How can you not like Lilies?
They provide lots of color and texture to your garden. If you plant several types of lilies, you will have blooms all summer long. They range in size from just a few inches tall to six feet or so.
Planting and Care
Don’t let their looks scare you off. These plants are tough and easy to grow. They’re not particular about soil type or pH and they grow well in full sun, part sun.dappled shade and even light shade.
If you are planning on planting bulbs, do it as soon as you get them, either in the fall or the spring. Because the bulbs lack “tunic”, the papery covering that is common to other hardy bulbs, they can dry out quickly in storage.
One important thing about lilies, they need well-drained soil. Dig to a depth of at least 12 inches. Remember to remove rocks and add organic matter, such as leaf mold or peat moss to improve both the soil’s structure and drainage. A little bone meal scratched in at the bottom of the planting hole will help your bulbs to prosper. Wait to add other fertilizer until the bulbs send up green leaves and then sprinkle a complete organic fertilizer around the plant.
Lilies love mulch to help keep the soil moist and cool. Experts recommend compost or a longer-lasting mulch, such as wood chips or cocoa shells.
It’s a good idea to cover the bed over the winter with straw to help protect the bulbs from freeze-thaw cycles.
It is best to remove spent blooms, but try not to cut off more than a third of the stem. Taking too much stem can reduce the plant’s vigor and longevity. This allows the plants energy to go back to the bulb and not into seed pods. When all flowers have bloomed, cut the stem directly below the blooms, so that as much foliage is left as possible to feed the bulb.
Dividing/Transplanting:
The best time to move or divide the clumps of lilie bulbs is late fall after the bulbs have gone dormant. Handle the fleshy bulbs carefully, and replant at the same depth in well-drained soil. If smaller offset bulbs are present, replant these at a depth three times their height.
