Confessions Part III: What lilies have you planted for 2006?

oh, no! another lily site. lol. thanks, moby. i have to plant more, i know. thinking in the YELLOWS now.

margo, great to see you here. you have post progress report photos!

Hi all! Glad to see ya back Margo! It's raining like crazy here; has been for 3 days now and it's supposed to continue. I did plant some roses between showers, but I'm so anxious to plant lilies I have in the fridg. I really should wait till the next batch arrives anyway, since I'm notorious for forgetting where I put them and they're all going in the same bed. 9 new varieties in apricot, coral, salmon, and melon shades, does'nt that sound scrump! Asiatics 'Linda' (thanks to Annapet :) are already there, but I do remember where they are,lol. I think I need to set those colors off with some rich purple. Can you tell I'm about to burst!

Our Lowe's has bins of lilies now, and just when I was about to buy some 'Arena,' I couldn't find a single pack that wasn't moldy and rotted. Sad.

W ell, I'm bidding on some Balck Beauties on eBay, but the seller has 2 different shipping structures so I e-mailed him.
I am going to have to have Arena , too, probably from B& D alt hough I will check out Lowe's Wednesday when I'm there, yet again, buying building supplies for my spousal unit 's l atest project. But I'm also buying some Japanese Iris from Iris City Gardens some Japanese roof iris. Please f orgive all my typos, my keyboard is acting up.

I have Asiatics sprouting! I'm not sure if I should be thrilled or nervous, but it's still exciting. I found so many new pips today, ahhh, a good day in the garden.

Congratulations Neal! I finally see flower buds on my freesia's from you. YEAH!!!
Tam

congrats, neal!

=)

Cool Tammy! You'll have that wonderful fragrance soon. I tried some of the freesia in the house, but could'nt give them enough light, so after the cat had her fun with them (she thought they were grass for her to nibble on), I tossed the leggy mess in the compost heap. So, I can't wait to see pics of yours!

I have that glorious soreness today after a great day of hard work, when you go "ouch" and then grin thinking of why. I got flagstones in place for over half of the main path through the cottage garden, and I'm going to be planting creeping thyme between the stones. All the zebra grass is now moved into the German garden, and the new part of the cottage garden is 3/4 completed and will soon be ready to start planting.

Not that I'm complaining, but the sun was too bright to get good pics yesterday. The Chionodoxa roseum started blooming and several more snow crocus finally started opening :)
Neal

It's been a while since I've checked in on this thread, but to answer your question, beaker, there aren't any regular asian lilies that won't like acid soil. Well, maybe some of the species that grow high in the mountains, but they are nothing to be concerned with as they have not been used in breeding enough. Asian lilies I refer to would be all the asiatics, orinetals, trumpets ,aurelians, martagons types, am I leaving any out? Well all crosses between said lilies, of course.

There are some North American species that prefer neutral to alkaline soil, but again, none you need to worry about.

I am talking about shagnum peat here(comes in bails), is always a good thing to use for clay or sandy soils. To affect pH, use a third by volume with a native clay base soil. If you have a sand base soil in Columbia Heights, it is already somewhat acidic in nature, but you will still want to add organic material in large quantities (as you have been).

Because of the chemical nature of sand, it takes less to change pH than clay. Compost will buffer it somewhere around 6.8, and sphagnum peat will lower it to where orientals prefer, and other asians are still happy with. One quarter by volume with the sand base soil should do it. Half by volume would put it in the likings of blueberries and rhododendrons, and probably would not be too much for those lilies either. If you think you've got it too acidy, don't add lime. While it will increase pH, drastically, it can be difficult to gauge how much to use. It's easy to overdo it, and that would be worse. Rather, add compost that will more gently reduce the acidity.

Leftwood, I don't think I have sandy soil, I think it is clay. I don't know that for sure, but I'm always having trouble with my lawn and I've been told it's because of clay. My gardens have been wonderful, at least the ones I've built from scratch. I don't have access to compost, so I've always used peat. I mulch my leaves in the fall and use that for cover. I'm sure some of that gets incorporated each year. The only problems I've ever had is with daylilies in a new bed and I think that the soil is, initially, just too rich for them.

