A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 a question about lillies

I was at the grocery store the other day a nd saw a pretty little single lily in a pot. I thought about buying it but I dont know much about them.
how often do they bloom? how big do they get?,etc.

if anyone has info, please pass on all you know. Thanks!!

They bloom once, but the blooms usually last a while. Usually 2-3 feet tall or so depending on the variety. My opinion is they are beautiful flowers when blooming, but once the bloom fades you're left with a bare, rather unattractive stem and foliage. I usually cut the seed pods off.

Definitely something to be planted with other plants of equal height and different bloom times. Their flowers make them worth the effort in most cases. At least that's what I'm inclined to believe.

I plant mine in the garden beds.I scarf them up on clearance(everyone beat me this year ;( ) I have some growing from seed also.

and, if cared for, they will come back next year.

I have all kinds of lillies planted throughout my beds. I think they are awesome and add so much color to the garden. The best part is they come back every year and are even more plentiful! Of course, my favorite are the Stargazer lillies and they smell absolutely wonderful!

thank you everyone, for your responses. I too just love stargazers. the one at the syore was something different, white and light pink without spots, but still cute.

I may just go back and get one now that I know they can be grown fairly easily.
and, thanks again to everyone who answered.

I always remove the tops of the stamin, where the pollen is (carefully, so that no pollen touches the flower's pistil) & that makes the blossom last longer, because it tricks the plant into thinking that its job isn't done!

Of course, if you want the Lilly to make a seed pod, pollination is necessary, & you wouldn't want to remove the pollen-bearing stamin.

That`s very interesting, Patty. I got a Stargazer that is blooming now. I`m going to try your tricks. lol Should I wait until it is finished blooming before I plant it in the ground for next year? Sue

I'm not real real sure about that one, Sue.. I know that I would try it, but I don't know if it's recommended! I don't think that the blossoms are going to last any shorter or longer, one way or another, & it's got to get planted out there sometime! (Don't you people bring those kinds of things up out of the ground in the winter, though? I thought it gets pretty cold there.)

what part of pa, squirrel? here, zone 6b, i don't take up the lilly bulbs and they've come back every year.

Thanks for the info. I`m close to Harrisburg. 6b also. Glad to find someone in my zone!!! I must of planted a lily last year because I have one with buds in one on my gardens! But for the life of me I don`t remember planting it. lol I`m anxious to see what it looks like. It`s in a location that looks like I planted it-beats me. Do they come up from seed? I have some columbines I didn`t plant either. I`ll take em any way I can get em. lol Thanks again. Sue

i think some lillies can be started from seed and columbine definitely can.

you can thank the local birds for those 2 presents!!

Sue - I had the same thing happen to me this year - I have 6 lillies coming up under and around my wisteria - I know I didn't plant them - 1 is all alone between a climbing rose and the wisteria - the other 5 are squished together and growing slowly under the coverage. I'll have to move them next year - I don't want them covered up

I'm so glad to know this happens to other people too! I was beginning to wonder if my addiction had gotten so bad that I was outside gardening in my sleep.

I've had Lilies, Crocuses, Daffodils, Tulips and Narcissuses all come up in places where I would never plant them. Since I have all these bulbs in my yard I'm assuming that my darling little squirrels have dug up the bulbs and planted them elsewhere for me. :rolleyes: Just this spring I found two Daffodils and a Tulip growing in deep shade under my pine tree. I've found when you have squirrels you can expect a few surprises, some pleasant and some not so pleasant! Right now, I have three blooming onions growing in two of my beds. I didn't have any before and don't want them now, so they're coming out. Geesh, if they are going to bring plants from other people's yards I wish they would bring something I like! I've had some Surprise Lilies growing the last several years that I never planted, so I guess I can thank them for that.

lol, i never thought about the squirrels...

Hey patches I'll take the blooming onions. I love all times of onions. About the only thing I don't have are the leeks lol. What do you say huh, huh, huh lol.

Joclyn, I've got a lot of other critters around here too, but the squirrels are the only ones I can think of that would do something like this. They dig up everything, like my newly planted annuals or any other things that have been freshly planted, like my Strawberry plants. They don't hurt or destroy the plants, they just dig them up. The only problem is, they leave them laying on the ground in the sun with their roots exposed and drying out, so I really need to stay on top of it!

I wouldn`t have thought of the squirrels either. But I guess they could have planted my lily. lol I find all kinds of things in my flower pots when I go to plant them in the spring. Peanuts, Acorns, and little trees sprouting everywhere. My neighbor puts ears of corn out for them and we all have corn stalks coming up in our neighborhood. I left one go last year and it got little corn cobs on it. lol I guess that`s what it`s supposed to do. lol Sue

Hey tk, I say YES, YES, YES! If you want them you're more than welcome to them. I sure don't want them and I was going to dig them up! Just let me know!

I just love all types of Lilies, they are so easy to take care of. I also love the leaves