Lilies in Containers?

Now I'm getting ready to plant my new Mona Lisa bulbs and thought they would be nice in containers...do you think that would work?

Langbr, any thoughts? t.

Judy - everything I've read about Lilies in pots is that drainage, drainage, drainage is a BIG problem. I haven't found one site or one actual person's experience say it had a favorable outcome. Lilies in general cannot dry out (that's why they take such special precautions in storage and shipment of the bulbs to prevent dehydration of the bulb). Yet they are extremely susceptible to rot from poor drainage.

Personally, I wouldn't try it unless it was with excess bulbs I had and wouldn't be upset about losing. If you do try it though we'd sure love to hear your reports on how it goes and what you do as far as the size of pot, medium and care through the winter.

Judy/Brenda,

These worked well for me :-) Make SURE the holes at the bottom of the pot are not clogged. Also, rainfall was fine for me...I did not manually water during growth, though I have during dry periods since as Brenda said to keep bulbs moist. Asiatics will be less susceptible to damage from freezes than others. April 18, 2004

This message was edited Nov 10, 2004 7:37 PM

This message was edited Nov 10, 2004 7:48 PM

Good advice, Steve. It looks like you have your pots sitting up off the walk also. I've read that it's a good idea to elevate pots of bulbs to improve drainage and prevent them from sitting in water during a rain or snow.

Curious, Steve, do you get any snow or is it a rarity in Ft Worth?

Brenda,

We do not get it often. Got 5" on Valentine's Day this year, but that is not common. Weather stats say we average 3-4 inches snow per year. We usually get a couple of ice storms as well. Avg low in Ft Worth in January is 31 F; avg low in Dec is 35 and in Feb is 36.

Lucky dog!!! So do you get winter rains? Just trying to get an idea of whether your winter moisture is anything at all like we see farther north. My guess is that Judy (tabasco) probably gets more than I do here. We get good heavy snows every 3 or 4 years or so. Otherwise we're pretty dry most of winter with an occasional flurry or 1 inch snowfall that's gone the next day.

Brenda,

Yes we get cold winter rains. We average in the low 30's" per year in rainfall, though this year we're already at 43", so it's been a wet year. Actually the weather here is pretty decent other than a miserable July and August.

OK. thanks for the info--I didn't know Lilies were more sensitive than other bulbs...Steve, your photo gives me inspiration!

So, I'll experiment a little this time--I planted five Mona Lisa's in a 14" plastic pot with Miracle Grow potting soil and I put them under my deck to shield them from the weather...I guess I'll move them to my garage when it gets colder to make sure they stay moist and don't freeze.

Do you think that's a good plan? Thanks. t.

Tabasco,

Glad I could help. I have seen mixed advice on this from reputable growers.....some encourage growing in pots and others are more leery, warning of the issues regarding drainage, both summer and winter protection and storage, and sufficient room for good root development. I have read that Orientals are generally hardy to zone 5 and Asiatics to zone 3, but in 6a I don't think your main worry would be cold temperature, but making sure to keep good drainage, as Brenda said. In the summer, keep the bulbs moist and keep the pot protected from excessive heat. As Brenda mentioned, mine are protected from too much moisture and also from the Texas summer sun which would fry them in a dark ceramic pot. The problem is that the plant needs sun, but the bulb itself should remain reasonably cool. Asiatics bloom early, so this is not a problem, but something to keep an eye on for a later-blooming Oriental when temps are high. I think your plan to protect them is a good one, assuming your garage is unheated so the bulbs will remain cool.

Plant the bulbs as deep as you can in the pot without touching while still allowing for a couple inches of soil below them. This will allow for both basal root and stem root growth. 4" or 6" above the bulbs should be fine. I am not sure how deep your pot is. One thing you may want to consider using Micracle Gro potting soil is that that type of soil is so light and fluffy that the bulbs can easily heave themselves out of it when root growth occurs, so you may want to add something a little more substantial or use something to tamp it down and hold it in place. I used it with hyacinths and the bulbs all pushed themselves on top of the soil. The bigger the pot the better. Just remember than growing conditions vary to a huge degree, and sometimes the experts aren't always right about everything. Part of the fun of gardening is experimenting and doing what works for you, making your best effort to do the right things, which it sounds like you have done. Good luck!

This message was edited Nov 11, 2004 7:09 AM

This message was edited Nov 11, 2004 7:10 AM

Good advice, Steve.

I've grown some Simplion(sp?) lilies in pots on my south facing porch for a few years now. The loooooove it there. The pots are shaded by other plants, but their heads are in full sun. The pots are large oval ones, maybe 20" long by 10" wide. 1-2 bulbs per pot combined with other plants. :) They got about 7 feet tall this year!

Angie - how deep is the pots you have them in? What's you typical coldest winters like? Are your winters very wet?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to give this a try and I have to balance my temps and moisture just right or I'm afraid they'll rot.

