Content
Lilies are luxuriously flowering perennials. With their beauty during the flowering period, they can outshine even roses. It is this beauty that often scares away beginners in floriculture - they think that caring for such a miracle is associated with incredible difficulties, and in most cases they are very mistaken. It is lilies, especially some of its varieties, that practically do not require any care after planting. The main thing is to choose the right place and time. But the variety of lilies is enormous - therefore, there are a lot of nuances in growing them - it all depends on the specific variety you choose. Planting and replanting lilies in the fall to another place is the topic of this article, which provides answers to the most common questions novice gardeners ask, afraid of doing something wrong in caring for the royal beauty - the lily.
Planting lilies in the fall, when and how to plant
Before we talk about how to transplant lilies to another place in the fall, you need to discuss the process of settling these exotic beauties on your site. Planting lily bulbs in the ground in the fall is the most traditional and favorable for most regions of Russia.Only in areas with a harsh climate and early winter (North, Siberia) are lilies planted in flower beds not in the fall, but rather in August.
In fact, spring planting of lilies is also possible and has become popular in recent years. After all, planting material for these luxurious bulbs is now available almost all year round, and many impatient gardeners purchase bulbs even in winter. But most lilies bloom already in the first half of summer, and do not tolerate frost well, so when planted in the ground in spring in most areas, the bulbs will experience stress and developmental delays, and may not bloom at all this season.
If you have already become the proud owner of a lily bulb in winter or early spring, and want to plant it as expected in the fall, then the best course of action would be the following. Keep it in a cool place until the sprout appears, and then plant it in a peat pot (volume of at least 0.5-0.7 l) with a light soil mixture and grow in the most lighted and moderately warm place, preventing the temperature from dropping below zero. You can use a balcony, loggia, veranda.
In the summer it can be buried in the garden in a semi-shaded place, and closer to autumn it can be planted in a permanent place.
In general, when buying lily bulbs for autumn planting in stores or markets, do not take those that have even small sprouts.
The fact is that these sprouts will quickly grow after planting, and in winter they will most likely die, and the bulb runs the risk of rotting.It is best to take lily planting material in the fall from familiar gardeners who dig up their bushes for replanting to another place.
When to plant lilies in the fall
Many people are interested in when to plant lilies in the fall. The fact is that bulbs planted in open ground must have time to grow and strengthen the root system before the onset of stable frosty weather. (And the perennial roots of lilies are able to develop even at slightly above-zero temperatures.) Only in this case will the sprouts that appear in the spring be able to safely withstand the return of spring frosts.
According to the requirements of agricultural technology, the average air temperature during the autumn planting or transplantation of lilies should drop to +10°C and not rise much higher. Since this happens differently in different areas, the timing of planting lilies in the fall can vary greatly.
- In the Moscow region and in general in the middle zone, you can start planting (transplanting) flowers in mid-September and carry it out until the beginning - mid-October, depending on weather conditions.
- In the southern regions, the planting dates for lilies in the fall are shifted by a month - mid-October - mid-November.
- In the Urals and Leningrad region, it is better to plant bulbs already, starting from the end of August and in September.
- And for most regions of Siberia, it is better to do this procedure in August.
How to plant lilies in the fall
When answering the question: “How to plant lilies in the fall?” You should first pay attention to the choice of location. After all, on average, lilies grow well in one place without transplanting for up to 4-5 years, and some (curly) even up to 10 years. Absolutely all lilies love well-drained, light soil, so attention must be paid to the preparation of drainage and also the soil mixture. If you have heavy clay soils, then you need to dilute them with sand. In addition, most lilies develop well in slightly acidic soil, but some varieties (Snow White, Caucasian, Tubular) absolutely require slightly alkaline soil. To do this, add chalk or wood ash to the soil mixture for planting. If the soil, on the contrary, needs acidification, peat is used.
If the soil on the site is not very fertile, you can add 100 g of superphosphate per square meter of planting.
It is advisable to place flowers in a sunny place protected from the winds, but many varieties can grow in partial shade, and some even prefer it (Sargent, Ganson, Canadian, Caucasian, Curly, Calloused).
People often ask how exactly to plant lilies in the fall. If you are using store-bought bulbs, or those obtained from an unreliable source, it would be more prudent to soak them in a 0.2% solution of foundationazole or Maxim before planting.
For planting, dig holes of the required depth in the prepared area, pour 2-3 cm of coarse sand on the bottom, place the lily bulb and cover it with the prepared soil mixture, without compacting it too much.
The next important question is about the planting depth of lily bulbs. It is determined by the size of the bulb itself, the mechanical composition of the soil in which it will grow, and even the type of lily itself. For example, many times the already mentioned snow-white lily must be planted to a depth of no more than 2-4 cm. Similar recommendations should be followed when planting Catesby and terracotta species. For most lilies, especially Asian hybrids, which are capable of forming roots not only on the bottom, but also on the lower part of the stem, you need to choose a planting depth that is two to four times the diameter of the bulbs. Lily bulbs with powerful and tall stems or large peduncles (Hanson, Willmott, Henry, curly) are also planted quite deeply (from 12 to 20 cm or even more).
- Firstly, more moisture is retained at depth and flowers are much more comfortable in hot summers.
- Secondly, the soil at depth does not freeze longer, which allows roots to develop over a longer period of time.
- Thirdly, plants produce many more babies.
- Fourthly, the growth of the peduncle in spring is slower, but it is practically not afraid of spring frosts.
