Yes, I want lillies really badly but I am in lily hell. Each time I plant them, they come up and bloom (sometimes) but then they are never heard from again. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong.
Are they susceptible to squirrels like tulips? If so, I could plant some daffodils around them. They get plenty of water, have good drainage. What ph do they prefer and what kind of fertilizer and how often?
I am really in a pickle.
Lily hell
Have you ever dug around to find a bulb? Did you find a rotten bulb, or nothing at all? Moles, voles?
Lilies like a neutral to slightly acid pH. If you have reasonably decent soil then they don't require a great deal of fertilization other than a basic bulb food. Some folks have a strict regimen for their lily feedings but it isn't a necessity.
My money is on the varmints. But the real thing to do is dig for them when they don't show up as expected in the spring. When you plant, bury a stick right next to the bulb so you will know EXACTLY where it is.
I find nothing. I don't have voles and this year no moles either. So it has to be the squirrels. My soil is quite acid so maybe a little lime would be good for them. What do you mean by a good bulb food? Like what's in it? Is there a brand name you prefer? Or do you just use some regular fertilizer and some bone meal?
I've had squirrels dig around where I've planted lilies but they can't get as deep as the bulbs are buried. Here is some info about fertilizers http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/AAMG/bulbs/ferthardybulbs.html
You might consider having a soil analysis done so that you know just what you're dealing with and can proceed in the right direction.
So, do you see holes where the squirrels have dug up your lilies? If they are responsible you'd think you'd see where they were digging. It's not like they are going to try to hide what they've been doing....
I assume then, that you don't have gophers either. I still think about the very first lily I grew, Lilium michiganense, given to me when I was about 12 years old by a Cajun friend of my parents. I nurtured it to 8-10 stalks before it was completely undermined by gophers. (I love puns.)
Even if your soil was very acid, like pH 5, and even if the lilies didn't like it, I wouldn't think they would keel over in just one season. I would expect them to slowly decline (over years) to nothing. While there are a couple species that actually prefer alkaline soils, like L. amabile, it's doubtful that that trait is expressed in many hybrids. I haven't seen any problems with lilies growing in northern MN where the pH is 5.5-5.8 or less. I just don't think thats the problem.
Exactly which lily hybrids are you growing? Perhaps they are ones that need a colder winter?
I had some disappear too...just in one area, but I haven't dug for them yet...only spot they didn't return though.
If critters are the problem you can make a box out of 1" chicken wire, about 9" square. Bury it so the top of the box is a couple inches below the soil line, plant your blub at the correct depth for you climate, bend the lid down and finish covering. If your bulbs don't return then I would suspect disease (are diseases that fast?).
The Dutch are hybridizing Easter Lilies (longflorum) and we can now grow lily in low chill areas (z 9-10). Here is one that I have had for 2 yrs>
just things like star gazer; all orientals. Dizzy, etc.
I agree with the earlier assessment that your problem is most likely damage from voles. Moles eat insects and worms, but voles eat bulbs and plant roots!
Almost every single lily in my garden disappeared over the past winter due to voles. I'm heartbroken over it and have been waging an all-out battle this summer against these marauders. The few lilies that were left are now growing in pots until I get the vermin issue under control.
If you are considering making your own bulb cages, and I will probably end up doing that myself, I would use a narrow guage wire abt 1/4" in diam. Voles are about the size of small mice and we all know mice can get through very tiny holes anywhere they want access. If your problems are caused by a gopher or a squirrel, the larger 1" chicken wire will be fine.
Another thing, don't make the mistake I did and allow a thick mulch of fallen leaves to lay on your beds. I did that for years with no problem whatsoever, until this past winter when the voles moved into town. They love the warmth and security of a nice thick pile of mulch. I literally handed them my beautiful lilies for snacks, along with a nice warm bed to lounge in during the winter.
I've had no luck with any of the granular deterrants, nor with any of the noxious homemade brews that I poured into their burrows. I've read that the best way to eliminate them is by using traps in or near their burrows. I hesitate to try that for fear of killing the little chipmunk who hangs around from time to time.
I'm going with a continued program of eliminating the Japanese Beetle grubs that attract moles (they build most of the tunnels), which are followed by voles who use the mole burrows for easy access. From now on, all my lily bulbs will go into bulb cages that I fashion myself. My tulips and other Spring bulbs (not hyacinths or daffodils) will go into raised beds that are lined with narrow guage wire before the soil and bulbs are put into place, and I'll lay chicken wire on top of the soil to deter squirrels from digging up the newly planted bulbs.
It seems like a lot of work and it is. But, if you want the beauty and scent of lilies throughout your garden next summer, you'll know that it's worth whatever it takes. And the butterflies, don't forget the butterflies and the hummingbirds that those lilies will attract. Go for it!!
Rose
This message was edited Aug 3, 2008 9:33 PM
So I am supposed to line the bottom and sides of the hole with hardware cloth. I can try that. I saw no vole holes, and believe, after one year's infestation, I know what they look like and what a wreckage they can wreak.
It certainly can't hurt to line the holes with hardware cloth. But, the absence of holes about the size of a ping pong ball or smaller every five feet or so, makes me wonder if your problem is voles or not.
I can't imagine what else it could be, unless your lilies were subject to poor drainage last winter and they rotted away underground. Have you taken trowel in hand and carefully dug down looking for the remains of any lily bulbs?
I'd still go with the hardware cloth preventative. You'll be keeping the burrowing rodents out of those lily and tulip beds. Right now, I'm envisioning having my husband help me dig a long narrow trench all around the perimeter of each of my perennial beds. I'm thinking 18" deep to be on the safe side and lining it with narrow guage wire that would extend about 6" above the ground level; for a total of 24" of verticle wire. Then I'd use good-sized granite rocks to cover up the wire extending above ground.
With him swinging an axe and me supervising, I don't think it should take too awful long for us to build a perimeter barrier around each of the beds. One long bed is already a raised bed that's relatively safe, and that would leave two other beds in need of protection.
Hope this works out for you. I see many lilies in your future gardens.
Rose