Lily bulbs: when to replant? Caring for lilies after flowering

I love lilies! In general, I love a lot of things, but I like lilies somehow differently than cabbage, for example. Probably because they are more beautiful. Although cabbage also grows beautiful... But with lilies it’s easier.

I’ll tell you a little about how they should be grown and quite a bit about how best not to grow them.

To grow lilies in a garden plot, we will need: • garden plot - 1 pc. • lily bulbs - to taste. The most problem-free are Asian hybrids . In fact, I am writing about them... • sand, peat - a bucket for an onion.

How to properly care for garden lilies?

Caring for garden lilies has its own nuances:

1. water the flowers only at the root, since waterlogging of the leaves can lead to the appearance of gray rot;
2. the top layer of soil, in which the aerial roots of the garden lily are located, should not be allowed to overheat and dry out; for this purpose, the ground is mulched with peat or humus;

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Excavation and storage of planting material

For storage for the winter, they dig up bulbs of those species that, due to the climate, will not survive wintering, plants aged 4-5 years, intended for “dispersal,” as well as the smallest bulbs, the so-called “babies.”

Digging is carried out from mid-August to early September (depending on the characteristics of the grown hybrids), focusing on yellowing and lodging of the foliage

Planting material must be treated with special preparations for preventive purposes and placed in a shallow box with dry sand or sawdust. The box is placed in a dark, well-ventilated place with little air humidity, ensuring as low a positive temperature as possible during storage. Some gardeners use wood litter intended for pet litter trays, considering them to be quite sterile. It is allowed to store the bulbs in a cardboard box filled with floral shavings, in bags with wet peat in the refrigerator (in the vegetable compartment).

The material in which the bulbs will lie must be disinfected: the sawdust is steamed and dried well, the sand is calcined.

Care should also be taken to ensure that rodents do not get to the sweet bulbs in winter, especially if storage is planned in the basement or subfloor of the house. Experienced gardeners use fine-mesh metal mesh, wrapping containers, for example, with pieces of chain-link or placing bulbs in egg baskets.

It would be useful to periodically check the condition of the planting material. The bulbs are removed, cleaned of signs of mold and rot, treated with antiseptic agents and removed again. TMDT powder is very effective in this regard.

Martagons are distinguished by their large size (up to 150 cm in height), abundant flowering, drooping shape of flowers, the petals of which are curled up

Some species (in particular, tiger and martagon) have a curious feature. In the axils of the leaves they form aerial buds - “bulbs”, which are also used for reproduction. They are not stored until spring, but are sown in a separate container, a kind of “nursery”. Miniature grown bulbs measuring at least two centimeters can already be stored using the method described above. Although, as paradoxical as it sounds, the “bulbs” sown in open ground do not freeze out even in the cold months. Apparently, thanks to the mechanisms laid down by nature itself, they are well preserved without unnecessary hassle.

General recommendations

1. In the first year, it is best to remove the bulk of the flowers; you can leave 1 - 2 buds.
2. During flowering, the stems can be tied to a support to prevent bending or breaking the stems.
3. Faded flowers must be cut off.
4. Cut flower stalks only in autumn!
5. Oriental hybrids need to create an autumn without rain, since they overwinter in dried soil. To do this, plantings of this hybrid can be covered with film during rains, and opened in dry weather. This technique is relevant in Siberia for the months of September and October.
6. If for the visual beauty of a flower garden it is necessary to remove the stems earlier, then do this: after the last bud has flowered, cut the stem no more than 23, preferably 12. And be sure to carry out 2 additional fertilizing with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers to compensate for the lack of a stem (the most important thing for a lily is not the stem itself, and the leaves, which are the storage of necessary substances for the bulb for its full ripening).
7. If the bulbs that were purchased in winter or spring have a large sprout (at least 6 cm), then it must be planted in the ground at an angle.
8. If the lily does suffer from gray rot, then you need to change the place where it is planted, without thinking about what year you are planting it.
9. All scales with rusty and brown spots must be removed immediately.
10. Rotten areas must be thoroughly cleaned or even cut with a knife to healthy tissue, washed with potassium permanganate and powdered with ash.
11. If the plant has suffered greatly from gray rot, then feeding must be continued! Since it is not the stem that needs feeding, but the bulb, which continues to exist in a healthy form.

