Moving-Transplanting Lilies for move

Hey All,
Here's a good question for anyone with this experience. I have a large assortment of lilies and will be moving in August of '06.
I want to take these lilies with me. However, they will not be ready to dig up in time for moving next year.
I'm thinking of a few options.
I can dig them up this fall in Nov. and plant them in pots, winter them over and they will be all set for growing and moving next year.
I can dig them up this fall in Nov. and store them in a styrofoam cooler over the winter and plant them in pots in the spring.
I can dig them up just prior to moving, cut the stems down halfway and simply plant them up upon arrival and hope they transplant and survive the untimely lifting out of the earth.

So, has anyone had experience moving lilies in this situation?
Thanks,
Michael in Boston

No styrofoam or any other plasticy thing PLEASE. They need to breathe.

In my considered opinion (if you have space to move pots with stems in August) I would pot them up this year. Dig a trench to bury pots over the winter so they will grow properly next summer. Just before you move, dig up the pots. In August the only ones you will have who haven't yet bloomed will be the orientals, Black Beauty etc. If you have to, you can cut off the blooms then. You MUST leave as much of the stalk as possible. They need photosynthesis process to store nourishment -
starches etc- for the approaching winter. In fact, if your lilies are scattered around in a perennial garden, not just in rows or anything, why not pot them up and return to their plaaaaaaaaaanted spot. Then your garden will still look great next summer.

An aside, Start rooting cuttings of anything you can't bear to leave behind. Should be well rooted by next August.

You can plant quite near the bottom of the pots. This means that you will have good stem roots. Stem roots are what nourish the bulbs. Don't worry if you have roots showing out the holes of bottom of pots when you dig them up. They don't matter too much in this situation.

An exception to all of the above is Nepalense. If you grow this, LMK, they want diff. treatment.

I had to move in June some years ago. This is what I did.

BTW where are you moving to?? I mean another state? Some states have rules about bringing in plant material from another state.

PLUS, Mass. has the !@#$% of lily beetle which I've never had experience with. Better talk to some New England growers to see how to make absolutely positive that you are not shipping and therefore spreading this total PEST.

How many lilies are we talking about anyway? If you have tons, you might think about just potting up two or so of each and donating rest to your local lily society fall bulb sale or giving them to your friends. Maybe keep some in your garden for the next owners.

Inanda

Either dig them and repot this fall, or dig, cut back by 50% and move in august. Don't try to store them out of soil for the winter. I would probably opt for digging and potting in fall, and then moving the entire pots. It is hard to dig lilies which are in bloom/about to bloom.

Thanks Inanda and KD. I was thinking of moving them into pots this fall, too. I have between 30 and 40 lilies, excluding the bulbils that root around the mothers. I really don't want to leave them since they're mostly species and they do cost money to replace them.
I'm moving from Boston, MA to Charlotte, NC. one zone warmer. Definitely looking forward to this move!!! I've seen this beetle but other than a few leaves being chewed on I haven't lost any buds, YET...I do pull them off and throw them into the neighbors yard...Slugs tend to bring more damage than the beetles. Lots of tiny slugs that cover themselves in some sort of dark ooze that makes them look like bird poop. Must be a camouflage...
So, I'm going to dig them up in Nov. and plant them in pots, bury the pots in soil and dig the pots up the week prior to moving.
Hey, have either of you grown the white rubrum? Mine are almost 5' tall now with so many buds...really looking forward to the blooms. I've never seen a rubrum grow so tall. Previously they never got over 3'.

mikepots...those 'slugs' that are damaging your lilies are likely the immature form of the beetle! They are known to cover themselves with excrement....Doesn't sound good. I suspect you may want to more aggressively treat these lilies...
(hopefully one of our 'experts' will comment)

Certainly sounds like lily beetle to me. YOu will be MOST unpopular if you spread them to NC> Maybe NC has them already, but even so.

I hate to suggest it, because I'm very VERY anti chemicals but think you should spray spray spray, now and all next summer. Don't know what the name of stuff is that you can spray to get them. Hopefully someone else will read this and LYK.

Innda

They are actually small slugs...I've picked them off with my fingers...the beetles are bright red and fornicate on the plants...
I come across one or two at a time. The plants aren't infested. Therefore it's simply easier to pick them off as I see them.