CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW 'GARDEN OF EADEN' WEBSITE AND SEED SHOP
.
As a family, the majority of ornamental lilies are a pretty tough bunch and able to cope with most of what the winter weather will throw at it. However, they can be prone to rotting off in cold wet conditions, especially those varieties that originate from mountainous regions, but with a little thought - and minimum of intervention – overwintering ornamental lilies is quite straightforward. .
.
As a family, the majority of ornamental lilies are a pretty tough bunch and able to cope with most of what the winter weather will throw at it. However, they can be prone to rotting off in cold wet conditions, especially those varieties that originate from mountainous regions, but with a little thought - and minimum of intervention – overwintering ornamental lilies is quite straightforward. .
If you are planting lily corms into damp conditions or you live in an area prone to heavy rainfall over the winter period, it will be worth trying to improve the drainage of the soil by digging in plenty of horticultural grit, perlite or bulky organic matter. It may even be worth creating a low mound to plant your corms into to help keep them away from a high water table. You can even consider protecting the area around the bulb from heavy rainfall by covering them with a large cloche or ‘makeshift’ plastic tent.
Species Lilies such as the Nepalese lily are particularly prone to this and are best potted on and brought in to a protected cold environment where there is no chance of water reaching the bulb. Strangely they will tolerate temperatures down to about minus 12 degrees Celsius, but in it native environment and water would be frozen, effectively creating a ‘dry’ environment!
Lily varieties and cultivars that are not able to survive the freezing temperatures of an exposed mountain environment can be given the added protection of a good autumn mulch
Although bulbous in character, i.e. the plant is produced from a swollen underground storage organ known as a corm, it is not a true bulb. Instead it is tight, concentric ring of succulent scales which are attached at their lower end to a basal plate.
Species Lilies such as the Nepalese lily are particularly prone to this and are best potted on and brought in to a protected cold environment where there is no chance of water reaching the bulb. Strangely they will tolerate temperatures down to about minus 12 degrees Celsius, but in it native environment and water would be frozen, effectively creating a ‘dry’ environment!
Lily varieties and cultivars that are not able to survive the freezing temperatures of an exposed mountain environment can be given the added protection of a good autumn mulch
Although bulbous in character, i.e. the plant is produced from a swollen underground storage organ known as a corm, it is not a true bulb. Instead it is tight, concentric ring of succulent scales which are attached at their lower end to a basal plate.
..
Lily bulbs never really go dormant, and do best when out of the ground for as short a time as possible. If you've got the space, I would recommend potting the bulbs up right away. You can cram them in, bulb to bulb, you're just trying to keep the root system fresh and growing. You can store the pots in an unheated garage or cool basement until spring, then tease the roots apart and plant again.
If you can't pot them up right away, get some moss peat, wet it and squeeze out as much of the water as you can. Dust the bulbs with a powdered fungicide, then store the bulbs in the moss peat in an open container (which you will need to mist periodically to keep it just on the moist side) and store in the basement or garage until you can plant in the spring.
For related articles click onto:
How do you Harden off Seedlings?Can You Over-winter Citrus Outside?
How and Why does Over-watering Kill Plants?
How to Over-Winter Brugmansia
How to Over-Winter Dahlia Tubers
How to Over-Winter Geraniums
How to Over-Winter the Glory Lily
How to Over-Winter Rare and Species Tulips
How to Over-Winter Roses
How to Overwinter Strawberries
How to Protect and Over-Winter Bananas
How to Protect Tree Ferns Over Winter
How to Save and Recover an Over-watered Plant
How to Winterize Begonia Bulbs
How to Winterize Dahlias
How to Winterize Geraniums
0 comments:
Post a Comment