Soil preparation

When choosing soil for different varieties of lilies, pay special attention to the soil. These plants do not tolerate loams and salt marshes well. But peat lands are the best option for lilies.

Plants of the daylily family do not tolerate drought well, even in the shade, but waterlogging should not be allowed, as the bulbs may rot.

The key to flower health is the application of fertilizing when planting the bulbs. Here are some tips regarding preparing soil for lily flowers and fertilizing:

• if the acidity of soil samples is higher than average, it needs to be neutralized: wood ash is added to the ground;
• ideal fertilizers are compost and humus; it is also good to fertilize with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers;
• To ensure that individual plants develop well in the shade and are beautiful, prepare the soil by providing a drainage layer of expanded clay and fertilizing with peat. Sand is the third layer that needs to be added.

It is also allowed to fertilize the peat soil on which lily flowers grow after planting with a third layer of sand, leaves or sawdust.

Lilies after flowering.

After flowering, you should under no circumstances cut out the stems with foliage! For some reason, a considerable part of flower lovers do not know this. That is, you probably know, but most of my acquaintances, for some reason, unlike you, do not know.

It is the leaves that will work until autumn, storing food in the bulb for flowering next year. But it is better to remove the seed pods immediately after flowering, so that those same leaves do not waste energy feeding the seeds you don’t need.

Well, I told him what I could. I would be glad to see photos of your lilies on our forum or comments on the article - in the comments to the article?

You can continue our entertaining lily growing on our forum.

Diseases and pests of lilies

Lily diseases

Lilies are affected by many diseases, but most often they suffer from fusarium, gray and sclerotial rot, rust and penicillosis.

Fusarium infection occurs mainly in places of mechanical damage to the roots, and then the pathogens rise through the vascular system to the ground organs. The fungi that cause the disease are transmitted by nematodes and some rodents. The roots, bottoms, central and outer parts of the bulb and the base of the stem rot in the affected plants. In the fight against fusarium, soil disinfection with formaldehyde is recommended. It is better to destroy diseased plants, and treat the rest with a solution of Fundazol, Euparen, Topsin-M or Bavistin.

Gray rot, or botrytis, can affect any part of the plant. Signs of the disease are round brown spots with a reddish rim, which, as they grow, merge with each other and become covered with a gray coating. The same chemicals are used against gray rot as for fusarium, but achieving a positive result in both cases is not easy. It is recommended to etch the bulbs before planting.

Sclerotial rot covers lily bulbs with white mycelium with black sclerotia. The disease is focal in nature and progresses with increased acidity and soil moisture. To prevent sclerotial rot from affecting your lilies, do not plant the bulbs too close to each other. Find an area with neutral or slightly acidic soil for your lilies. If you find that your flowers have been affected by this disease, do not grow lilies in this place for at least five years, fill the areas with ash or bleach and reduce watering of healthy plants for a while. Avoid mechanical damage to the planting material and do not forget to etch it before planting.

Rust appears on lily leaves as small colorless spots, which gradually increase in size and become yellow. Over time, dark brown pustules appear on the stems. They develop spores that will infect young plants in the spring. In case of mild rust damage, diseased leaves are collected and destroyed. Frequent fertilizing with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers and spraying with solutions of Zineb, Ditan, Cuprosan and colloidal sulfur with the addition of liquid soap are effective against the disease.

Penicillosis is a widespread dangerous disease that covers rotting flowers and bulbs with a green coating. To avoid infection, the planting material is etched with TMTD solution, protected from mechanical damage, and diseased plants are sprayed with Zineb solution.

In addition to fungal diseases, lilies suffer from viral infections spread by intracellular parasites. The difficulty is that no medicine has yet been invented against viruses, so diseased lilies must be removed and burned. For preventive purposes, it is recommended to follow cultural agricultural practices, treat planting material and promptly destroy weeds and sucking pests, which are the main carriers of viral infections.

