I have done this a long time ago

What do I need and how big do pots need to be for a trio of bulbs? I am thinking I used 4 in per bulbs...

Depends what kind of lily too. (Obviously, trumpet lilies would need a bigger pot than Stargazers.)

Stargazers and friends - I know I have done this before I just forget how big... and now I have bulbs comeing from the co-op and they are going to have to go in pots! Trumpets - they are stunnning but no... I wish...
There are some Tiger lilies in the bunch coming would they need more?

It is recommended that lilies grown in pots are best served if grown in deep pots. They suggest planting them at the same depth (if possible) as you would normally outside. I usually plant 3 per pot.
Pic is of some Tangos grown in pot last summer.

12" or bigger pot for 3 lilies (trumpets definitely bigger). Plant them deep. Especially if they are stem rooting lilies (as opposed to basal rooting). If you happen to have any coconut coir laying around (ha), it's a very good additive to the soiless mix. Add up to 30% of the coconut coir to the mix. 2 inches of soil on the bottom of the lilies and 4 on top should be good for Orientals.

If you are just going to plant them out in the spring you can use crates. Most lily growers grow them in crates, about 15-20 lilies per crate, Crates are 1ft by 2ft, by 8in deep.

MetroMix 360 is the best formulation I have found for lilies in pots. IDon't use anything with perlite in it.

I use 18" x 18" pots for 10-15 lilies, Asiatics and orientals, but I've got daffs, tulips, grape hyacinth and who knows what else in them, probably 100+ bulbs. I just use ProMix and I add a lot of perlite. Pollyk, why don't you use perlite?

Perfect!!! Thankyou!! That is perfect!!

Mitch, just remember on the pots that if you're in a hot climate, that you take steps to keep the pot protected from the sun over the summer if you want the lilies to return well. The high soil temperatures are not good for promoting strong return. I have some liliums "Satisfaction" I kept in pots for several years (LARGE pots) and they did bloom but never did nearly as well as those kept in the ground, and actually declined somethat in robustness, while the ones planted in the ground got larger and more floriferous. I put them in the ground this fall.

This message was edited Dec 21, 2007 10:57 AM

revclause,

When I started growing lilies for pot sales the info I received with the wholesale purchase said that perlite can cause flouride scorch to the leaves. So I've never used it.

Here's some more info on it.

http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/fact_sheets/specific_crops/lily.html

Obviously yours are doing well!

That's very interesting. Thanks for sending it along. Maybe I should be using something else to facilitate drainage, although I haven't noticed leaf scorch to any great extent.

Good info.. so much to learn. I am going to be in all containers next year so need to know what I need to do for sure....

I wonder if seedlings and young plants are more susceptible to flouride than older mature ones. I have also stayed away from its use, although not completely. What might be in a regular potting mix has never cause a problem for me, but I never added more to the mix.

I read a rather detailed couple of articles that says flouride isn't that much of a problem in perlite 'In fact, it's a shame that fluoride isn't responsible for tip burn more of ten. Fluoride damage is relatively easy to avoid. To counteract the availability of fluoride to plant roots, all you have to do is "sweeten" the soil (raise its pH). Add one teaspoon of gypsum or two teaspoons of limestone to a six-inch pot of soil. Or you can add dolomitic limestone to a batch of potting soil at a rate of five to ten pounds per cubic yard. These liming materials raise the soil pH into a neutral range where the effects of fluoride aren't damaging. It's that simple." From this website: http://www.schundler.com/tipburn.htm The study they link to is at: http://www.schundler.com/florides2.htm Here's another article. http://www.schundler.com/florides2.htm

I'm not going to worry about perlite or flouride for that matter. Especially since I haven't seen leaf burn.

Here's another article on growing lilies that I think is nice. It also mentions not to use the perlite.

http://www.newfarm.org/columns/cut_flowers/2003/oct_2003/lillies.shtml

revclause, I've never tested using perlite. I just started doing what the literature I received said. If it's working well for you, and it obviously is, why change it?

polly, I'd have to agree with you on using Metromix 360. I actually used that mix from a local garden center for all of my potted annual plants and lilies. It provides most excellent drainage, but around here, there is only one place that carries it. I've had problems with other mixes staying too wet too long.

I think the Metromixes are the best. They have excellent drainage, and lots of good woody material. I use the 360 as you do for the lilies, and the annuals, and the 510, which is a little heavier for the shrubs, and most perennials. I get about 30 gallons, I think, from a bag.

It's pricey, though, but I think it's worth it. Here we can buy it in quantity from Griffin Nurseries, I don't know if you have any of those around, Magnolialover.

I overwinter my lilies in the pots, and have had no problem with rot with the Metromix. I really think it beats the varieties normally sold in stores like Miraclegro mix.

If anyone wants to try it, and can't find it, ask at the garden centers, as I think that's what they normally use for their plants.

The Miracle Grow mixes, though at first I thought they were nice, definitely hold too much moisture. A place nearby me, the Flower Factory, in Stoughton , Wi, has an excellent potting mix too. It is not Metromix, but it is some brand made in Illinois. It is even more coarse than the MetroMix360, so overall, I have found these two to be most excellent, but of course I am sharing this, having learned the hard way.

We don't have Griffins around here. I get the Metro360 at Kopkes, which is about 3 miles from me, in rural Oregon, Wi. Must admit, I am very lucky to have a couple great sources of excellent potting mix, very close by ;)

The potting mix makes all the difference, especially when dealing with lily seeds and scales.

The Metro Mix sounds really good. How pricey is it? I've been using Pro Mix which is also pricey.

I think I bought the same size as polly (roughly 30 gallons) for about $12.95. It went a heck of a long way though. I'll be curious as to what polly gets hers for. The place I get it has everything almost too reasonably priced, if that is even possible ;)

Revclaus's link is indeed interesting, but even it remarks there are opposing studies, and says nothing more about them. Now I am not convinced either way.

What is German peat?

Where is our resident chemist? I thought lime was far more caustic than gypsum, yet the link says you need twice as much lime as gypsum to effect the same pH change. Hmmm

And FYI, from the link:

Metromix and Promix actually run about the same price, but I like the Metromix better.

I get it wholesale for 10.00 bag, and our local garden center sells it for just under 14.00.

You sure don't want to order it on line, those bags are heavy. And they have small holes in them to allow the air in, but when they get wet, oh my gosh. Builds muscle, right Magnolialover?

I have never heard of German peat.

Yep, builds muscles, one can only imagine me slinging one of these bags over my shoulder and into the trunk of my Civic. It's a much better feel over the shoulder, than say, what my two weak biceps feel like when they are trying to lift that huge bag. Ugh.

I just have them put it in my car, bring along my cart, and manhandle it into the cart when I get home. Then it's up to DH to get it out on the balcony. And I do that about 3 or 4 times during the summer. I can only handle one bag at a time.

Lefty, I'm with you; that seems to be a screwy statement. I don't think that gypsum is even considered a liming agent. All of those compounds slowly release calcium which combines with the fluoride to sequester it. At a pH near neutral calcium fluoride is less soluble than gypsum, limestone and dolomitic lime.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time researching it but the results/discussion of an independent assessment (aka experiments) would be useful. Note that the links are to a company that makes/sells perlite.

I used to use perlite a lot but now use volcanic pumice instead. But maybe it's full of fluoride too?

Polly, that is a nice article on cut flowers. I enjoyed seeing how others go about it.

Mitch,
How are your brug cuttings from Flowerjunkie doing? I have roots galore in the water only. I have now removed all of the others and placed them in water.

Charlene

Growing already - leaves!!