Finally, remember that in light sandy soils, the depth of planting the bulbs should be greater than in heavy loams.
When calculating the distance between bulbs when planting, you should use common sense. The closer you plant them, the sooner you will have to plant them. This primarily applies to Asian hybrids.If you know that the flowers of your variety reach 40-50 cm in diameter (which is not surprising for lilies), then closely planted, they will look ugly. On average, the distance between the bulbs is left at 20-30 cm.
Beginning gardeners are also often interested in when lilies planted in the fall emerge and bloom. The timing of emergence of seedlings depends greatly on the region where you planted the lilies. Typically, sprouts appear when there are stable above-zero temperatures during the day, and frosts occur only at night. In the south, the first shoots may appear as early as March-April. In the middle zone (Moscow region), lily seedlings usually appear in late April - early May. As a rule, the seedlings of tubular hybrids and Candidum appear first.
And flowering begins in June in the southern regions. In temperate latitudes, Asian hybrids are the first to bloom in late June - early July.
Do I need to dig up lilies for the winter?
Lilies retain the reputation of such capricious flowers that many gardeners, especially beginners, often wonder whether they need to dig up lilies for the winter. In fact, the vast majority of varieties of lilies, primarily Asian hybrids, most of the natural species, LA and OT hybrids not only do not need to be dug up for the winter, but they do not even need to be covered with anything, at least in the middle zone . In Siberia, in regions with harsh winters, it is advisable to insulate them with a layer of organic mulch (humus, compost), about 15 cm thick, and then cover them with fallen leaves.
Tubular hybrids are less resistant to frost, but still in many regions of Siberia they winter well under shelters.Oriental hybrids - the most exotic representatives of lilies, are also the most capricious; in the middle zone they can survive under shelters, but already in the regions of the Urals and Siberia it is better not to risk it and dig up the bulbs for the winter.
Thus, whether you need to dig up lilies in the fall or not is up to you - it all depends on the weather conditions of your particular area. In addition, some lilies, for example, oriental hybrids, are no longer afraid of frost, but of damping off, so their shelter must be covered with waterproof material on top to protect the bulbs from excessive dampness in late autumn and early spring.
Caring for lilies in autumn, preparing for winter
In the fall, immediately after planting, no care for lilies will be required. If there may be frosts without snow in your region, then it is better to immediately cover the place where the lilies are planted with spruce branches, or even better, pine needles, which will prevent slugs from getting to the flowers in the spring, and on top with fallen leaves and waterproof material. It is especially important to cover young bulbs in the first year after planting (transplantation).
Subsequently, if you decide to dig up lilies for winter storage, then, most importantly, do not let them dry out. They must be sprinkled with wet sawdust and placed in bags with holes. The bags should be stored either in a cool, frost-free cellar or in the lower compartment of the refrigerator.
Transplanting lilies in autumn
Although lilies can grow in one place for about 4-5 years, over time many varieties produce children, the number of which increases every year.They require free space to live and involuntarily take it away from the mother plants, which reduce the number and size of flowers, and they themselves become shorter. There is only one way out - to plant bushes.
Most Asian hybrids produce such a significant number of children that some sources advise replanting them even every year. Other species and varieties, on the contrary, practically do not produce children or produce very few (tubular and oriental hybrids), at least in the middle zone for a very banal reason - they simply do not have enough summer warmth. In any case, keep an eye on your lily; if, despite feeding and care, its flowering has worsened, it means it needs a transplant.
If you have not decided when to replant lilies in the fall or spring, then think about the fact that when replanting in the spring, you will in any case damage the roots of the plants (and they are perennial in lilies), the flowers will appear much later, and the plants will not have time to prepare for winter due to for late flowering.
In the summer, after flowering, the bulb gradually begins to prepare for the dormant period, and after a month or two, at the beginning of autumn, the most favorable time comes for transplanting lilies to another place. It is no coincidence that it is during this period that it is recommended to plant lily bulbs in a permanent place.
But it is better to remove the ovaries or seed pods formed after flowering, unless, of course, you are going to propagate lilies by seeds, which is very troublesome and time-consuming.
So, you have decided to start transplanting lilies to another place.If their stems have already turned yellow, then before replanting they can be cut off for convenience, leaving stumps 10 cm long. If the stems are green, then there is no need to cut them, but you must try to handle the root system as carefully as possible.
You dig up the bush, stepping back about 30 cm from it. The root system of different types of lilies can be very different: in some it is powerful and bunched into a dense earthen lump, in others, after digging, the bulbs crumble like potatoes. In any case, carefully separate the large onion from the numerous children and plant them in a new, pre-prepared place. All rules and recommendations for planting distance and depth discussed at the beginning of the article also apply in case of transplantation.
If your plants have not been sick with anything during the season, then there is no need to subject the roots to additional treatment with fungicides. It’s also not worth pruning them - they are perennial and will continue to grow in a new place. But it is very desirable to free it from rotten or damaged scales or roots, if any.
If, for various reasons, you cannot immediately plant the bulbs in a new place or want to share planting material with your neighbors, then do not leave the bulbs in the open air, even for a short time. They can dry out very quickly, because they do not have a protective shell, like other bulbous plants. Immediately after digging, place them in damp sawdust or moss; in extreme cases, wrap them in damp cloth or newspaper and wrap them in plastic.
Conclusion
Thus, planting and replanting lilies in the fall to another place is not a particularly complicated process, but it allows you not only to update the planting and appearance of your garden, but also to propagate your favorite flowers.