Pests of lilies

More than ten different pests have been registered that parasitize lilies. Among them are the lily fly, click beetles, root-knot and stem nematodes, onion hoverflies, thrips, onion root mite, onion leaf beetle, purple cutworm and aphids - greenhouse and lily. However, let's talk about those that are found on lilies more often than others.

The onion leaf beetle makes oblong-rounded holes in the leaves or eats leaves along the edges, and its larvae leave only the skeleton of the leaves. To prevent leaf beetles from appearing on lilies, it is necessary to regularly control weeds, and if beetles do appear, they are collected by hand, and the lilies are sprayed with infusions of wormwood, pollinated with Pyrethrum and treated with Chlorophos solution during the period of larval growth.

The purple cutworm, or potato cutworm, is dangerous because of its caterpillars that damage shoots and eat away stems. As a result of the activity of the caterpillars, the shoots wither and break off. The caterpillars hatch on weeds in May and move to crop plants in June. In the fight against cutworms, you need to destroy weeds and remove all plant debris from the site in the fall.

Onion root mite is a small light yellow pest up to 1.1 mm long that lives in the soil and penetrates the bulb through wounds or the bottom, slowing down the growth and development of the plant. The leaves of a lily infected with mites die and turn yellow. You can destroy the mite by watering the plant at the root with Keltan solution. For prevention purposes, it is necessary to pickle the planting material with a solution of Karbofos, Keltan or heat treat it in water heated to 50 ºC for 5 minutes.

The onion hoverfly is a fly with a green body that shimmers with metal. Lilies are damaged by their legless larvae, which eat away the bulb. Affected plants are stunted and may even die. During the egg-laying period, you need to treat the lilies on the leaves with thirty percent Karbofos, and the larvae are watered with an infusion of ash (half a kilo of ash per 10 liters of water), spending 5 liters of infusion on each plant.

How to plant correctly? Instructions

1. Before planting, dig the soil 25-30 cm deep. Add a bucket of sand and peat per 1 m² to heavy soil, and only peat to light soil. Or prepare a soil mixture for lilies: turf soil, peat and humus - 1:1:1. For flowers that prefer slightly acidic soil (Asian (tiger), Oriental, LA hybrids, OT hybrids), you can make the following substrate: turf soil, peat, sand and pine litter - 1:1:1:1.
2. Depending on the fertility of the soil, add 1-2 buckets of compost or humus per 1 m². This is enough for lilies growing in slightly acidic soil. And for Tubular hybrids, snow-white lilies and Martagon, you need to add 200-500 g per 1 m² of wood ash or dolomite flour to reduce the acidity of the soil.
3. Mix all the ingredients well with garden soil and dig a planting hole or furrow of the required depth. Usually twice as deep as the recommended planting depth for bulbs (+10-15 cm to it) or in most cases - 20-30 cm.
4. Test the bulb in the hole at the recommended depth. Place a layer of soil mixture and then sand at the bottom of the hole. You can pour a mound of sand and place an onion with straightened roots in it, or simply pour a 2-3 cm layer.

   
   Planting pit with sand mound

5. Place the bulbs at the required distance, straighten their roots and fill the voids on the sides with soil substrate. Water the planting grooves (holes) with a small amount of water.
6. Fill the planting hole or furrow completely with the soil mixture and water it generously for better rooting. After the soil subsides, sprinkle it on top and water it again.
7. Asian, Oriental and LA Hybrids must be mulched with a 3-5 cm layer of peat or pine sawdust, litter or small shavings (increase the acidity of the soil). As mulch for Tubular hybrids, white lily and Martagon, use leaf humus with wood ash (3:1).
8. When planting in the fall, it is recommended to place a film on top of the mulch, and spruce branches and leaves under it. Such shelter for the winter must be done before the first autumn rains and is mandatory for Eastern hybrids, since in their natural habitat it is dry in autumn and winter. Asian hybrids, LA hybrids and OT hybrids do not need to be covered with film.
9. In spring, remove the film, spruce branches and leaves from the planting site as early as possible, immediately after the final melting of the snow (Moscow region: late March - early April), so as not to damage the sprouts. There is no need to rake the mulch; it is useful for retaining moisture.

