Lilies: Let's See New Lilies Sprouting!, 1 by cathy166

cathy166 wrote:
Lilylove, love that photo of the butterfly.. We don't get butterflies like that until possibly July or in a butterfly house.

I'm afraid to use any systemic potions on the ground as we grow tomatoes and a few other short season vegetables like cucumbers, lettuce, radish, beet and broccoli. So I run around with the Super Repellant spray about every 10-20 days since the red lily beetles start early. The spray also deters deer and other pests because of its bad taste. We don't like killing, but if we didn't put out something to get rid of the rodents (moles and voles), we'd have no bulbs left and our yard would be all tunnels. My gardening buddy has a rabbit family that eats into his produce. I don't like Peter rabbit.

So far, there are no lilies, so no lily beetles. However, deer love tulips (bud and bloom) and hosta blooms, so we start early. If you see the culprits in the photo, keep a watchful eye.

P. S. They also attack fritillalria.