I bought mixed bags of lilies for the past two years and scattered them about in my various beds. Now that they have bloomed and I see what colors each are, I'd like to group them together by color. Most are blooming now or have buds. When should I dig them up to replant them into color groupings? Most are Asiatic and some are LA's.
Deborah
I need to move some Asiatic lilies, when ?
Your BESTtime is after they start to die back naturally, which usually means fall.
Probably a little earlier for you than for us northern gardeners.
You can move them if you absolutely HAVE to by taking a lot of soil with them and using care not to cut through or break the stems. Repeat after me:Dig deep and wide!
If it was me I would tie a ribbon on the lower stem the color of the bloom and move them this fall.
Gotcha, dig deep and wide in the fall. The colored ribbon suggestion is perfect! Thanks for the reply, Ililyfan.
Your welcome.
We have all moved lilies in the spring and summer and it is possible, you just have to be very careful.
If you have a marker where the bulb is it does make it easier both times of the year (growing and dormant seasons). Some lilies tend to wander around under the soil a bit before emerging. I dug a fall planted bulb this spring, I gently followed the stem with my fingers, moving the soggy soil out of the way as I probed for the bulb. The stem was 11 inches long before it came out of the ground!
Dang!
That's amazing! I didn't know that. I see why you say dig wide now!