Covering with film for the winter

Only dry soil can be covered with film. If it rains already in September, then lay the film and place leaves and spruce branches under it only after the top layer of the earth has frozen (also one of the ways to protect the bulbs from mice).

In a sheltered planting site, the ground does not freeze much longer, and the roots of the plant continue to develop until severe frosts occur. Since their root system is capable of growing even at slightly above-zero temperatures.

How to plant an onion with a sprout?

It is better to plant an onion with a too large and curved sprout (longer than 5 cm) at an angle, i.e. carefully place it on its side so that it looks up and does not break off. If the sprout is straight, then plant it as usual, just cover it carefully with soil.

Sprouted lily bulbs are most often sold in the spring, but sometimes in the fall (those that were not sold in the spring), usually brought from Europe.

When planting in the fall, the sprout on the bulb must be carefully unscrewed, since it does not need to grow in winter, and next spring a new one will form in its place.

Lily bulb with sprout

Planting in a container

Lilies can be grown not only in a flowerbed, but also in a container (large pot, pan, flowerpot, bucket, etc.). It is better to plant varieties up to 60-70 cm in height. This method of growing has its advantages.

• For the winter, you don’t have to dig up the bulbs, but simply put the container in a cool place with a temperature of 2-4 °C (freeze-free basement or cellar). And winter-hardy varieties can be placed in a trench and covered with leaves or sawdust for the winter, and then covered with snow.
• It’s easier to find a good place for growing - the container can be moved to the sun in the spring or in hot weather (July, August) placed in partial shade. It can also be placed in places unsuitable for planting: on asphalt and paths, patios and gazebos, verandas.
• If the soil on the site is not suitable for flowers, and preparing it is too difficult, then you can make the necessary soil mixture in a small volume specifically for a particular species.
• In order for lilies to bloom earlier in spring or winter, containers can be brought into a warm room in the fall after the end of the growing season (before the first frost). Provided there is sufficient lighting, Asian hybrids bloom in 60-70 days, Tubular - 100-130, and Oriental - 120-140.

Planting lilies in a container (bucket) instead of a flower bed

Adviсe

• At the bottom of the hole, sand drainage is mandatory for Eastern hybrids, and recommended for representatives of other sections. If the soil is heavy, then sand can be poured around the bulb, as well as a 1-2 cm layer on top, so that the scales do not rot.
• If the soil is too dry, then 1-2 days before planting it is advisable to water it to the required depth so that it is slightly moist.
• After preparing the soil mixture, you can spill it with a strong solution of potassium permanganate to prevent diseases and rot, and only then apply and mix fertilizers. This treatment is especially recommended when planting Oriental hybrids.
• It is useful to add pine litter to the root zone (5-10 cm layer) or to the soil mixture. In order for a sufficient amount of nitrogen to remain in the soil (it absorbs it), nitrogen fertilizer (urea) must be added. Over 3-5 years, the litter in the ground rots, earthworms turn it into humus and neutralize acidity. In addition to litter, you can use pine sawdust; if there are a lot of earthworms in the soil, then there will be no negative effect from them. It is better to use needles for Asian, Oriental, LA hybrids and OT hybrids. This recommendation is from Stefan Fedorovich Nedyalkov from Belarus, a gardener with 30 years of experience.
• It is not recommended to add manure to the soil mixture, as it often causes the development of various fungal diseases in flowers.
• It is good to plant lilies in three-year-old compost soil, and then mulch it on top. Advice from Peter Samsonovich Kiselev from Istra, Moscow region.
• If the land is sufficiently fertile, then you don’t need to add mineral fertilizers in addition to compost, and if not, then you can add 50 g of potassium sulfate and 100 g of superphosphate per 1 m².
• If you are planting tall varieties (120-150 cm) and assume that the flower will need support during heavy flowering, especially in strong winds or rain, then it is better to install it immediately. If you place a stake next to an adult plant, you can snag and damage the bulb.
• Instead of a stake for support, in any case, place a mark (stick, peg) where the bulb is planted in the fall to know its exact location in the spring.

