Lily Bulbs

I planted some Lily Bulbs last week in a flower pot, at the time the weather was nice, but today it dropped down below freezing and its going to be cold at least all of next week. Will my Lily's die?

No, they love it. True lilies winter very well. I've even left them out all winter with no soil (I could believe I did that)! The only lilies that have problems in zone 6are the ones that rot from too little drainage.

I hope your pot is big enough for the number you planted. And make sure they have good drainage.

Nope...just leave them alone or if it makes you feel better, put the pot in the garage or close by the house on the South side.

I think the pot is big enough, I put a couple of water jugs (1 gal) over the bulbs and I do have them close to the house.


Thanks Cathy and Bleek

You don't even need to do that. True lilies are very hardy. Do you have any other lilies?

These 35-gallon containers sit on our deck and mind their own business and grow for us every summer. These are mostly asiatics, and the orientals are the smaller ones that come up later, but get to be bigger. Not a drop of care, and a joy to behold. We give them a certain amount of leaf mould and good sunshine.

It went a bit below zero this winter, and no matter what, it won't get that cold again this year.

Rosey, if they are not true lilies, I'd take them in.

What do mean by being true Lily's?

I am not an expert. There are lots of gardeners on this forum much more knowledgeable than I, but here goes. True lilies are of the genus Lilium. Here is a good DG article: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/443/.

There are a lot of other plants called lilies from many different genera, i.e, day lily, peace lily, calla lily, lily of the valley. We usually refer to true lilies as the asiatics or orientals or some combination of hybrid. They like cold winters and warm springs and summers. They are generally found in zones 4-8 or so. Generally they are easy to grow and quite forgiving, but do not like wet feet. Repeat: they need good drainage.

Asiatics generally bloom late spring and orientals at least 1-2 months later. Orientals tend to be very fragrant. If you are a grower, it is easy to know which are which. These perennials die down in the fall and reliably grow again in the spring in my zone, but like other DGers, I am always tempted to add to the collection every spring.

There is a wealth of info and wonderful articles in Dave's Garden, written by people who are much more knowledgeable than I. You will also learn a lot by checking postings by others and recognize those expert gardeners. Also check with the gardeners in your geographical forum. I'm guessing it is the Pacific Northwest group. There are a lot of great, dedicated gardeners there.

I hope that helps.

I bought these Liliy's at Wal-Mart here is a picture of them. I forgot to check to see what kind they are, but the next time I go to Wal-Mart, I will check it out.

It looks like an asiatic lily to me (a true lily). They'll be fine in cold weather. They don't need to be covered. If they were nice, healthy bulbs, you may have noticed that they have sprouted some. If not, within the next few weeks, I'd expect them to sprout, grow and bloom.

I don't think I've ever purchased WM bulbs, but they sell them at the right time of year for planting (cool spring weather, as soon as the soil is workable). They should have about 4 inches of soil on top. They can stay out year round. They'll probably grow to 14"-36" (just a guess). As they grow, you will see the buds growing. They'll all be at the top of the stem and grow slowly, and they'll be a pleasure to watch. Once they bloom, you can cut the blooms to put in water or leave them alone. When the flower is done, cut it off, and leave the remaining stems and bulbs alone during the rest of the summer. If you do not cut off the bloom, it will form seed pods that only take nutrition from the bulb. In the fall, they'll probably dry up. Leave them alone, outside throughout the winter. Did I mention enough times that lilies need proper drainage? They don't like wet feet and can rot, and you'll end up with nothing but some dead stems.

If your container is large enough and the lilies are happy and well drained, you will have more buds the second and further years.

Prediction: You will fall in love with lilies.

Thanks Cathy, I'm already crazy about Lily's.

I went to Wal-Mart the other day and found out my Lily's that I bought are Oriental Lily's, but what does that have to do with the weather?

My orientals usual start blooming about the third week in July through the second week in August. Last year it was so hot here that they bolted and were completely done by the end of July. That never happened before. It does not usually get that hot here (into the high 80s and maybe 90s) till the end of July through mid-August (when the orientals usually bloom).

Maybe someone can help me out here. There are a lot of lily addicts on DG in the midwest who may have different experiences from southern New England.

These are from July 7, 2010 (in a container).

pretty lily's