Success with Lilies in Mid-America depends upon several specific factors. First, plant only top-quality, fresh dug bulbs.
For top quality, you depend upon those you purchase; the best is the cheapest. “Fresh dug” does not mean cold storage bulbs that have been out of the ground for a considerable time. All commercially grown lilies are dug in early fall and should be planted at once.
Lilies do not have dormant periods like glads or tulips. They are not dry corms but live plants full of moisture. If exposed to the air for any substantial length of time, they dry out severely and die.
These days of fast transportation, bulbs from anywhere in the country can reach you in fresh dug condition if properly packed.
All reliable lily dealers pack lilies in slightly moist peat moss in plastic bags. Properly close, they keep fresh for many weeks, although the sooner they are planted, the better for them.
American growers are producing millions of top-quality bulbs and shipping them freshly dug in the fall, just at the proper planting time.
No longer is it necessary to buy imported bulbs, frequently of questionable quality, which usually arrive in this country too late for fall planting and has to be held over in cold storage.
Many gardeners who “have no luck with lilies” have planted cold storage bulbs in the spring, not fresh dug ones.
The Lily Soil Factor
The second important factor in planting lilies is soil. There is a wide variety of soils in the plains states. Most of them are reasonably fertile, but most lack one important quality, humus.
Whether your particular soil is heavy clay, light sand, or average loam, it needs humus if lilies are to thrive in it. Clay soils are cold and “tight,” sticky when wet, and invariably poorly drained.
They should be modified to grow suitable lilies successfully. This is not difficult, but it is essential.
Perfect drainage is a must for all lilies. I can not stress this too much. In heavy soils, it is not enough to dig a hole; put a little sand under the bulb and maybe a little peat moss in the soil.
Starting with clay soil, you should make a mixture of one-third good soil, one-third sharp sand (such as used for cement), and one-third humus – thoroughly mixed, and I mean entirely. If your natural soil is clay, the ideal scheme is to prepare a raised bed of this specially prepared soil mixture so that the entire mass is above the heavy soil level.
In average loam soils, the situation is better, but adding humus is still needed. Add one-third of the bulk of humus and Mix thoroughly. Use a 50-50 mixture in sandy soils, half soil, and half humus. Humus acts like a sponge holding a fraction of moisture but allows any excess to drain away.
Perhaps you wonder what kind of hummus. Well, rotted compost is probably the best. Leaf mold is good, but peat is ideal if neither of these is available. Break it up nicely.
Large lumps of peat will not be of any benefit. They will stay lumps and remain useless indefinitely. Compost is easy to prepare, provides the needed humus, and is rich in food elements.
In Sun Or Shade?
The third important factor is sun or shade by the preference of the different lily varieties. A half dozen types prefer full sun, and some like partial shade for the best results.
Most lilies will succeed in either full sun or part shade. The significant advantage of part shade is that the blossoms last longer.
In analyzing reports from hundreds of garden folk all over the Mid-America area on the growing of lilies, I learn that with those who prepare their soil right and plant good bulbs at the proper time, success is almost universal.
I’ve lived in five states in the area during the past 40 years. I’ve been in every state in the area, visiting gardens and nurseries and studying soil and climatic conditions. I’ve driven thousands of miles and talked and corresponded with thousands of gardeners trying to solve their problems.
No Harm From Cold
Lily diseases have not been a factor with most folks who love lilies. Cold weather has not been a limiting factor even in the North. In Minnesota, an amateur I know has succeeded with wide varieties I felt should not even be attempted.
And in the South, the heat has seldom caused trouble except with a limited number of kinds that prefer cool climates. In general, cold winters are of little danger. Lilies withstand sub-zero winters with a minimum of loss.
You’d hardly consider Iowa winters mild – I’ve in mind one planting of several hundred bulbs in a home garden, put in during the fall of 1999. The following summer, the owner reported that every bulb grew.
A Nebraskan reported that out of 20 bulbs (nine varieties) planted; he now had nearly 200 and blooms by the thousands. A Tennessee lily fan writes that from one bulb planted eight years ago; she has grown dozens of bulbs, divided and shared with her neighbors.
One year she cut 250 blooms and sold them to her florist. Today she enjoys about 50 different varieties in her garden.
An Iowa flower gardener reports that she has never lost a single bulb after five years of planting lilies in her garden. A Kansan says that with the thermometer at 103, her hybrid lilies were thriving with 12 to 14 blooms per stalk.
A Minnesota gardener reported that all her bulbs grew and flowered the first year, some with two colors per stem despite a freezing winter.
Progress in Breeding
The last two decades have seen tremendous developments in the field of delicate lilies right here in America. New hybrids by the hundreds have been introduced.
Previously, most of the delicate lilies were species, and all too many were difficult because species are not as adaptable to average garden conditions as are hybrids.
Oregon growers produce their enormous crops of lilies right out in open fields like one would grow potatoes. They do not pamper them, and if a new variety will not stand such rough treatment, it is discarded no matter how beautiful.
This is the reason the gardeners of Mid-America can enjoy delicate lilies even though their climates are not always all that is desired.
If you have not enjoyed delicate lilies in your garden, you are overlooking something most worthwhile. However, your success will be directly proportional to how well you prepare your soil and how and when you plant.
If you produce with no more care than you would give to a batch of zinnias, you may not have much success; you would not deserve much. But if you give them your best efforts in the light of what I’ve outlined here, you can enjoy gorgeous lilies.
They don’t want pampering by any means, but they enjoy having a situation to fit their needs. It’s not difficult to supply, so why not aim to give them your best?
by RM Ware
7118 by NA