reason for planting deeply

On the Hallson's website it says to plant lilies 6-8" deep. That seems pretty deep. Anybody know why? Other than leaning when they are fully grown?

Hey, I put in several Hallson lilies that did really well, and no way did I dig down 8 inches. And they didn't lean.

I remember putting some of my first lilies a foot down. It was impossible to dig them up without destroying them. And I have had Silk Road bulbs actually rise to the surface (as in you look down and there they are, exposed) that bloomed just fine.

Maybe they are being conservative because they are up north.

I don't plant mine any 8 inches. Maybe five to the bottom of the hole so onl 2-3" of soil above bulb. No problems. Course I don't know a Hallson's bulb from a,well, hole in the ground. Are they tender. Mine will also, some of them, seem to migrate to the surface. And become huge. And I am about as north as you can get. lol

Oh good. I was REALLY postponing planting. They are not from hallsons, they're from B&D, but you know how it is when you go googling 'round.

Thanks, I will post in the other thread what I'm planting this yr

I have been putting my B&D's in the ground. Just got some Silk Roads and Red Alerts. I plant them the way Mary does - about three inches below the soil.

hmmmm. Donna, I thought you had started a forum on lily purchases for 2014. In any case, I got, Eremo, Longwood and Arbataz. Ground was soft so without much effort I managed to plant about 7'' deep.

I selected these b/c the lovely lady at B&D says fragrant asiatics do well in warmer areas and being that I grow some other scented asiatics quite well, I figured I'd try these.

I've read, regardless of where you plant them, they will eventually move to the depth they prefer. According to the following article, some will move by developing contractile roots.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/asfh-fb120207.php

Interesting article. I had read that also but this is my first read with hard data to support it.

Kooger, yes, I remember that now. I read years ago that bulbs have "contractile" roots that allow them to scoot around where they want to be. Great article.

Voss, I looked up your lilies on their site. Arbataz seems to be gone, but the others are gorgeous!

Mary, you are so funny. Hallson is a company best known for, I think, hostas. They sell their perennials bareroot, and I have gotten great ones from them (geranium striatum, alchemilla mollis), but you really have to know what you are doing to successfully plant a bare root perennial so that they don't dry out.

But their best kept secret is B&D quality lily bulbs. Out of loyalty to B&D, and because they are a small provider, I go to them first, and then I go to Hallson. They sell lilies for about $2.50 to $3.00 each, but they knock down the price by 50 cents if you buy three. And they always give me FOUR! They have a limited number, but if they have what you want they are dirt cheap and each bulb produces three flowers the first season.

Below are some first season Hallsons. Acapulco. Crystal Blanca. Dimension. Three bulbs, three flowers each the first year. Each of these clusters cost me $6.00.

They are sold out for the season but you can have them email you when things are available. I think that they are great choice for someone who is not sure they will survive. Hey, I've paid $20 for a single lily I never saw again. If I had paid $2.50 for that same lily it would hurt a lot less.

Here is their lily page:
http://www.perennialnursery.com/lily-bulbs/

Oh, and they are a Watchdog 30:

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/155/

I do have a moisture meter, several in fact. My problem is in knowing how much water a plant needs in the winter dormant period versus during the summer. I would think very much less. I have the peonies in the crawl space but as I mentioned I think it is too warm. For everything, not just the peonies. But it is cool and dark and just a touch moist. The garage is subject to the door opening and closing, the lights going on and off (my washer and dryer are out there as well as a spare pantry). Even throwing something over them isn't very consistent. Also hard to do forthe ones on the rolling shelves.

I have done a lot of overwintering in the garage, so I can at least chime in on watering requirements. I used to give roses in pots 8 ounces of water at the beginning of each month. I would adjust downward for lilies. My former garage was not only not very deep, but it had windows. as well as two cars going in and out, so I had to keep quilts over them (hi thrift shop) or they would break dormancy early. I had a hard time controlling my roses. They would break dormancy (hard to cover a 5 foot rose) and then if they freeze again they are toast. And I really didn't want to bring them into the house to avoid their freezing, because no matter what I did, Enfant du France would be covered with - literally - thousands of aphids. It was he only plant that did it. I would also overwinter 3 Gruss an Aachen in pots but they didn't attract aphids. There are probably more disgusting things than rolling a rose out of the garage and finding yourself covered with aphids, but I can't think of anything right now.

In terms of lilies I probably used three ounces. My calla lilies and glads just went straight into the basement. The callas I would just leave in their pots - they sense the light and start, and I would then change the soil, start watering them, and bring them int the light. My callas I would clean, dry and put in paper bags. They are light sensitive too, and once they started growing I would put them outside.

My new garage has a door, which is great. I don't have to open and close the garage door. And no windows. And it's double wide and almost double deep, so the back of the garage is quite far back.

I was only putting them in the ground because I had so many shrubs and grasses that there wasn't a lot more room for roses - I had 23.

This message was edited Nov 29, 2014 7:21 AM

Hi Nery, good to see you're still posting here! A couple of reasons I know of that it's recommended to plant Lilies deeply are the stem roots that develop above the bulb, and that Lilies prefer their roots cool. Often the bulbs that can be seen at the surface are bulblets that have formed on the stem, rather than original bulbs that have moved upward. Those will frequently be pulled deeper into the ground via contractile roots.

Neal! Good to see you. What you say makes sense. My best lilies are those planted in part sun where their roots are somewhat protected from brutal sun/heat. I'm already tapping my fingers waiting for spring blooms.

I'm already anxiously awaiting spring too, winter came early this year. Spring will get to you a good while before me, so I'm going to count on some pretty pics of your garden to get me through it!

Oh, I forgot to mention, planting deep is good practice for tall varieties, especially some of those beefy Oriental trumpet hybrids. The stem roots keep them well anchored, and from needing staking. And it sometimes helps protect from rodents, they usually don't dig too deeply.

We got an early winter too. It really came in October. I look back nostalgically on the winter of 2010. I was actually planting in early December (I was moving and I was able to put perennials in the ground at the new house). This year I stopped much earlier. Last year I could take advantage of some ridiculous values at the Old House Gardens end of season sale. One was 5 lilium martagon album bulbs for $38 - except that he sent me 8! They are normally $15 a pop, so I was pretty floored. And ALL of them bloomed this past spring. This year I couldn't which was a shame.

Neal, I learned the hard way what you already knew. I actually had to (carefully!) dig up lilies in mid bloom because they were not deep enough in the ground.

wrong thread...sorry

This message was edited Feb 26, 2015 7:49 AM

ID Please......Thanks