Gadenin日本語Get the appWater the root zone, and keep it cool
A lily in growth is drawing water through stem roots that sit in the top 6 to 8 in (15 to 20 cm) of soil, so it wants ground that stays evenly moist from the shoots emerging until the flowers finish. A brief drought while the buds are forming produces small, few or aborted flowers, and no amount of watering afterwards recovers them. In a dry spell give an established group a thorough soak of around 2 gallons (8 liters) per square foot of planting area once a week, rather than a daily sprinkle that wets only the surface.
The bulb itself must not sit in standing water at any point in the year. Steady moisture and waterlogging are different things: the first grows lilies, the second rots them. In heavy soil, most losses happen in winter when the plant is not even growing, which is why deep planting into well drained, gritty ground matters so much.
A 2 in (5 cm) mulch of compost or leaf mold over the root area, or low planting around the stems, keeps the soil cool and evens out the moisture. Lilies in containers dry out far faster than lilies in the ground and need checking daily in hot weather; a pot 12 in (30 cm) deep and the same across, kept out of full afternoon sun, is a far more reliable home than a shallow one in an exposed spot.
Water at the base and not over the foliage. Wet leaves overnight are how the gray fungal leaf blight starts, and once it takes hold in a humid summer the plant loses its leaves early and the bulb goes into winter underfed.
Lily bulbs are seriously poisonous to cats. Every part is toxic, including the pollen, and even a small amount can cause fatal kidney failure. If cats visit your garden or home, do not grow lilies indoors as cut flowers and think hard before planting them where a cat lies.
Feeding and support
Feed lightly. A balanced granular fertilizer scattered around the group as the shoots emerge, followed by a high potassium liquid feed such as a tomato feed every two weeks from the point the buds are visible until a few weeks after flowering, is all a lily wants. That late feeding is not for this year's display, which is already decided, but for the bulb rebuilding itself for next year. High nitrogen feeding produces tall, soft, floppy stems and encourages disease.
Tall lilies carrying a head of large flowers will go over in wind or heavy rain, and a lily stem that bends does not straighten. Put a cane in early, while the stem is under about 2 ft (60 cm), and push it in at an angle a hand's width away from the stem so you are not driving it through the bulb. Tie loosely with soft string in a figure of eight, adding a second tie higher up as the stem extends.
Do not use the stem itself as a handle when weeding or tidying. The buried section carries the stem roots, and rocking the stem tears them. Weed by hand around lilies rather than hoeing, and keep the fork out of the group entirely once the shoots are up.
| Stage | What you see | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Shoots emerging | Purple or green spears breaking ground, late | Start checking daily for red beetles, scatter a balanced feed around the group |
| Stem 12 to 24 in (30 to 60 cm) | Leaves unfurling up the stem | Insert canes now and tie loosely, mulch to keep the root zone cool |
| Buds forming | Green buds at the top of the stem | Begin fortnightly high potassium feed, water deeply in dry weather |
| Buds showing color | Buds swelling and coloring | Cut for the vase now if you want them indoors, add a higher tie |
| In flower | Flowers open, anthers loaded with pollen | Remove anthers on any flower near a path or doorway |
| Flowers finishing | Petals dropping, seed pods swelling | Snap off the spent flowers only, leave the whole stem standing |
The pollen problem, and cutting lilies for the house
Lily anthers carry a heavy load of rust orange pollen that behaves like a dye. Brush against an open flower in a doorway and it transfers to clothing, and once it is rubbed into the fibers it is effectively permanent. It marks curtains, tablecloths, upholstery and the petals of the flower itself, where it leaves brown blotches that spoil the bloom.
The fix is to remove the anthers as each flower opens. Take a tissue or a pair of tweezers, grip each anther before it splits open and releases pollen, and pull it off. Done at that stage nothing is shed and the flower is not damaged at all. It also makes the individual flowers last noticeably longer, since the flower stops investing in pollen production.
If pollen does land on fabric, do not rub it, dab it or wet it, all of which drive it in. Lift the loose grains with the sticky side of tape, then hang the item in strong sunlight, which fades the remaining stain over a few hours. Any wet treatment applied first makes the mark permanent.
When cutting stems for the house, take no more than a third of the stem and leave at least two thirds of the leaves on the plant. Every leaf you take is food the bulb does not get, and a lily cut with a long stem year after year shrinks and stops flowering. If you want long stems for cutting, plant a separate group specifically for that and accept that it will need replacing.
- Cut in the cool of the morning at the colored bud stage Take stems when the lowest bud is showing full color but has not opened. They will open indoors over several days and last far longer than stems cut in full flower.
- Leave two thirds of the stem and its leaves standing Cut high on the stem, not at ground level. The leaves left behind feed the bulb for next year, and stripping a lily for the vase is the commonest way gardeners lose a good clump.
- Remove every anther before it splits Pull the anthers off with a tissue as each flower opens indoors. This prevents pollen stains on fabric and on the petals, and extends the life of each individual flower.
- Keep the vase away from cats entirely Lilies are lethally toxic to cats, and pollen dropped on a surface and later groomed off the fur is enough. In a household with a cat, do not bring lilies indoors at all.
- Recut the stems and change the water every two days Trim an inch off the base at an angle each time. Lily stems seal quickly and a fresh cut restores water uptake, keeping the upper buds opening rather than drying shut.
Notes that make next season easier
Record the date you first saw a red lily beetle on each group. That date repeats closely from year to year in the same garden, and knowing it means you can start looking a week before rather than finding a stripped stem and wondering how it happened so fast.
Log the height each group reached and whether it needed staking. Lilies vary enormously in height, and a note saying a particular group hit 5 ft (150 cm) and went over in a storm tells you next spring to get the cane in early rather than judging by the modest shoots in front of you.
Also note the flowering dates, first bud open and last flower over. Comparing those across a few years shows immediately whether a group is holding its own or fading, and a group that flowers a week later and a foot shorter each year is telling you it is overcrowded and due to be lifted and split.