A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 mini lily care

Hi, I'm new!

I bought a mini lily at a grocery store ($1, can't pass that up!) and want to keep it alive. Do I lift it and repot in spring, do I plant it outside right now, do I leave it in the pot???? How do I handle watering??? The plant is about 6 inches tall, leaves but no flower or bud. It's in a small pot, I think 4 inches.

I've watered it a couple times, and it has 2 tiny sprouts coming up at the edge of the pot. I haven't doomed it already, have I???

Thanks for all help!

welcome!! what zone are you in? you're pretty far north...depending on which zone you are in, you might want to wait to plant that in the ground in early spring.

do you know the exact name of the lily?

look here to find out what zone you are in.

I'm in zone 4a, right next to zone 3. *sigh* Why didn't I move to Texas or New Mexico?!

I'm not sure what kind of lily it is .... there's no tag. It may be some kind of tiger lily, there were several other pots in the store with blooming lilies that were orange with some tiny black spots. It's a "surprise" lily!

There is a place next to the house, facing west, in a raised bed, where I could plant it outdoors. That would give it some winter protection.

there is such a lily with the name 'surprise lily'. i don't know much about it tho...it's been mentioned on a thread or two - might want to do a search for the term.

how much sun does that area get during the day? i'm thinking about spring and any left-over snow that doesn't melt too quickly causing a problem.

and, generally, lilies do better with lots of sun in the summer (during their growth period).

for my zone, i'm supposed to pull my gladiola up. i never have - i've just always put a good THICK layer of leaves down on all my beds and i've never had a problem...even the winter that was really cold and had a ton of snow...

plant it where you'd like it and put a good and thick layer of leaves down for the winter and you should be okay.

i usually do about 6 inches worth - i crumple and pack them down a bit, too. i got some of those white plastic coated wire edging things at the dollar store and i put them up at the edges of all the beds to hold the leaves in place. the edger pieces are 8 inches high...works really well to keep the leaves in place - even when it's windy.

i'd say at least 6 inches worth in your area and 8 would be better...i know you can get some wicked amounts of snow up that way!!

Thanks for the info! For the last several years, our snow has not stayed long on the ground. I could do the leaf cover though; our property has several trees.

The area I'm thinking of planting it gets afternoon sun. In the summer, it gets LOTS of sun!

then it should do just fine in that spot

Okay! I planted it in a small bed, facing west. This will give it afternoon sun only, but during late spring and summer it gets very warm there.

Joclyn thanks so much for your replies! I really appreciate it. Here's hoping my lily comes up and blooms next year! I'm going to check out other threads on this site, too.

just put down a good thick layer of mulch and it should be okay. if there's a ton of snow still sitting there in late spring, you might want to move it (don't want the bulb to be in soggy soil for too long).

post some pics next year!!

>>just put down a good thick layer of mulch and it should be okay. if there's a ton of snow still sitting there in late spring, you might want to move it (don't want the bulb to be in soggy soil for too long).

post some pics next year!!<<


I will post some, if there's anything to photograph! [wink!]

And yes, I will keep an eye on the snow. Goodness only knows what kind of winter and spring we'll have, but I'm hoping my bulbs will sprout again! I included almost all of the soil it was potted with, it looked porous, like peat.

ahh, that was good thinking!! that'll help the drainage in the spring!

Yes, that was my thought too. The area has some small stone mulch so that should encourage quicker draining too, but I know that bulbs don't take too much moisture.

If I get anything from it next year, I'll let ya know! Thanks again for all your help.