Lilies and Related Plants - RHS Lily Group

colonies, are being made on a yearly bases. At this time there are mature stems
from crosses among nine different geographically dispersed colonies being used
in this breeding effort. I believe improvement in vigour is being seen, instead of
6 or 7 years from seed to first flower it is happening in 4 to 5 years.
Late spring frosts
Many Lilium hybrids as well as species can withstand severe late spring frost
although cellular damage does occur which makes them very susceptible to
botrytis later in the year. There have been years where the lilies are growing and
get hit with -8°C, but have gone on to flower nicely and settle in for their next
winter under a warm snow bank. Two Lilium species grown here do not suffer late
spring frost well at all they are L . hansonii and L . michiganense. Having suffered
a late frost they take a couple years to recuperate. If they are hit with such frosts
two years in a row they are lost. The solution was to find a spot where they could
grow by sprouting a couple weeks later then they did where they were growing
originally. That spot is in an area of my garden that still has some snow cover
for one and a half weeks after all other areas have melted. It is an area shaded
from the afternoon spring sun, but which gets good summer sun once the sun has
reached it peak. L . leichtlinii followed closely by the martagons and L . dauricum
is the most durable late spring frost Lilium grown here.
Fertilizing
The only fertilizing the lilies growing here get is a generous serving of bone meal
at the time of planting. It is mixed into the soil about 2cm (1 inch) below where
the bulb will be set.
If they are seedlings being set out, the bone meal will be placed about 15cm
(6 inches) down. The only other time fertilizing occurs is when a lily says it’s
hungry. By knowing your lilies you can tell if a lily needs to be fed, because it’s
foliage will simply not have a good healthy look. To over fertilize means soft
bloated bulbs that produce Lilium stems that are susceptible to disease and the
bulbs have trouble wintering. A lean bulb is firm for the winter and produces a
healthy disease resistant stem during the growing season.
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