Asiatic Lillies, When to Plant?

Have become interested in Asiatics, have never grown them. Need much advice. When do you plant, what kind of care they need, are they hardy in zone 6, do they need to be dug for the winter? Help someone please.

Hi defoecat!

When we ordered ours they always arrived for spring planting. We, here in zone 7a, never lift them at all. I doubt if you'd have to. Check out Dutchgardens.com and maybe they can advise you better.

Enjoy! It's another grand gardening plant.

Arlene

I'm 6a and I don't take them out of the ground unless I want to move and/or divide them. Be sure to plant them deep, though. You do not want them to freeze. Mine are about 6" down. The only "care" I've had to give them is just being careful in the spring. Remember where they are and don't break off the shoot as it emerges.

I plant them in the fall here in zone 5b and they stay in the ground all year 'round. Most are hardy to zone 3.

defcoecat,

Asiatic lilies are probably the toughest and most perennial bulb out there, bar none except maybe daffodils. They perennialize almost everywhere in the US and are hardy down to zone 3. Just make sure your soil is well drained and not soggy, and plant them about 3 times the height of the bulb deep. They multiply quickly and I even dug up one this fall that had been in the ground for 3 years and it had gotten huge and had almost a dozen small bulbs developing around the stem. Mine have always returned here. Trust me it's a good investment. Plant them, fertilize once in awhile, and leave 'em alone and you're set.

I would add that if you have them, the very recommended thing to do is get them in the ground as soon as possible. They might dry out otherwise.

wow, great info here. thanks. can't wait to grab some more.

Hi all, A neighbor gave me one Asiatic 'Lollipop' about 3 or 4 years ago, in spring.
This variety multiplies quickly as you can see in the pic taken this year.
One note: DO NOT put the any part of it in the compost pile. I'm told they carry a virus or something you don't want to spread. Toss the dead growth in the trash, in the fall.
Also keep an eye out for those pesky red beetles that eat the leaves. This is one of the only flowers that I have to spray.
With all that I still recommend them, real easy and some are very fragrant.
Andy P

Ooooh, Andy, PRETTY!!!!!! I love this one, even though I don't have it. I want 'Vermeer,' too.

beautiful indeed. i guess the lilies arrive in spring at costco. they are still selling bulbs right now.

But you can buy them as bulbs and plant this fall. That's what I've always done.

i was hoping they will be around right now, but no. my "noblesse" and "tom p" i bought as bulbs at costco last march.

can you tell i'm cheap? but costco products perform well for me.

Oh, I'm all for cheap! No need to explain THAT to me! LOLOL!

what has gardening done to us? and this is just my first year...

This is my second year of 'serious' gardening, and I went nuts on buying this fall. The only way I could quit was to tell myself I had to leave something for myself to buy next year! LOL!

Don't try to do it all at once. You'll either get overwhelmed or run out of room.
I'm all for cheap or better yet free. Save your seeds.
I've been at this house for 19 years and can't find any space for the new things I want.
I do a lot of trading with friends and neighbors. Mostly I start seeds, more options that way and cheaper than buying plants.
Andy P

Andy, we dug up part of the yard this fall, and that made a huge space. I'll have plenty of room for things, even with all that I bought. I'm just sort of impatient. If I don't plant the bulbs this fall, then I'll have to wait a year and a half to see something I want NOW! LOL!!!

andy, right on. i enjoy starting plants from seeds, too. mostly brugs and veggies on that. and bulbs.

I have planted Asiatics both fall and spring...Glad to know about the virus with the Lollipop because I have quite a few.

Ohh, that's good to know, levilya. I know I've planted asiatics that were getting ready to bloom, in the spring, but I didn't know you could plant them as bulbs. That's good, because I've been drooling over 'Vermeer,' but I just don't have the money for more bulbs this fall.

Room to grow all the new plants... I remind myself whenever something
dies that I now have room to put in something new :-)

I got some oriental lilies going from seed a few years ago. It took three
cold/warm/cold cycles but I had about a dozen seedlings. My greenhouse
was totally flooded by Ivan last fall and the lilies never came back (they floated
in the muddy water for quite a while before I rescued them. What a mess
it was!) I'm gonna have to try again soon

Tam

wow thanks for the info about the lollipop having a virus.... i just planted a few in the yard... glad i did though ... they are beautiful sarah