New to Lilies and forum..

I am looking for some lilies to put in this area of my yard..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/CountryLisa/yard/DSCF0002.jpg

Thanks,Lisa

What kind do you like, Lisa? Fragrance? Color? I could go bonkers with this question. I'd have that spot filled in .2 seconds.
My favorite Lily Vendors
B & D Lilies http://www.lilybulb.com/
The Lily Garden http://www.thelilygarden.com/
Faraway Flowers http://farawayflowers.vstore.ca/
Buggy Crazy (lily bulbs only in fall) http://buggycrazy.vstore.ca/
Lilies like good drainage, part to full sun and to be planted about 3 times the depth of the bulb.
The first ones to come out are asiatics, then trumpets, then orienpets (crosses between orientals and trumpets. These are some of my very favorites), then Orientals.
Brent and Becky's also has a nice selection of lilies, if you are planting in groups.
But I find, at least for me, that there is no finer selection than that of mailorder.
Welcome to the lilies. We're great at sharing our addiction. Come join us.
Hey , perhaps if I make it to the RU, I'll bring a couple lilies to swap. Look forward to that!

I'm also new - I just planted about a 100 bulbs and I'd like to know what if anything I have to do next etc. I thought I throw up a few misc questions which have been nagging me. This refers to asiatics and orientals.

1. I know it's dependent on so many factors but when should I expect to see it sprout assuming fall planting. I'm one of those people who bites my nails until I see the sprout!
2. When I planted I used a bulb starter fertilizer according to recommendations. When should I top dress with a 4-10-10 or similar (when and how many times per year)?
3. Cutting flowers - Of course my primary objective is perennialization. I have heard conflicting reports on how many if any blooms can be cut off if any and to limit the cut stem length etc. What is the consensus here?
4. I recently read that the seed pods should be removed if perennialization is desired. This is a new one to me. True?
5. Watering - my garden is mixed so there will be some watering even in the fall. Does this pose any danger of rotting or other problem? Soil is a well draining raised bed so under no conditions should the bulbs end up "swimming".
6. Staking - with this many plants I'm wondering if setting up a wire grid is a better idea. I have a fence on 2 sides so it would be fairly easy. Is there a preferred material for the wire and should it be covered with tubing or similar where the stems are secured to avoid abrasion?

Thanks

PS. Another thing I recently read was that the bulb roots actually grow upward. I was glad to hear this because it's somewhat difficult to prepare the soil down to 2' or more which is what you would think would be necessary if they grew downward. Of course it's still a good idea to prepare as deep as possible.

Hi Garden4Birds/Lisa ~ welcome to the Lily forum! We can give you all kinds of ideas for lilies, but you might also want to fill in your lily area with some annuals and a few perennials of your liking.

Alex.....my, that's a lot of questions! lol I'll take a stab at it ~

1. Most of my lilies start sprouting in April, though yours may start earlier.
2. I don't fertilize mine religiously but usually when they're 4 -6" tall and after blooming. Others opinions about this may be much more valuable than mine.
3. It's perfectly fine to cut the stem but best to not take more than 1/3 of the entire stem length. This allows sufficient foliage to remain for photosynthesis (storing energy/food for next year's bloom)
4. Perennialization?? If you really want seeds then by all means have them! If you're not interested then remove the spent flowers heads. It is more taxing on a plant to let it go to seed.
5. My garden is mixed too ~ a deep, thorough watering once a week works in my climate unless it is extremely hot and sunny, then I might water twice. Make sure that your soil needs it ~ if you're not sure you can use a spade to turn a chunk of soil to check moisture.
6. Staking is completely dependant on how your lilies are situated. Most stand fine all on their own unless they are shaded on one side, such as next to your house or other structure or shrubs, etc..

Not sure about the 'upward growing roots' ~ the roots at the bottom of the bulb are short and grow out and down, but there are also stem roots that grow closer to the soil surface. Hope that helps.

Excellent answers Moby.

I know exactly what you mean by stem roots. When I planted my bulbs, some of them had the remnant of a stem which has roots attached to it. Really threw for me for a loop! I thought, which way is really down?

Another mystery solved - thanks.

