Ok, I don't know too much about Lilies yet........so here's my question: Should my Oriental lily be up yet? I've heard they come up later.....but is this too late?
Thanks,
Steve
Oriental Lily question
I don't think it is, but then I'm in zone 4. I don't know what is normal for your zone. Also, if the bulb is planted somewhere that the soil doesn't warm up too quick could be a factor. Last week I had lilies coming up in one bed and still ice in a more shaded area.
Did you plant last fall and was it pretty late in the season? I'll never plant another oriental in the fall again. They need time to set roots and settle in before winter starts. If that didn't happen, it may not make an appearance. Another one of those lily agony moments.
I am in zone 5 and only the orientals next to the house are up plus the Asiatics. The LA, Orienpets, some Asiatics, species and other Orientals are all still sleeping. Give them time.
I'm in zone 7, and my Asiatics are just starting, no sign of Orientals, yet, or some of the species, either.
Thanks, everyone! I moved it to the bed its in middle of last summer....Theres an asiatic beside it and it up maybe an inch. So I guess it's not too late......... :D
Steve
mine orientals are up a good foot and my asiatic are up as well. i planted all of mine this past fall. i can't wait for blooms!!!
kelly :)
I have 1 oriental that is a foot tall and others that are just breaking ground.
mine are just breaking ground here.....
Thanks again everyone! I should be seeing it pretty soon then.
isn't it nice seeing them pop up? i love walking around the garden every day to see what is coming up!
kelly : )
Yeah, this morning I noticed that the Jacobs Ladder has buds on it. And everything including my lilies are growing so fast! I'm still waiting for a newly planted one to break ground...it should be soon! I heard we might be getting snow here later this week or next........ :S
My Orientals are up a few inches. I can't wait to see them bloom. A late freeze niped them last year.
I hate when it unexpectedly get cold like that and my plants get damaged...I hope it doesn't happen this year! :)
I returned from a week in Texas to find lilies popping up all over the place! Thank you Plantskydd for keeping the bunnies at bay!
I put lunch bags over the orientals, LAs, Species and Orienpets. Staked them down with nails pushed into the ground. I may leave them on until Sunday and try to get past the late freezes that damaged so many last spring.
I know someone asked on another thread, but bunnies never bothered mine before. Now that they've chewed the tops, will I still get blooms? (Oriental lilies.)
Depends on how far into the stem they eaten. If it's just the leafy tops, they may be OK. If it looks like a cut stem then that's it for this year. :(
So far, just the tops. I need to take my own advice and sprinkle some flour on them. We used to have feral cats and 1 rabbit per yard. Now we have 1 feral cat and 4 bunnies in everyones yard!
I use iris spring soap to keep squirrels
away. It works amazing! Not sure if it will work for bunnies though...
I took one of the stems that broke off my lily and stuck it in the ground and its doing fine so far...I'm hoping it might root. It's been a couple weeks since it broke off.
Steve
The squirrels, for the first time, ate at my newly replanted iris tubers last fall. They must have been hungry. Nothing died, but they are scarred!
Strangly.....I've never had the squirrels touch my Iris........I wonder why ?
Some times they get me so mad though. Grrr
All were planted in the same bed under the same walnut tree. I put them in the back of the bed instead of the front. We had a late freeze and no nuts last year so I'm thinking they were hungry.
Yeah, they must have been pretty hungry. One year they bit the bloom of my Jack-in-the-pulpet and left it there on the ground. I've had them dig up daffodils before too.
They really don't bother much. They like to sit an the garden and watch me plant, then run across my row.
I've gotten to the point that I just about hate the little buggers. They like to tear up any freshly turned soil ~ new grass seed, irises, etc.. Last year I planted a very small daylily and they dug it up so many times, I'm truly surprised that it survived.
This message was edited Apr 26, 2006 5:17 PM
Wow, you have mean squirrels.
Try the Irish Spring soap Moby! They haven't touched one spot where I put that stuff........even freshly potted plants and bulbs!
I chased a full grown rabbit out of the yard this morning--he went THRU the chain link fence! Don't those things have bones???
Laugh!
What do you do with the Irish Spring soap? Besides take a shower. LOL. I've never heard about using that one before.
You grate it up. Sprinkle it on you pots and sprinkle a bit of soil on top of it....just enough to hide it. It works!
Steve
This is the first year I've tried the Irish Spring soap and was skeptical, to say the least. But it did work. I used my box grater to grate up the soap and scattered it throughout my gardens. I didn't bother covering it up. It rained several times since doing this and you could visable see that the gratings were getting smaller. At this point, I don't see any sign of the soap, but have not seen any critter action since I first put it out. I think I'll put out another application this weekend, just to be safe.
I find this much more effective than the hot pepper stuff that has to be reapplied after each rain and it's not very expensive. Someone was telling me they don't even grate it. They just toss the entire bar out. Then someone mentioned they put the bars in stockings.
The whole bar? I've found before that too much soap in the soil can lead to leaf burn. It's the best thing I've tried yet...working better then blood meal which has to be reapplied like the pepper and gets fuzz growing on it. eww.
Steve
Plantskydd gets my vote too! I sprayed it on and all around my lilies and Hostas and the bunnies haven't touched them. In fact, I haven't seen many bunnies in my yard since I sprayed the stuff. It smells bad when you first spray it... but it definitely seems to be working!
So is the purpose to get rid of insects or warm-blooded critters?
Rabbits and squirrels, but I've been wondering whether there miight be any residual effect for insects. I typically give my gardens a spray with dishsoap and water about once a month as a preventative against aphids and such.
This whole thing is very interesting to me. I've never heard of just using soap shavings. That would last a long time and cost almost nothing!!
It's cheap to give a try. I'm not going to say that it's 100% guarenteed. All I know is there have been no munching of new lilies and tulips in my garden since I put it down. At worst, your neighbors will think you're a little strange, but if you're an avid gardener, they probably already have that opinion (LOL).
The brand I was told to use is Irish Spring. Someone also mentioned Ivory will do the same. I don't know if just any soap will work. Since doing this, I've noticed the eight packs of the original IS is on sale quite a bit.
I don't know about you, but I find the garden store products very expensive. I won't buy them unless I'm desparate.
1gardengram - If you use the Irish Spring you might want to sprinkle just a little soil on top of it to cover it up.....as it's a sort of neon blue/green colour.
Steve
I'm sure going to give it a try. Will it help keep squirrels and cats out of your plant spaces? Can you use it in bigger areas?
I don't know about cats. My cats seem to like fragrant things. Whenever the Avon lady shows up, they are all over her LOL. You might want to plant some catnip in a strategic location to keep them amused (and stoned) elsewhere. Don't expect the plants to look that great as they literally roll in them. I haven't seen a squirrel in my yard since I put it down. I have seen them over next door.
Larger area? Depends on how much you want to grate up. I guess if I had a really large plot, I'd try to just get the first few feet along the borders.