Lilies Part2 -Updated

When I first started this blog, having scrapped any that had gone before, it was mainly as a brain exercise, plus, not a little, nostalgia. I came across the Six on Saturday meme run by Jim Stephens at Garden Ruminations and, through that, organically increased my presence on the web. This has prompted me to re-publish some of my old material some of which is updated. These posts are purely about the plants that I have grown and photographed, mainly in my previous garden, unless otherwise stated.

Lilies generally prefer a slightly acid soil, originally I planted them in pots preferring to have the scent close to the house. As their numbers grew, I started to remove them from the pot intact and planted the whole thing in the border after the first year. This worked quite well as many of the “transplanted groups” gave a good display for years. If planting direct into the garden it is recommended that a layer of grit is placed beneath the bulbs to aid drainage. The thing to avoid is creating pockets in heavy soils which will fill with water during the winter. If planting in heavy ground a thorough cultivation of the planting area adding grit and additional grit under and around the bulb would seem prudent. I usually plant at 100mm which also helps to stabilise the stems as many lilies do actually throw roots out from the stem. Remember using odd numbers in a group always looks better and less artificial.

Watch out for the lily beetle! Next post miscellaneous, plus pest and disease and the giant of them all Cardiocrinum giganteum.