Also, Lisa - Lilies are great for filling spaces in a perennial garden because the footprint is tiny. As long as you are fairly sure the lily foilage will not be significantly shaded by nearby plants you can really tuck them in to small spaces. I have mine tucked between coneflowers, peonies, Liatris and floribunda roses. All shades of purple, pink and red with a few yellow lilies here and there. Supposedly lilies look better planted in odd numbers, ie 3,5,7 of a kind in groups.

A few Allium like globemasters might look good also.

Hi and Thanks for replying to my post.I am looking for lilies that will give me both color and fragence.
So..I'd be willing to take any strays you may have..I will be more then will to send u a SAE if you dmail me your address.
Thanks Lisa

I suspect you will probably find the roots at the base of a bulb will spread more as the bulb reaches proper depth and/or has adquate moisture.

For your perusal:

Hi, Garden4birds
I am new to lilies too. I planted my first ones in 06 and we have already had single digits, I hope they make it and bloom again. I mostly watch on this forum but you can learn a lot here.
Teresa in KY

Hey, bluegrass, mine have made it through these temps with ample blossoms. It's -10 and they are out there just happily chillin'. Single digits?? That would be a heat wave compared to what's going on here. A blanket of snow makes all the difference.

Hello All! new to the Lilies Forum!

I have Easter lillies from last year that made it through the winter and are ready to be divided? into separate pots. Last year I had outstanding brilliant white foliage with deep green leaves. I took the half-dead lilies from church after the Easter service, and told them I'd be sending them back for their altar this year. I haven't done this before so any advice would be appreciated, particularly to get them to bloom in time for Easter! Thanks in advance!

P.S. I'm growing maters in Earthboxes, and will be shopping for MG potting mix in quantity this weekend. Can I use MG potting mix for the divided Easter lilies, or do they require some special type of soil/mix? And what type of fertilizer should I get? And when should I begin fertilizing the new greenery I have already?

From my observation last summer, they start out kinda slowly and then Sha-Zaam, they take off and shoot up almost overnight! Sure would like to have blooms at the church for the Easter service and save $$ on having to purchase new blooms. Please advise soonest (before the weekend).

Thanks.

Have your lilies started growing at all yet?

They probably won't be blooming by Easter, especially if they aren't quite tall already. Sorry to be a wet blanket.

I have about 6-8 shoots in each pot. Not sure what "growing" means. I have what looks like day lilly leaves (long green greenery). If you mean the tall thingy where the trumpet comes off of, no -- that hasn't started getting tall yet.

How do the nurseries get them to bloom on schedule?

By planting them in time. I don't know what the timeframe is, but I would think about 90 days or so. You could Google for more information. The long grassy stuff you are seeing is the leaves that the new tiny offset bulbs are putting out. If you take care of these, they should bloom in a year or two.

ok.

Alexh, hi I am new to lilies also. I ordered about 30 Asiatics from the coop this spring and I am tring to plan what else to plant out there with them. We can grow coneflowers here and maybe liatris, but not peonies. I have antique roses I can plant them with, but how close can they be? I get into trouble planting things with my roses because I plant too close. And what else can I plant with lilies?

thanks, Mary Lee

Daylilies, of course! The daylilies' leaves cover the lily "feet" and keep them cool. Lily bulbs don't take that much room--just a 6 inch circle. Speedwell, Coreopsis, bearded or Siberian iris--all kinds of plants are happy to have tall lilies in their beds.

Ahhh. DL! Another one of my favorite plants. Good news. Thanks Wandasflowers.

Whoops, forgot bearded iris--they don't mind the talllilies sticking up between clumps either. Or phlox?

How deep do you plant lilies? And do they need to be divided periodically like irises do?

Three times the size of the bulb is the general rule and yes, you do need to divide periodically.

6 inches deep or deeper, for average size bulbs that you might find at a garden center or 3 times the depth of the bulb. 3 or 4 years (Oriental x trumpet, otherwise called OT's and trumpets) before I need to divide, but asiatics multiply readily and may benefit from the division earlier. Oreintals don't divide and multiply too much in this zone, anyway. They are slower growers for me, I could go many years doing nothing and they'd be fine.

Thanks Magnolia, I just put that in my journal.:)

I just bought some Lavendar Plecanthrus. Would that work too?