M'kay...the pots are about 10" deep I guess. So that would put the bulbs around 8" down at their bottoms. I do have to stake the heck out of them. They are topheavy. The pots are on the edge of a covered porch. They get some rain, but not as much as outside, depends on the winds. Our winters are kinda damp, but not like the NW or anything. lol I'd say it rains atleast once every week or two for a good drizzly day. I'd only water the pots if the pansies looked wilted during the cold months. We get usually one good freezing day each year. On average our lows are in the 30s, with one good cold 20s day or so. The highs are in the upper 30s or lower 40s on the coldest days. Last year we got one night at 7 degrees and people freaked out. That is coooooold for here. Crazy cold. Plants people had had for 30 years died in that cold. But the lilies were fine. Maybe you can try it with one bulb this year so you don't lose them all if it goes wrong?

Thanks, Ang.....I've got all my ordered bulbs in the ground already here, but was thinking of running out to Home Depot or Lowe's and grabbing a mix or whatever they have left that does look all dried out and giving it a try.

Thanks for answering all my questions. We get to the 10's & 20's as highs on most days, but can get below 0 once or twice a year. Did you put anything like gravel or packing peanuts in the bottom 1-2" of the pot to insure good drainage?

Langbr--are you going to plant some lilies? Seems like ecobio has pretty good luck with them and it seems like you have a pretty good green thumb so I'm sure yours will do well!

Thanks for all the good info everybody! t.

I'm gonna give it a try Judy! (it IS Judy right? Gosh I hope so!)

As far as going asian lilies in containers, can they be planted in the spring?

Emily - Lily bulbs in general can be planted in Spring so you can put them in pots in Spring as well. I think a lot of folks pot lilies for their decks and patios.

I think the problem we're having is when we have extra bulbs and either the weather isn't cooperating or we're out of garden space -- can we put them in pots for the winter? Lily bulbs cannot be stored as they will dry out.

langr,
I have (or will have) extra bulbs I was hoping to plant in the spring. However, I do have plenty of containers a lot of storage space in my basement. What about planting them in containers, keeping the soil slightly moist over the winter?

Gosh Emily....I'm not sure. Is your basement unheated? Do you know what the constant temp range is in your basement?

I know the grower I've dealt with on coop's keeps them in some kind of cold storage and they are in WA state bordering with OR. A book I'm reading right now said that growers generally store them in wood shavings or vermiculite at cool temperatures.

You all get quite a bit of rain up there where you are, right? So that is probably a bad idea to keep the pots outdoors for you--chance of rot. Plus your Zone 8 low temps might not be cool enough. What is your avg winter temps? Hmmmmm......

Is there ANY way you could just plant them in a corner of a bed for the winter and mark them really well. Come Spring you could dig them up and transplant to containers or in a permanent bed location.

Found a solution. I talked to the people at the "Portland Nursery" and they suggested putting each bulb in a 1-gallon container with potting soil and putting those on my porch, keeping the soil moist but not wet. In the spring, I can transplant them to regular beds. I think I'm also going to put some gravel at the bottom of each container to make sure there's adequate drainage. They gave me a bunch of containers free so I picked up many 1 gallons, some 2's and a couple 3's.

The only possible problem I have is the squirrels.... I hope they don't dig them out.

Chicken wire over the top!

Oh! That's a fantastic idea! Thank you :)

You bet. Anything to foil those little chitter-demons....

Gosh, I don't remember if there is anything in the bottom of those pots for drainage or not. I don't empty them out each year. I just dig out the annuals and refill with new potting mix in those holes. I don't think I'd use packing peanuts, but big gravel shouldn't hurt. The stuff just has to be big enough and jagged enough not to pack together and create the problem instead of solving it. I think that's the problem with packing peanuts.

Hi, last year was my first year with lillies so I planted them all in deep pots and made sure they had excellent drainage. It was worth the wait for them to bloom. Everfy plant bloomed beautifully! Can't wait for this year. They grew in full sun and part shade, it did not seem to matter to them. wortth a try. jeani4

Good to hear Jeani. Gives me hope. Just went out and looked at my pots and they all seem to be in good shape.

Here's a pic of my bulb potting project. The lilies are in the big pots with bits muscari green sprouting out. [The pots were in my front hall last night because it got so cold outside I was afraid they would freeze. (These up and down temperature changes are making this gardener really neurotic and my children think I love my bulbs more than I love them!)] Back out in the cold now. (Not my kids, the pots.)

Keep your fingers crossed! t. (judy)

OK folks, now I'm nervous. I was told by a riend last fall, here in Zone 5, to just put my lily pots (with lillies still in them) in our garage. She did not say anything about watering them. Good or bad advice? now I'm afraid they actually died because they received no water from me from October on.
HELP. jeani4 a lily beginner

You could always unearth one and see if it looks plump or shriveled?

I have mine (about 20 of them) on a covered porch and water them every so often. After I rebuild my puter, I'll post some pics (on hubby's laptop now). I water them about every two weeks just to make sure they don't completely dry out. The minimum pot size is 1 gallon so I don't know if this is right or wrong, but they seem to be happy so far.