Now that lillies have done blooming for the year, and we have had a couple of hard frosts do you cut them right down to the ground or just leave them alone.
Doris
Need Answer
I leave the stalks as markers so I know for sure where they are next year. I think you can cut them down now or next Spring.
Susan
Thank you, they do look pretty messy now all the leaves have had two freezes.
I cut mine but leave 2 or 3 inches so I know where to expect them come Spring.
Sounds like a good idea to me, Thanks
I do the same as Moby. It lets me know a lily is there and it's not a vacant space.
I read a reprint from a respected vendor's comments that if your garden has voles, you should cut your lily stalks flush to the ground. The reasoning being that the stalk attracted the voles to eat in the winter and once they begin knawing on the stalk, they just dig right on down to the bulb. In other words, the stalks are lily bulb locators for the voles.
I have never heard of Voles or did you mean Moles.
I have cut mine down to about two inches above the ground.
Doris
From the web: A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, and smaller ears and eyes. There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America. Vole species form the subfamily Arvicolinae with the lemmings and the muskrats.
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One or more of them chewed at the base of my Japanese irises and broke off one blade on many plants but in just one area. They really dislike hot peppers so I sprinkle them around plants I'm concerned about. So far...they've never hurt any of my lilies and the cats (not mine) seem to find the voles fairly fast and leave them for me to dispose of as I find them.
Pirl, are you using red pepper flakes like what you would sprinkle on Pizza? Most of my newer lilies are planted in a soil mix containing a lot of Permatil or Chicken grit and they are doing fine. But I did lose a lot of the older lilies to the voles. Some of the older ones are OK, but some of them are diminishing. I'm going to be sure to cut those down to the ground this year. If they survive next year, I may dig up all of the older lilies and mix some grit into the soil. There are some I would hate to lose.
Yes, the hot peppers used on pizza. Any critter that puts paws in the earth and then in their mouth will get the effects but it's protien for birds and doesn't upset their systems. Cayenne pepper could also be used.
Thanks, Pirl, I'll be in search of some industrial sized containers of the pepper. LOL
Most of the big box stores carry them. It's exactly what I use.
Thanks, Pirl, Wonder if it would also keep slugs away!
No, I'm so sorry but it doesn't keep them away. I use Ortho's Bug Geta Plus to "try" to control them and earwigs - my two major problems.
This was the worst year for slugs and earwigs that I have ever seen. I spent a small fortune on Beneficial Insects this summer and fall. I'm hoping for good results next summer.
Agreed!