Where to plant Lillies dilemma!

Hi,


I’ve ordered 15 oriental Asiatic lillies which should arrive in the next week or do. My only problem is I hs e a garden full of spring bulbs ready to burst into flower eg hycianth, tulips, crocus, fritillary, lots of grape Muscari varieties , ( narcissus- blind unfortunately ) and bluebells ! How on earth ( mind the pun!) do I plant the lillies as I can barely see the soil now ? If I move the bulbs aside or dig under them and plant the lillies, will this disturb the established bulbs & potentially affect them blooming ? Thanks for any advice.

 

It looks as if we both have the same disease: "too plant greedy for the space you have" syndrome. I would just get down and gently, with a trowel lift the soil in between what you have already planted. I don't think the spring bulbs will suffer. Perhaps in October you could lift them all and plan a bit better. Good luck.

 

Another approach would be to pot them deeply (in ericaceous compost if orientals, ordinary if asiatics) to get them going. Once the spring bulbs have finished, you could lift and divide the narcissi and muscari at least, pop the lilies in and replant the others elsewhere?

 

I grow most of mine in pots, so you could try that when you get them @Shaneoak, and then wait until you can see where you want them in the ground. Once the bulbs in that area are done, lift the, plant the lilies - they'd probably be much deeper than what you're removing] and then replace the other bulbs.
You might lose a few of the existing bulbs, but as @noisette47 says, you can use the opportunity to divide clumps of blind bulbs to rejuvenate them too. Muscari - the blue ones anyway, can be quite invasive, so you may want to 'shed' a few of those

 

Yes ha ! Definitely love stuffing it with bulbs ! Looking amazing though , except a few casualties eg narcissus have come up blind due to overcrowding I guess! Thanks for the tips . I’ll definitely plan it better lol

 

Great advice. Thanks- I might have to do that . Ps I was looking and thryre more like tree lillies variety. Do these need special compost when planting ?

 

Great tips. Yes, I’m thinking of pots now . Yes, the dark blue Muscari are invasive albeit very pretty . I wish the sky blue ones were, they seem to fade . Oh I didn’t know the blind bulbs ( Narcisuss ) would come back next year if I replant them !)

 

I'm guessing that the tree lilies are bred from orientals, so a peat-based or ericaceous compost probably wouldn't go amiss. This 'ericaceous' business is a counsel of perfection, though....mine have had to make do with whatever was on offer here and they seem to do OK

 

I don't grow them [tree lilies] so can't help with those @Shaneoak but I'm sure you'll get help.
If you give your daffs a feed or two as they die back, that also helps, but splitting is certainly the best way to keep them thriving. Make sure they're planted nice and deep too, as shallow planting can also cause problems. Some are fussier than others as well.
Good luck with them though

 

I have tree lilies in both big deep pots and in peaty free-draining soil, and they both perform nicely year after year, although they need a firm staking and tying-in otherwise - well - you know. They're not as impressive when they hit the deck! Need regular watering if they're in pots especially. Good luck with them, @Shaneoak

 

Thank you for the advice all. Just need them to arrive here on time now!