Lilies and frost danger?

I enjoy my crazy neighbor and his crazy lawn tactics, but I find mowing in snow a bit over the top. Perhaps he thinks all of my plantings are crazy too. That is, until I give him a piece of my famous homemade blueberry cheesecake, made with fresh blueberries from Bayfield , Wi. in August, then he doesn't care what I do ;0), cause it doesn't much matter. Lol!

might get down to 23 degrees will covering save the lilies

I'm hoping it will..... It did last night w/ a low of 27.

We hit 20° last night and everything looked good today after using every available pot, bucket, towel, basket, garbage can, box and sled I could find. Guess they'll be staying in place until Sunday.

This message was edited Apr 5, 2007 12:33 AM

We're getting a few nights in the 20s in a row too. Is it ok to just leave the pots over the lilies till the cold nights are over (3-4days)? I was thinking I would have to cover and uncover everyday.

Most of my lilies were just breaking ground, so I just raked to cover them. Crossing my fingers until this cold passes...

Gemini Sage, I have this problem every year with lilies in zone 5a. I put pots or (if there is enough clearance) pot holders on top of the liles and leave them for days. The difference this year is that the lilies are much smaller. I usually go through this much later in April, when they are much bigger and at much more risk. And yes! You can leave them for days. There is not need to remove them during the day (mine are on day 3).

This message was edited Apr 5, 2007 6:07 PM

I guess I look at it this way, if they get nipped, so be it. I won't like it, but they will still grow and since they might not produce a flower this year all the energy will go back into the bulb for them to be bigger and better next year... (or at least I keep telling my self that... )

Diann

A good cheesecake can rival my chocolate addiction, I mean affection, any day.
Especially if . . . well . . . I think you can figure that out yourself.

Aaahh, very good. I was able to mound the mulch up around several, and a few are covered with pots with rocks on top. The whole time I'm thinking these will blow off and break them anyway, LOL. I usually don't cover anything and let them take care of themselves, but had to baby a few this year.

I'm in zone 8b and I guess I'll need to cover my lilies with the freeze warning coming up for the next 3 days. My question is do I need to uncover them during the day when our temps are going to be in the low 50's? And also, do I need to cover my daylily buds also? Thanks so much!!!

I don't think you need to uncover for the duration. ANything you don't want to lose, I'd cover.

at what temp do lilies get nipped? i have asiatics up and in bloom. we are scheduled for lows of 38 to 35 f. i am holding sleeping cat off key board. it makes shfit key hard to use. grin.

beth

Beth, yours will be just fine. They would need to get below 32, probably below 30 even, to damage them.

Well, I am glad for mine and hoping things go well for you. My first asiatic opened today and others are in bud000000000000000000.3. as you can see the cat is back.

And gone again. She would rather be with my daughter, but if Jen is out of the room or otherwise not available I get to be the cat cushion. I have never seen such a lap sitter in my life. We have had her less than six weeks, but she acts like we raised her from a kitten.

Good luck to all with the cold snap.

Beth

Not a forecast I wanted to see after everything except my lilies was sprouting...(1 orienpet is) It will be interesting to see what survives 2 weeks of 20's at night.
http://weather.wfrv.com/US/WI/Green_Bay.html

I'm not holding out a lot of hope for blooms from my lilies this year. Last night was 16º and the night before 18º and daytime highs were only about 27 and 30. Most of my lilies were up, some several inches and leaves already unfurled.

Even lost some in the potting house which is on the south end of the garage.

Trying not to be negative but it seems the weather will be particularly brutal on plants this year. Going from 30 degrees above ave. to 20-30 below ave. Some cities had record lows :*( llilyfan do you have a lot of lilies?

It hit 25 here. But I covered 99% of my lilies and I have soaker hose under them that I ran every 5 or 6 hours they look unharmed. Its funny a few that I did not cover the Asiatic shrugged it off if close to the house or under shrubs but the trumpet right next to them got wasted.
The lilies in my backyard It has a steep slope and and tree cover by 100 year old oaks. They look fine.
Dennis


This message was edited Apr 7, 2007 11:52 AM

I don't have a big yard or very many lilies, so I am thinking of putting mulch on them in the fall and not taking it off until mid April next year.

Hi Everyone;
I feel very much at home here at last. We had temp. dipped down in the mid 30F. and wind 10-15mph sort-a keeping thing stirred. Beeing by the water, lake-side, also helps. But I too am concerned about my lilies as well, and other tender perennials. First thing I did in the morning was surveying my garden, so far so good. Keep a watchful eyes, and do the best we can.

I have to say , either way is a crap-shoot. I think leaving mulch on them for the warm temps we had for days does its own harm. Under cover only to get 19 degree temps., then blankets. I have too much stuff to cover, to blanket everything. Perhaps I need to take up stock in Bed Bath & Beyond (lol!) then buy for next year. I know for certain that I have a group of Black Beauties that are on the parameter of our property that are "toast" due to the freeze.

