I haven't found any source that says it's ok to store Asiatic and Oriental lily bulbs over winter. I know they should be left in the ground but I had to dig up about 100 because I plan on transplanting several perennials in the spring and didn't want to damage any lilies in the process. Some lilies were either too tall or too short for the location. My garden soil is usually very soft but it's as hard as a rock due to little rain so it would be best to move things around in the early spring. I've had good luck overwintering glads and other bulbs in a room in the house that stays between 45-60 degrees throughout the winter months. I store them in shoe boxes or paper lunch bags. Will lilies dry out over winter and do they need a period of freezing temperatures to vernalize? If it is ok to store them for several months what do you recommend?
Bad to dig & store asiatic & oriental bulbs over winter?
I've always seen then sold in damp peat of something similar so I believe they will dry out. Lilies need a cold period, but I don't know how long with out looking it up.
My lilies like to sleep outdoors and get rain and snow. When i was transplanting with similar visions, I stuck the bulbs in containers and replanted in the spring. Even the one that sat in a pot without soil did well. So forgiving!
I put a bunch of bulbs in mildly damp seed starting mix, which I used instead of peat. I then put them in a mini refrigerator I had. Lilies are never fully dormant, so they must not dry out. I replanted them in spring. For a second set of lilies, I put them in pots of soil in the back of my garage and gave them just bit of water once a month. That method worked too.
The lilies were longiflorum/asiatics and orientals (speciosum).
Edited to remove an error (see below)
This message was edited Nov 1, 2013 4:06 PM
You might want to ask B & D Lilies. I believe they would give you good advice.
http://www.bdlilies.com/
DonnaMack is probably giving you the best advice ever as she is the closest geographically. When I leave the bulbs outdoors almost naked, they still get the precipitation they need, same as if they were in the ground.
If you want to leave them in a container, just make sure it is deep enough so that you can cover with enough soil that they will anchor well when growing. You can leave them on any uncovered porch or deck, and they will be happy. If you transplant in the spring, try to do it early, before they start growing too much, or you won't get the blooms you were expecting.
I should say that I placed the bulbs in a pot in the back of my garage. I changed it above. I have left them outside, but only in a very sheltered location. For me the issue of leaving them uncovered is complicated by creatures that dig.
Cathy makes an excellent point about planting them as quickly as possible in the spring. Keep an eye on them, and if they start to sprout, try to get them into the ground. Some of mine actually pumped out stems that went sideways but I planted them in a conventional way and they did very well. Get them in no later than April. If you wait until May they may not bloom (I speak from experience).
This message was edited Nov 12, 2013 7:51 AM
I put lilies in a lg. pot two summers ago. That summer, they were very mediocre. I left them in the pot over winter, and the blooms this summer were huge -- at least 8 inches across. i don't know what they will do next summer. I am in zone 6b.
So, they do well planted in a pot outside.