I have new Lily bulbs with stems growing.

[harryhh]

I live in an apartment building with virtually now flowers growing. I'm not a gardener at all, but thought I would plant some lily bulbs. The 22 bulbs I have all have stems growing, ranging from 2 inches to 8 inches.

The ones with 4 inches of stem or more I suppose I could plant them with an inch or so of stem showing.

But, I'm wondering about the bulbs with shorter stems. Should I plant them with an inch of stem showing, or should I plant them under the surface and allow the stem to come up by itself? Most, if not all of the stems have green tops on them.

Thanks,
Harry

[valley]

Hi Harry, It remains a secret where you live and the temperature they will deal with, but I would say lilies will do well in about 12" of loose soil, with the bulbs planted 3" to 4" deep. This will keep the bulbs cooler. Good luck with them.

Richard

[harryhh]

Thanks Richard. I live in zone 5, a hundred miles west of Chicago and a little more south. I guess I didn't give enough information. I had 22 lily bulbs in packages purchased form the store. A couple bulbs had no stems, a couple less than 2 inches, the rest ranged from 2 to 8 inches.

I planted these plants in a mixture of soil and potting soil. The 2 bulbs without stems, which may be bad, I planted at about 3 inches. The 2 with the shortest stems I also planted at about 3 inches with the stems completely buried. The rest of the bulbs I planted anywhere from 3 to 5 inches with anywhere from half inch to 4 inch of stem showing.

This leaves most of the bulbs planted at less than the recommended 4 to 6 inches. Hopefully they will grow. In the fall, I will come back to this forum and ask if it is alright to dig up a lily bulb after growing for only one season, and plant the bulb deeper for the next season.

I'm not a gardener and don't have any intention of becoming one. There is a lily growing right outside my apartment against the wall. I've been here for 3 years and I don't do anything to the plant, and it keeps growing. That sounded easy, so I figured what the heck, I'll plant some more around the building. No fuss, no muss. We have large overhanging eves and that lily doesn't get much water, the soil is pretty dry. The only thing I can figure is that it is pretty deep and getting water from somewhere. That's why I want the new bulbs to be pretty deep also.

Harry

[valley]

Greetings Harry, When the plants dry completely back you can dig them, but I would wait a year or two until you dig them to separate the new bulbs. Good luck, you could show us the flush when the bloom.

Richard

[NatureHillsNursery]

“Valley” gave you good advice, but I would add that you really don't have to worry much about lily bulbs. They’re extremely hardy, so you made a great choice if you’re someone who doesn’t want to fuss with plants. My only other suggestion is to not plant them too shallow because critters (especially squirrels), tend to enjoy them as a tasty treat…so you may want to watch out if you see some suddenly see some little visitors checking out your garden.

[valley]

Chicken wire over the top of what they're growing in for the rodents.

Richard

[harryhh]

We do have a couple of squirrels around, but so far they are more interested in eating our bird seed.