This message was edited Apr 7, 2007 6:28 PM

The idea of mulch is the help regulate the temperature fluctuations of the outside air and its influence on the ground. Last week when I took off the 6" high leaf pile from my orientals the ground was still quite cold, almost frozen. In essence it is sort of like planting the bulbs deeper.
On a trip to a park with sand dunes, when I was a kid, I was digging a hole in the side of a dune and found frost only 6-8" down. This was in July on the south side facing the sun!

Dennis,

Your comment is interesting (about which lilies bit the dust and which did not) because 2 years ago, when I failed to cover my lilies, asiatics that were exposed to the most severe conditions were fine but trumpets with less severe exposure (Regale and Amethyst Trumpet) were damaged or destroyed. Since then I have kept a closer eye on my trumpets. Does this mean that people who can only protect some of their lilies should prioritize them in a similar way?

Donna

I had 8 inches of chopped leaves over all of my gardens, but as I carefully dug, on day 3 in the 80s I noticed some pure white stalks up 3 inches, out of the ground, under all of that mulch. Another worry about that amount of mulch and warm weather are slugs. These are issues from direct experience here over the last few years.
Maybe the Black Beauty clump will bounce back. It doesn't look good out there right now though. I hope she comes through and surprises me. She's a toughy and is a strong grower here.
DonnaMack, interesting about your findings as well. The lilies I would tend to worry about the most are the pickier orientals, but then a lot of them aren't up yet. Surprising that trumpets crumpted with the weather and the asiatics did fine. Your climate is pretty much the same to what I have here.
DH is in the weather biz and he keeps telling me that this huge temp drop is very normal. These studies are done in 30 year intervals. I guess in the end, we here in the midwest, have a great sense of what is hardy and what is not. To make it here, you (as a person and a plant ;0) ) have to be very hardy and withstand all sorts of temp variations and weather related woes.

intercessor, I think you are right about the weather being brutal on plants this year. I have somewhere around 1000 lily planted in my yard and gardens. What I have found interesting is that my heavily mulched lilies were up and out before those that aren't nearly as heavily mulched. Of course when you go from a week of 70-80's to three nights of deep freeze with no thaw during the day...................well, you know the scenario.

Kooger was just trying to cheer me up, reminding me of tales of monsterous increases in bulb production for next year:-)

Indeed this weather is a brutal test.

Looks like 99% of my lilies made it (4 days of low's
about 25 degrees.)

That is great Dennis. Looks like the temps are going to start to get higher over the next week.

My LA hybrids got it the worst, even some that were covered are flat and mushy. The rest look fine and temps are on the rise as of today. Oh well, It wont be a hassle to dig the bulbs to move now.

Very few of my lilies were up, and those that were - were up only an inch at best. I think things are going to be ok.

Diann

If a lily stem was killed this year could the bulb be put in the fridge for 6 weeks and planted to grow again this year? It is only April 10th :*)

Hmmmmmmmmm. Good question.

Okay, another question...
Forecast is for 6-7 inches of snow. Do you remove the blankets or keep them on? I guess I am worrying about the weight of the snow. The snow won't last here, because the soil isn't that cold. But it might last a day or two.

Take the sheet/blanket off. The snow will act as insulation... But I didn't cover anything to begin with, so.... I went out and looked last night after a week of being in the 20s and below and everything looked remarkably well. Peonies were happy, Tree peony even looked unfazed. Tulips & daffys were a bit sad, but they will be ok. I don't generally cover things in the spring or fall, I just take my lumps and move forward.

Diann

We have 3" on the ground and more coming. And another big storm predicted for Fri. - maybe over a foot of that white 'stuff'! Stop!!! Thanks, but we have enough! :)

Found my Lycoris squamigera's coming up. Now I remember, I think, that I replanted that one deeper last fall, so I hopefully wouldn't have to deal with protecting it. Amazingly resilient. They are up about an inch through this weather that has been down to 12 degrees, and no discernable damage. The petal edges of my Pulsatilla are crisped. But all my other ones aren't even elongating yet.

In regards to Post #3375273, I think the bulb has to do the photosynthesis again to get the strength to put that stalk up again, so perhaps cutting it off and starting over when it hasn't done that will be to the detriment of the bulb.

My trees and lilac bushes are budding out. Peonies don't mind, but the A load of wood chips arrived, so I buried my lily noses more. The ones that were 2-4 inches tall by the house re pretty much mush. :( The snow is wet & mushy and pretty much destroying the daffodils that tried to bloom. Not a good spring so far...

Mag, I am referring to the lilies that have had a complete failure of the stem this year.