I haven't been really fertilizing the lilies. In the spring I do rose food for the roses, but everything else just gets sprinkled with a time release fertilizer that's suppose to last for three months. Should I be doing more? I'm concerned about the orientals. I've been told by people with more experience than I, that they don't last more than about three years in our zone. I don't understand that.

That seems strange to me to, beaker. I'd think if you're providing enough protection to get them through winter, and obviously you're doing a good job of that, that they'd return like any other lily. I can see that increase would be slower since bulblets are often formed at the base of the stem just under the soil level, and those may not be deep enough to get through winter. Manure and bone meal are the "diet" mine are on.

I use that "diet" on everything but now know I need to add more fertilizer after the initial spring dressing.
I won the Black Beauties on eBay and got the shipping I wanted. I am getting 6 of them and will probably plant 2 groupings of 3 each. Since Black Beauty tends to nod down, I am planting them up in my rock garden so when I walk by, I will look up into the blossoms.

That will be beautiful woodspirit! Looking forward to pics!

Ah, I hope they are a decent size. I bought some others and planted them last fall. I will have to look and see what I got (they are at the lower end of the garden).

Who was the ebay seller you got the Black Beauties from? I got mine last fall from an ebay seller, and now I've forgotten who. I'll check my notes, but I remember she supported a lot of charities and was very sweet to deal with. The bulbs looked nice to, so if they are labeled right I'll buy from her again.

I'm such a worry wart when it comes to plants. Everytime I hear of a problem, I start thinking my plants will also be affected. We're coming up on the "three year" limit on some of my orientals and, of course, I'm expecting the worse. It must be some kind of phobia. I wonder if there is a name for it; bulbochondria maybe?

I think it's called "premature bulbous expirous anxiety". This condition is incurable but treatable with multiple lily purchases.

LOL - The treatment does not seem to be working. Just placed my third order with B&D this week. I was helping a fellow bulboholic get the bonus bulbs.

What is the average depth that you should plant a lily bulb? I just came in and noticed that one had heaved up to the top of the ground. I planted a dwarf yellow and had several unnamed trades. It should be a very pretty display this year!

Generally, 6 inches or three times the height of the bulb. I do plant some of the more tender ones deeper, but I don't think you should have that problem.

Beaker, I hear that a lot: about 3 years and the orientals are gone. It's probably what they have experienced or have heard. Honestly, I myself have only grown two orientals, and speciosum var. rubrum.

My first, Casa Blanca I finally gave away. I still have Black Beauty, it's about 6 years old. Certainly NOT in the best place: full sun, dry, hot and excellently draining, fertile soil. The bulb was originally planted 6 inches deep, but I couldn't tell you where it is now, since lilies will pull themselves deeper if they want. I suspect it has descended since it gets so warm and dry there. The plant has doubled, but never surpasses 2 ft or so. Despite that, I would call it tough as nails. It really has a hard life. Maybe that is part of the longevity?

If you are wondering if your soil is sand or clay based, than it is clay based. Believe me, you would know (and see) if it was sand. As for fertilizer, I really can't say with professional knowledge. Species, I would say, do sparingly.

beaker, it sounds like the way you care for your lilies, you'll have them much longer than you're expecting. The 3 I had planted at my mother's house 8 years ago were only mowed around, never weeded or fertilized or cared for at all. Last March I brought 13 softball sized bulbs here to plant and gave a couple away! Of course I'm not familiar with gardening in colder zones, so that could certainly play a part. Well, anyhow, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that you'll be pleasantly suprised :)
Neal.

I work at a WalMart in NC and they have just put out a brand new bulb feature at our store in a 4 foot tall round/octagon pink cardboard displayer that is full of dahlias, peonies, twin packs of oriental lilies, twin packs of glads, freesia and a 20 piece mixed columbine selection (already sprouting). I've worked at this store for 12 years and haven't seen this display in here before. I think the pricing is around $7 per bag. The lilies are named varieties with 2 different named varieties per bag. I forgot to check how many of each were in the bag (but for some reason I think that it was 3 or 4 of each).

Neal, I bought the Black Beauties from all4littlebits. Does that ring a bell? I am really curious to see what size they are.
dmac, I didn't find that display at our Wal-mart. Nothing there nor anything at Lowe's appealed to me yesterday.