ADDITIONS TO THE ARTICLE:

1. LILY DISEASES: WHICH CAN KILL AND HOW TO TREAT?
2. THE MOST DANGEROUS PESTS OF LILES!
3. WHEN AND HOW TO CORRECTLY TRANSPLANT LILIES?
4. POPULAR FLOWERS SIMILAR TO LILY FROM PHOTO!

We wish you a successful and easy landing!

Where to plant lilies?

Lighting requirements for different varieties of lilies are not the same. Some are light-loving, others are shade-tolerant, and others reveal their full beauty exclusively in diffused soft light.

It is believed that exotic beauties develop better in sunny areas. This statement is true for all hybrid plants, except for two groups:

• eastern;
• martagon.

These hybrids grow well in partial shade, but wither and fade in the sun.

Basically, lilies love light. In the sun they grow much faster and begin to bloom earlier and more abundantly than in partial shade. And even the color of the flower itself becomes richer in good lighting. The only pity is that they fade in the sun earlier.

If you plant a light-loving flower in partial shade, it will not bloom as profusely, but longer than in the sun.

The best place is where there is light shade at midday and full light in the morning and afternoon. Then the flowers turn out large, bright and do not bloom so quickly.

Lilies do not tolerate complete drying out of the soil, so many gardeners advise planting low-growing plants between the stems. They shade the lower part of the flower stalks, preventing the soil from overheating in the sun and drying out.

In addition to lighting, another important factor to consider is wind protection. These capricious plants cannot grow in areas with strong drafts. The wind can damage not only magnificent flowers, but also long, unstable stems.

Care

How to care for lilies? The most important thing when growing is to water moderately. Water the soil as needed, avoiding drying out. Water the flowers in stripes. Also try to tie tall tree-like stems to supports, as they may break.

It is better to remove the first buds of lily hybrids on the stems, and then during each flowering, water the soil generously to the maximum depth and apply fertilizer.

Why is it so difficult to find a place for lilies?

It is difficult to name another popular plant whose cultivation rules would cause so much controversy. Some flower growers claim that the lily is the most unpretentious flower and it grows on its own, without causing much trouble to the owner, while others claim the opposite.

This is explained by the fact that different varieties have different requirements for growing conditions and preferences. Therefore, before purchasing bulbs, you need to study the characteristics of the chosen type and, when planting, take into account the recommendations given on the package with seeds.

Planting lilies. What varieties of lilies should I choose for the Middle Zone?

Galina Kizima is a gardener-enthusiast with 50 years of experience, author of original techniques.

August is the time to transplant lilies in your country flower garden. How to do this correctly so that the lily bulbs are better preserved, and the flowering of lilies will delight you for many years to come? Gardener Galina Kizima answers questions about replanting lilies and caring for them, and about protecting lilies from diseases and pests.

Landing

Few flower growers know how to properly plant plants in the country. What do lilies, planting and care for which play an important role, need in order for them to bloom profusely?

1. The most important step before growing on the site is preparing samples of lily bulbs for planting. Select healthy samples for planting and free the bulbs from scales. And to protect against harmful insects, soak samples of lily bulbs or seeds in potassium permanganate before planting - this way they will be protected. It is allowed to use foundationazole instead of potassium permanganate;
2. Determine the planting depth of the bulb samples in the area: for loose soil with sand, the planting depth will be 20 cm for large material and about 10 cm for small bulbs. For heavy soils, small bulbs are planted at 5 cm, and large ones at 16 cm;
3. After planting, the root system along with the bulb is sprinkled with loose soil so that the bulbs are protected from harmful spores;
4. At the end of planting, water the soil and plants with fertilizers.

Also keep in mind that when planting lily bulbs in the ground in the fall, cover the ground with leaves.