Last spring I planted 6 Asiatic lily bulbs in a big pot. They never grew a single leaf or stem or anything. I did not see anything poke out of the soil surface. Soon summer came and there still was nothing. I decided to check them--and I found that though there were no stems/leaves, there were some roots. The bulbs looked fat and plump. Well, at least they were growing "something"!


Today, I checked again. I dug and dug, and there were no bulbs. Finally, I hit some nice white roots. However, there were no bulbs! I dumped the pot upside-down and checked the soil. There was a tangle of white roots, not attached to anything. There were no bulbs! Nothing. Not even a rotten shell which would have indicated that the bulbs rotted. It's like the bulbs suddenly disappeared into thin air.

What happened to them? I guess some squirrels or mice, but do they eat bulbs? If so, how should I keep them away from my bulbs?

Lilies can be planted in either fall or spring and will flower if they are of mature size. They don't need a cold period to bloom.

Your culprit may have been a vole...they love lily bulbs and can even tunnel up through the hole in the pot if it is big enough and the pot in sitting on the ground.