So I just got one Nepalense bulb. I am wondering if I should store it or plant it now. Although most of Southern lower Michigan is zone 5b I am in the city of Detroit and I'm pretty sure we are 6b. which is listed as the same as Branson Missouri!
Is there a technique for keeping it dryer during the winter than it might normally be? I have read that this is desirable for this one.
Thanks
L. Nepalense; how to keep dry over the winter?
I put my in a large pot & stored it over the winter in the basement. The lily came back this year, but, the squirrels or chipmunk ate the top off. I'm storing it in the basement again & hope it comes back next year.
Debbie
Thanks. It looks like there are others wondering about it too since there have been 12 views and only your reply since this morning. Anybody else have any suggestions for successful fall planting?
I have read that some lift their nepalense bulb, yearly, and store it in the frig with barely moist sphagnum moss. I myself received a nepalense bulb in December 2007, and stored it in the frig until this past spring when I planted it out in the garden. It worked fine. The trick, IMO, is the correct moisture content: enough to keep the bulb from dehydrating, but not so much as to promote mold/fungi. Remember that barely moist peat at room temperature somehow becomes "more moist" in colder temps. If free water condenses inside the bag, then it is too moist.
Alternatively, you could plant the bulb outside under a raised mound, and cover the mound with a sheet of plastic, keeping the soil and bulb dry (but not too dry).
The worst thing that can happen (besides just having poorly draining soil) is planting in the fall in a clay base soil that still drains fine, and without the aforementioned plastic sheet. Because of water retention properties of disturbed soils of this type, drainage may actually be worse, until the soil settles and regains its natural integrity. In cold temps, this natural integrity may not return until next spring.
Lefty, how cold is cold-are we talking about your Minnesota kind of cold, or my PNW kind of cold?
I keep mine in a pot on my covered front porch or under my eaves where it is not exposed to the incessant PNW winter rains. I check for moisture and water as need. Potting mix must allow water to flow quickly through. I also have a potful of seedlings. This is in Zone 8.
L. Nepalense seedlings, or do you mean other seedlings? I'm slow tonight.
how cold is cold-are we talking about your Minnesota kind of cold, or my PNW kind of cold?
If you are talking about cold temps in relation to the soil settling and regaining its natural soil integrity, then probably my zone 4(and colder) to about zone 6. This is because of soil freezing, which holds the entire process in stasis or causes other damage, and the generally colder soil temps that severely slows or stops other chemical reactions and soil flora and fauna. It is quite complex, and I can say with certainty that I don't understand it all yet. Temperature is only a part of the picture., but a major player.
At any rate, here in MN and in heavy soil that normally is fine for lilies, I try to transplant marginally hardy lilies in early fall (or maybe even spring), rather than later as I do with other lilies. Or I will protect them from winter wet or improve the soil tilth.
Sue, I have nepalense seedlings as well as many others. They are all kept out of the rain. Also any lilies I have in pots. I have some in a large cedar planter that I cover over for the winter. Let me tell you I learned the hard way on this one. I lost many in 1 gal pots that I left out in the middle of the garden for the winter. This happened in my earlier naive days of lily growing.
Yeah, I took a big risk last winter leaving a few large pots out. I've been moving a lot of stuff around this fall so I won't spend all winter worrying this year.
So, how are the Nepalense seedlings doing? How long does it take them to get to blooming size?
Sue, the seedlings are doing pretty good. I don't have as many as I started (late Nov. '06) but that means the strongest are still holding on. One put out out a whimpy little stem this year so perhaps next year it will have a maiden bloom. These are the variety robustum that I obtained from the NALS seed exchange and donated by Ed McRae.