LILY BULBS FOR THE SUMMER GARDEN

There are number of plants that are referred to in their ordinary name as lily bulbs like daylily or peace lily but these are just not dyed-in-the-wool true lily bulbs. The real lily belongs to the Lilium family and is produced from a bulb made of overlapping scales and has no cover to protect the outside of the bulb. The bulbs have very rigid stems with strap like leaves. The developing flower at the top of the stem is large and quite flashy in your garden. They come in quite a variety of shapes and sizes and many have the sweet smell of a perfum like fragrance.

This beautiful lily 'Landini" made its first appearance in my garden this summer. This is by far the darkest Asiatic lily available today. The most interesting way to display these lily bulbs is to plant it with a contrasting white lily. It is good from zones 3-8. The most striking thing about this plant,besides its stunning flowers,was the absolute shine of its foliage. It appeared to have been waxed while the foliage was growing. I will certainly be purchasing more of these lily bulbs next spring for my summer garden.

I got a little excitied here about this but they truly are beauties. The most popular lily bulbs are defintely the Oriental and Asiatic. The Asiatic are the most carefree to plant in your garden. The reasons are several. You can put way your stakes,they are not particularly prone to any one type of soil,as long as proper drainage exists. The Oriental is also gaining popularity because these lily bulbs possess large exotic looking flowers and a pentrating sweet perfume. These can be grown in any of the zones as long as you have some acidity,organic soil,and it drains well. They should also be thickly mulched in the fall.

The Easter Lily,which is very popular in the flowering pot world,will not survive in the Northern winter. I have attempted to keep them over winter with a very heavy mulch but got only several seasons of return flowers but not quite as excellent as when they were in the pot. If they do make it the blooms will arrive in August quite a few months past its label of Easter Lilies.

LILY BULBS WHEN TO PLANT AND HOW

Plant lily bulbs in groups of identical bulbs using maybe three to five bulbs. The spacing should be at least eight to twelve inches apart. It is also best to keep each grouping at least 3 to 5 feet apart based on the size and hardiness of the plant. The large bulbs plant 4 to 6 inches in depth and the smaller bulbs 2 to 4 inches in depth. It is a good gardening practice to divide and replant growing clusters every three years. This can usually be determined by a reduction in flowering.

It is prudent to keep your lily bulbs away from water that might collect in your garden. These bulbs are very susceptible to rot and,where your soil is dominated by clay,mix a good organic matter in a large quantity to assist in raising the area with hopes of improved drainage. By the way,do not neglect the use of organic material in sandy soil to retain the nutritional value of the soil and to prevent it from becoming too dry.

LILY BULBS REQUIRE PROPER MULCHING

The beautiful white lily is a good contrasting companion to the black lily. Now if these are newly planted lily bulbs coming out of their first summer by all means cover the bulbs with 4 to to 6 inches of mulch. It is not necessary to pack it down just apply in a loose fashion around the bulbs. Now I am going to give you a hint which nobody else will ever tell you about: Apply the mulch before the soil freezes unlike other plants or shrubs where the advise is usually to apply after freezing. What this accomplishes is the roots are then given the opportunity to grow just a bit longer. This can assist the bulb in the spring in its new growth and it also gives the soil insulation to help in the slow down of tender shoots from being attacked by the spring frost. In northern areas you may want to mulch your more mature bulbs against the fact that snow maybe less available than normal. They usually require no extra protection but I mulch mine after the ground has frozen which is usually in November.

LILY BULBS AND SPRINGTIME CHORES

There maybe a period when the anxious lily bulbs are sending up shoots before the weather is just right. Leave enough mulch behind to cover them up again if the frost raises its ugly head. A good fertilizer should be applied such as 5-10-10.

The bulbs are not bothered by many insects but pesky rabbits and slugs can be a challenge. I use garlic sticks available from a garden supplier to ward off the rabbits. Just clip them to the emerging shoots or stick them in the soil around your lilies. This works better than anything else I have ever used. Of course with slugs you need some slug pellet control. The only annoying insect can be Aphids which you can find on our insect page. The insect web page will provide you with the scoop to control aphids

There is a fungus which comes as a result of too much damp and wet weather. It can be the direct result of too much evening watering. This is followed by the appearance of reddish and brown leaf spots. It would be better to water in the early day to allow evaporation rather than water clinging to the straps all night. If you cannot water during the morning hours then direct the water at the base of the plant preventing the straps or leaves from becoming moisture laden. It is also good idea to have proper plant spacing between your clusters which assist in good air movement.

I must remind you of one thing do not cut off the stems or foliage because they continue to provide strength to the plant for the following season. You can remove the dead stems and foliage in the fall.

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