Lily Problem?

hi, I have "oriental hybrid lilies" me being a 'novice' gardener, just planted the bulbs as soon as I got them in this really too big, I know now, pot, there are twelve bulbs.

It has benn several weeks and I noticed that they were'nt budding or anything so i decided to carefully check the bulbs , to my dismay some of them were rotting alittle, so I went online and found few sources about liles needing to be in a sool period for forcing or blossoming so I removed the still dormant bulbs from the potting soil , carefully, plucked off th rotting petals of the bulb some were too much in the center so i did'nt bother them,

I got a tip to dip them in a weak solution of fungicide them repot them and refrigorate? So I have are the bulbs o.k. after they started rotting, or will they all become duds, and after refigeration will they flower once than not again or will they propagate?

Any tips, suggestions will be most apprecaited, Thanks

Nikki,

Hi Nikki
I love hybrid lilies!!! While I have never "forced" blooming on any of mine, I do know that they are quite "tough". They should be just fine with the pulling off of affected scales and the fungicide soak. I actually received some this spring that were a little "mushy" and did the same thing and then planted them immediately in the garden. Happy to say that they are all about 2' high and have flower buds starting to appear.
Good luck and Happy Gardening!
Jody

Thanks Jody,

But, what about the refrigoration thing can I just plant them now, or leave them in the'fridge?

And will it harm the lilies or will they continue to reproduce them selves?

Thanks a bunch!

I have never put any in the fridge so I can't say for sure, I would think you should leave them there for a while. I'm sure it won't hurt them at all, they should recover and continue to reproduce with no problems. There are some southerners here that may know the answer to that as they have to give their lilies a "winter" in the fridge. What zone are you in?
Jody

I'm in FL, and I kept my lily bulbs in the fridge for 6-8 wks before planting them. I believe I kept the Starglazer bulbs in the fridge for 5 wks.
http://davesgarden.com/showthread/46120.html

Hi Jody, I live in baltimore, Maryland and my zones are
6B, 7B, and 7a, which precise one my province falls into
I'm not quite sure, but it summertime now and mostly humid
out? Are lilies good for container planting?

Hi Nikki

Cool!! We are neighbors then, I'm here in MD too! :) Western and Northern MD are 6b, central MD is solid 7. I live right on the bay so it stays a bit warmer here in the winter. I really push the zone, I have some zone 8 plants here that have done well, others that didn't make it through this cold winter we had.

Lilies are great for containers, I have some trumpet, and asiatic lilies on my deck in containers.

Above Tim said his lilies go in the fridge for 6-8 weeks, if you leave them that long, I don't think you'll get to see blooms this year. I would try about 4 week then take them out and plant in the ground or in containers. I have some of both and they'll be fine either way. You should not have to refriderate them again, though we have mild winters here it is cold and long enough for their dormancy time.

Very cool, I live in the southern part of baltimore, right near the borderline into Glenburnie!

I'm a novice gardener, but I love it already! so my lilies have been in the fridge for about a week now, glad to know that it won't hurt them . I plan to put them in containers, do you have any tips?

Love it that a fellow gardener is so close though! None of my current freinds garden at all!

Nikkio

Wow Nikkio, we really are neighbors, I'm on the other side of Glenburnie, in Pasadena, lol. Too cool!

Tips for lilies in containers, not really, they are quite hardy and need little care. I fertilize with liquid fertilizer 10-60-10 about ever other week and thats about it. They can tolerate drying out but not "drought" so just be sure to water them when you see that they have dried out. I'll probably plant the ones I have in containers in the ground this fall with the others. This is my first year trying container gardening on the deck. I'll have to say that it is much more work than plants in the garden.

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Thanks for the would be tip(s) Jody, yeah you are close i have a couple of friends who live near pasadena!

I'll try with the lilies in a few weeks and let you know how they came out, I'll even send ya a few pics!

Thanks,
nikki