allium globemaster & problems

i had problems with my alliums the past two years. this year far more serious than last. you can see in the pictures below that the leaves die off, this happened before they had completely blossomed. so i just let them sit there because they had no way of gathering energy and they looked pretty in the garden bed. i'm having this problem in the full sun, part sun and less in the woodlands garden, which gets full sun in the spring months then dappled light from may on. they bloom here in mid may.
last years blooms were huge, this year the globemaster's bloom was about 3-4 inches the gladiators was about 5 inches wide. both much smaller, than they are suppose to be. i fertilize, the soil is good & well draining. i would like to grow these again, but don't want the same results. any help would be appreciated.

this pictures shows the bulbs on april 30th. the leaves are doing well, except for a bit of frost damage on the ends. i've since pulled some of the bulbs and they look ok to the naked eye.

Debi, That happens to mine too, I thinks it's just the bulbs going dormant. After they bloom they shrivel up and die back. They'll be back next spring. Sometimes like the foliage starts to die back befofore the flowers start blooming. I just try to plant the behind other plants that will hide the browning foliage.

thanks sue. glad to know it isn't "me". :-) do your flowers come back smaller than they are suppose to?

Mine didn't even come back up this year which was disappointing to say the least. They weren't cheap bulbs.

I LOST ALOT of alliums this year. I wet spring for bulbs

gretagreta, i would not think this was the case in my gardens. yes there was a lot of rain, but i have really good draining soil. my lilium bulbs thrive in it and i think they are far more tender than the alliums. perhaps i am wrong, or perhaps alliums just don't like all that rain? hmmmmm????

Alliums naturally die back like daffodils & tulips. I plant them between daylilies or Asian Lilies. The stalks stand tall & bloom and the foliage is hidden after they bloom by the growing clumps of daylilies.

oh my goodness wanda that is the most beautiful picture ever....so green and healthy..Im gonna try and have some lillys myself....I just love each and every kind so much... I dont know a thing about them but look at every picture and am so happy all of ya'll have them to enjoy, they are so beautiful.....Im looking around for sase or trade.....
wonderful wonderful
hugz
Lexy

New Lily Forum ---http://davesgarden.com/t/441618/

I'll have pink or orange Asian Lilies to trade this fall. I'm looking for more colors to add.

wanda,
it looks to me like your lilium might have botrytis blight. here is a link describing it and some recommended treatments. this spreads like wild fire, so you might consider spraying it asap.
http://fogbeltgrowers.com/fob.botrytis.html

here is a pic of one of my asiatics last year with the blight new on it.

this is a pic with borytis blight not sprayed. i didn't know what it was and let it go. although it only effects the bulb, by not allowing photosynthesis, it sure does make a sightly mess and spreads so very quickly. i keep an eye out for it now and spray immediately.
debi z

I looked at the plants. The leaves are a deep green & clean but are covered with dropping flowers from the Yellow Loosestrife next to it. Thanks for the "heads up". I'll watch & see.

wanda, i was out looking at my tigers and saw some borytis. out today to spray, don't want it to spread everywhere.

the tigers i cut to bring inside are gorgeous. so far only orange and white in my mixes.