Stargazer Lily Help!

Fargo, ND(Zone 4a)

So I bought this super showy stargazer at a grocery store figuring it would go of back into dormancy soon now that it is out of a greenhouse with perfect conditions, but I think it may just be dying. I don't care about the blossoms at this point, I really just want the bulb to survive so I can plant it outside and enjoy it year after year.

It is still too cold to plant it outside here in North Dakota, but I have it in the sunniest location in the house. Are the leave falling off from the bottom up in succession from lack of light? Lack of heat? Too much water? Too few nutrients? Shock from being moved from an ideal greenhouse to a dark and cramped floral display to my house? All of the above?

I was going to let it go to seed and see what interesting things those seeds would produce in a couple years, but now I am contemplating just cutting off all the flowers and allow the plant to expend all it's energy on the leaves. There is another stem starting to come up. It appears to be healthy.

What is going on and how do I fix (if I even can)? Did you catch all that or should I have paused for breath at some point? :)

Thumbnail by crayondoom Thumbnail by crayondoom Thumbnail by crayondoom
Ayrshire Scotland, United Kingdom

Someone after my own heart as regards not stopping for breath and my brain never keeps up LOL.

I would go along with you that the Lily has suffered from shock, then placed in too little light, watering is maybe a problem too, good idea to check for watering is just to stick your finger in the soil, if damp / wet, don't water, IF dry, water, I like watering from bottom by place the pot in a saucer of water, once the soil has darkened, the plant has enough water, pour away the left over water and allow the pot to drain, replace in a nice light airy position, not at a window beside the glass as the glass acts as a magnifying glass and can burn the plant AND cause further stress as it tries to drink up more water which causes drowning.

Please don't cut off the foliage yet, this needs to die back naturally, it should be allowed to turn brown / yellow, this decaying is actually feeding the bulbs helping the bulb take up this feed and use as energy for the flowering next year.

From the look of the 3rd picture your Lily plant is almost over from flowering this year. Because your plant was bought from an indoor area, the plant is way ahead of the natural flowering period had the bulb been grown outside in open air. Here in Scotland, my Lily bulbs of the same type (Stargazer, these are my favourite flowering bulbs) are only JUST peeping through the top soil and they wont be in flower until end June/July.

If I were you and at this stage, let the flowers die naturally, snap off each spent flower being very careful with the pollen ( I normally snip off the pollen sacks as they appear as they are poisonous to some pets (Cats and Dogs) if this pollen lands on their coats and they lick coat as normal preening, they can become very ill) Anyway, after removing the flowers, allow the foliage to die down naturally, you can place the pot / plant outside for this prosses, in late summer, remove the dead foliage and plant the bulb outside in a nice sheltered area where it will receive sunshine but not baked in this heat.

TIP : to get new Bulbs from Lilies like the type mentioned, when you lift the bulb from the soil (AFTER) it has allowed foliage to die off naturally, clean off the loose soil, gently wash very carefully, the bulb and roots without scrubbing, then as gentle as you can, peel off a few of the layers (LIKE PEELING AN ONION) don't break these little sections but look at the bottom part that was attached to the larger bulb, you then place these BOTTOM end into the small pot you have prepared with compost / sand mixture, you may need to use a pencil to help make a little hole for the sections of bulbs to be inserted, place this pot into a plastic bag (CLEAR BAG) and place in a cool, area, after several weeks or months, you should see a tiny new shoot appear, this way you know the little plants are now growing, when large enough to handle, remove the little plants from pot by tipping them out, use pencil to separate the plants and re-pot into small individual pots of CUTTING compost from store.

The second way is after peeling off the sections, place these in a clear plastic bag (ZIPER BAGS) are best, use the same soil mix as given, drop the sections into the soil in bag, lightly shake the contents and place in warmer area of fridge, after a few weeks keep gently checking to see IF new shoots appear and then follow as before.

Other lilies have tiny little bulbs on the stems, they are found tucked tightly in the leaf axel's, snap these off and place in a pot with compost, after a few years, they should be large enough bulbs to be giving flowers, make sure they are in sheltered area with good light but NO heat, this gives bulbs and flowers the exact replica of the parent.

After several years lift the bulbs out from the soil in autumn, there should also be many more new bulbs the parents have made while under the soil. Give all Lily bulbs a feed start of spring, be very careful and place fork or spade about a foot away from bulb or you might smash into the clumps and loos a lot of bulbs.

Lastly, I would be inclined to forego using the seeds from the plant you have this year as the plant has obviously been in shock and the seeds may also be as affected as the flowers have, it's a slow process and many years to get a lily seed to germinate then reach flowering stage so my thoughts would be to build up the strength of the bulb ready for flowering next year.

Hope this helps you outa bit and you have a better understanding about your lovely Lily plant with many years of pleasure each flowering season.

Best Regards, WeeNel.

Fargo, ND(Zone 4a)

WeeNel, you are my new best friend. Thank you so much!

Ayrshire Scotland, United Kingdom

OH OK new best friend, have a great gardening season and good luck. Take good care.
Best Regards.
WeeNel.

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