I think all that is wrong with this lily is aphids, which I squished. and was going to spray dishsoap water for til I saw the baby praying mantis on the healthy plant next door. The top of the lily is looking pretty good, it's been eaten from the bottom up. Anything I should do? do I have a disease or just aphids? (this is an orange oriental lily planted last year, unknown cultivar, bought from Burgess Seed.)
When I am having difficulty with a lily I dig it up and put it in a pot on my enclosed patio (or anywhere sunny where you can keep an eye on it). Then I can also water and feed it, and then in the fall I replant it in the yard.
It may still bloom.
Do remember that the bulb is probably fine, and it can bloom next year. The bulbs I dug up and brought in for protection were all replanted last fall and are very healthy this year.
guess I am digging it then, thank you!
I hope this works for you. I have a bumper crop of lilies because I did this last year.
What I found was a small bulb, maybe 1 inch in diameter, that formerly had a root going up to the sprouted plant but was no longer connected. So I put the plant with its own roots in a pot, and put the bulb back in the ground. I have had a problem with a cutworm or 2 in this bed, but usually they go above ground to do damage.
There were aphids on the leaves of the lily, particularly those that had gone reddish. I squish some more. Will the plant live without its bulb, since it has a fair root system?
I honestly don't know. I thought you had to have bulblets or offsets or scales, so I think the answer is no.
But why not try?
It's in a pot, I'll post results, thank you
Happy to try to help!
