How deep do you plant lilium bulbs?

I have some asiatic and orienpet bulbs to put in the ground. Some are already sprouting.

LimeyLisa Kay

The chart I have says 5 inches, but I usually go at least 6. It depends on the size of the bulb, too.

I found this page
http://gardening.wsu.edu/column/02-20-00.htm

I have to get mine planted, too, now that the rain seems to have stopped.

Cheri'

A pretty good rule of thumb is to plant the bulbs 3x their depth. in other words if a bulb is 2 inches tall you would plant it at least 6 inches deep. If your soil is quite sandy I would go even 8 inches deep for that bulb. If you have very heavy soil you might want to lighten it up by incorporating organic matter into the soil before planting. Generally the larger the bulb the deeper it needs to be planted so it has plenty of room to root along the underground portion of the stem. This gives the lily a good 'foothold' to support the large flower-heads.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Sundry & Lilyfan! What about the two with sprouts? Do I put them that deep? Will that kill them?

LimeyLisa Kay

It won't kill them. I just buried my babies, sprouts and all. Just don't break the sprout, or you may not get flowers this year. It's better to plant them deep, because they make roots all along the stem underground. You can even mound dirt up around the stem later, to make them sturdier. They will grow roots.

The only lily I know of that doesn't do this is the Madonna lily.

I did the same last year with Asiatic and Tiger lilies (bought at half price, because it was so late and they were sprouting ...)and they did fine.

Cheri'

I second what Sundry said!

Great! Thanks for all your information. I will be planting today!

LimeyLisa Kay