Thanks for your help.

 

[digitS']

About all I know on those questions is that . .

. lilies and chives both belong to the lily family . And, I find chives very easy to transplant in the spring. They are tough and I'd imagine they'd do okay with a new home for the winter.

Here is some information on planting lilies: www.lilies.org/mainhtml/04a_planting.php They don't have many "don'ts" .

Steve

 

[GardenGeisha]

Also, how deep should you plant a single smallish lily scale?

 

[Smart Red]

I often have more patience than money. One year I purchased a beautiful yellow lily and carefully separated each and every 'scale' for planting. I put them -- flatter root side down and thinner, pointed top -- just below the soil surface. It has taken about three years, but I now have plenty of young lily plants growing in that area. I figured that the small thin scale would not have a lot of energy to waste growing from a proper lily bulb planting depth. Now that they are blooming themselves I find that their bulbs are right down where they should be - deep and not right at the surface.