I should either refrigerate them until Fall and plant them then, or pot them up and keep them in a cool area until they sprout, at which point I can put them out in the sun? If I put them in the refrigerator, should they be loose or stored in some sort of medium like peat? And lastly, do they need to go in a crisper or can they be on the back of a shelf? I bought six huge Black Beauty bulbs from B&D's sale, as well as six small Alma Alta bulbs I thought I'd just pot up in containers since they don't get so tall.
Thanks-
Bethany
Bulbs bought on sale-just to make sure I understand...
Wellllll....... you may get other responses but I'd plant them myself. It's early enough in the year that they will still bloom but will probably be fairly short ~ fine next year though.
Bethany,
I second that. I get most of my lilies at these kind of sales, and generally plant them in May and June. They're short the first year, that's all. We've got cool summers for our zone, though, so that might be a factor. Still, I think I'd put them in if I were you.
Larisa
Bethany, I'm with Moby and Larisa. Plant them now. My experience with planting orientals late in the season is that they didn't show up until the following summer. But, unless it's really hot out where you are, you should see them this year.
Great--I'd rather plant them now. If I plant them in containers, do I need to keep the containers in a cool place (like my garage) until thery sprout, or can I leave them in sun on my deck? It's been what I think of as a cooler summer in my zone (7a--Raleigh, NC), but it's getting to mid-to-low 80's during the next few days. If I put them in containers, I'd probably put something like petunias in with them, if that would help with the roots staying cool.
Thanks-
Bethany
I'd put them on your deck. If you start getting really hot, you might want to provide some afternoon shade, but 80's isn't too hot. Last weekend when we had those two 90 degree days, I couldn't drag myself out of bed until about 10:00 one morning and I ended up burning the leaves on a couple lilies because I watered too late. I think they will bloom OK, but the leaves on one side look real crispy. I'm more worried about how they will do for next year.