This message was edited Mar 17, 2006 9:43 PM

I really hate that about WM--not all the stores get the same things...I can understand some of it due to climate/zone differences but unfortunately it's divided by other things as well. Store location, whether its a rural area or a metro area, size of the stores--there are only about 9 class sizes from the smallest stores to the largest supercenters. We have 3 stores here in Greensboro and about 5 others within a 30 minute drive and none of us ever carry the same stuff. Super frustrating.

I bought 3 of the Black Beauty lilies from the same seller yesterday. I might splurge and pick up a couple things from The Lily Garden.

Mine arrived 3 days after I bought them! They look good. This seller deserves our attention.

Cool woodspirit! Mine came from rhonda9080. I planted them behind a 'Heritage' rose in hopes of seeing those nodding blooms above those light pink roses. There are a few burgundy foliages in that area to that I'm hoping will pick up the color of the lilies. We'll see :)

hello, everyone! reporting today that i was at wal-mart and could not resist:

narbonne
acapulco
lollipop
mona lisa

they will be underplatings for my roses. i have six that arrived from chamblee's.

bought HUGE round pots from wal-mart as well. plastic "terracottas" not real pottery. only $6 each. they will do for now, until i have a real garden.

I got mine into the ground between snow flakes that haven't quit for several days. I have a lot I'd like to accomplish today out there, mainly dumping Black Kow and bone meal on some things to get them started. My soil is very acid here so I may have to use some lime here and there.
What ph do lilies prefer?

A newbie here, I bought some Stargazers and Casa Blanc at the Nashville Garden Show can I go ahead and pot them up so they can started a little earlier, even if I want them in the garden? Do they transplant well?
Teresa

I would like to trade for a couple of Blk Beauties and the Orienpets if anyone has a few to spare.

This message was edited Mar 26, 2006 7:51 AM

No need to pot them ~ they can be planted any time the ground isn't frozen. They'll set their clocks and come up when the time is right.

woodspirit ~ lilies really aren't too fussy about pH. A little on the acid side is good for most. If you're actually testing/ammending your soil, shoot for 5 - 6, but 5 - 8 is fine.

I saw some Luxor yesterday at Menard's that I really wanted to buy, but they were sprouted about 3-4 inches. Would they be okay to plant like that now?

Sure, just be very careful to not break the stem and plant them with the top of the sprout above the soil line. You could also keep the in the fridge for a while to slow them down a bit.

Thanks, Moby! :-)

Has anyone else ordered from Wooden Shoe Bulb farm this spring? They've been really slow to process the group order I placed. Last week I emailed them asking about when they ship, and the reply said by the end of the week. Now another week has passed and they still have'nt withdrawn the funds from the bank. The email did say they had been overwhelmed with orders, but I'm wondering if I should email them again. Opinions?
Neal.

I planted about 30 "Melon" and about 20 "Amarone" from buggycrazy this year to fill in some spots in my garden. Both of these are asiatics. I had ordered from buggycrazy the preceding season and got lots and lots of different ones, but these two were the ones I wanted washes of color from. Amarone is a deep pink and melon looks like a Dreamsicle. I'll take some pics when they bloom this year and let you know how I do.

Neal, I read on another thread where somebody was expressing concern about the slow delivery from another vendor. Maybe EVERYBODY is buying lilies, lol. My concern would be them arriving in time to be planted for a show this year. Do you know what that date might be? I would give them the w/end and then call again on Monday.

My 2 cents. Unless you are purchasing exhibition sized bulbs, I wouldn't count on any new bulbs planted in Spring for a show this year.

Neal, I know you are anxious, but if you've already stated your case to them, there's probably not much more you can do. If I recall, while they had a good rating, it was just one, so if all of a sudden they've become real popular, maybe they don't have the resouces to handle all the orders timely.

good points beaker BTW, by show I meant show in my house, lol. Show for me and hubby, dogs cat, not a plant show. What size is an exhib. size bulb? also, are there exceptions? Bulbs that I planted in Jan. already have buds. I'm hoping to post pics in April.

also, some bulbs that I planted last year haven't so much as shown a hint of coming up. what would be the latest I can expect them to come up? When do I say, these babies aren't coming back?

The ones I planted from buggycrazy are already coming up. Last year I had the same experience. Of course, she does sell really nice, large bulbs.