Lily virus help

I posted a while back about some of my lilies and the possibility of a virus. After doing some research I am convinced that a few have a virus. In the same area I have a few that aren't infected (right now anyways) and a few that might be but might just need a shot of fertilizer. At this point I'm not sure what I should do. Should I start removing things right away? If I wait and the infected plants spread the virus to the others how long until it shows up? I don't want to start replacing bulbs in the fall until I am sure that all the virus infected plants are gone.

I'm no expert on the matter, but this is my understanding ~

It is believed that all lilies carry at least one virus; when infected with 2 or more is when the lily becomes sickly, or at the very least, unsightly.
If they bloom with mottled coloring, then you will know for certain. Until then I would stay on top of sap-sucking insect control (aphids, thrips, etc.).

Don't be too hasty with digging ~ http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/726144/

Of course we know what you mean, Moby, but just to keep things perfectly clear, that's not entirely true.

All lilies grown from seed are virus free untill they become infected, whenever or ifever that may be. And virus susceptibility greatly varies among specific parentage: for instance, Lilium lancifolium is highly tolerant of multiple viruses, and shows no symptoms, while Lilium candidum and mackliniae are intolerant, and succumb maybe (probably?) with only one virus infection. The two or more virus concept is probably generally true, but there will always be exceptions. Hybrids, especially with the heritage of virus tolerant parents, are usually more virus tolerant.

I echo Moby's advice about not being too hasty. But don't encourage the possible spread by heavy fertilizing and such. It's the nice fast, succulent growth that will atract insect vectors the best. If you can get away without fertilizing at all, that would be the best for insect control. In this case, epsom salts don't count as fertilizer, because they don't contain nitrogen.

I was banking on you to come along with an excellent answer. ;)

Me too. Thanks you guys!

Look at this poor lily! It is one sick plant. I figure it has mosaic virus, but what about those brown leaves? Naturally, this one gets pulled out. It's planted with 5 others that are the same kind, but this is the only one so far that looks like this. I'm still waiting for the others to bloom. There is one with some brown on a leaf, but not like this one. Also, they are planted with Darmera peltata and I noticed that one of the darmera leaves has brown on it. I didn't pull this lily out originally because I wasn't sure what was wrong with it. Any thoughts? I'm just sick about it. Last year these were beautiful!

Definitely some bad mojo there. Notice the brown leaves have a maroon tinge to them. That's not normal browning of lily leaves or botrytis (disease). It is also indicative of virus (but not alsways), as it is on some other kinds of plants too.

Be sure to wash your hands well and "sterilize" any tools that may have come in contact with any of the plant parts, so you don't spread the malady around. I use a flame, but rubbing alcohol does well too.

OOh, thanks for the feedback about the leaves. I was worried that those were not a normal browning. I've never seen anything like it. And last year these were just fabulous! The lily is called 'pep talk'. I checked on them tonight and there is a little browning on one other plant, but only on one or two leaves and it doesn't have that maroon cast.

Can lily virus keep lilies from setting bud? I have some other lilies that were so beautiful last year and this year I got only 1 flower on one stalk. Every other stalk was both shorter than last year and did not set any buds. I've dug up two of the bulbs and they look fine. Any ideas?

Virus can reduce the vigor in the plants, presenting the symptoms you say, but more likely it is due to something else. That something else could be one or many of other factors that could reduce vigor: low light, too much or too little water, poor soil, insect ifestation, etc.

If these lilies had their first growing season in 2007, sometimes lilies just need to settle in. The first season after planting the bulbs, it is sometimes good practice to pinch off a few buds that the plant would normally bloom, while leaving a few to bloom. A new environment can be as stressful on a plant as a drought. As you become a more experienced gardener, you'll learn to notice if a plant is "happy" blooming, or struggling to produce blooms, even when the flowers are about the same size.

P.S. When I find the marooning of lily leaves, but nothing else that indicates a virus, I usually leave the plant alone and don't pull it out. But I keep a good watch on it.

Thanks, leftwood. I'm fairly experienced, just not with lilies for that long. That's why these kind of took me by surprise. Maybe they do just need to settle in since the stalks looked very healthy, they just didn't produce blooms. Considering the abundance of blooms last year, it struck me as strange that I had only one bloom on one stalk this year. That's why when another gardener came over and looked at them, we dug some out - to take a look at the bulbs and make sure nothing was eating them. They are fine. Just no blooms. Everything else in that bed blooms the way it should and seems pretty happy, or it doesn't stay there long. I'll leave them another year and see what happens.

Just found this... I had a Casa Blanca that looked like that! I dug it out this morning to check the bulb...I had cut off the buds last week. I replanted in a slighly different spot with well ammened soil.