Urgent, will it be too late to plant lily bulbs in two weeks?

We have to fill in where new steps were poured with topsoil (can mix in some peat I have), and I read that lilies are good to prevent soil erosion. Can I plant the bulbs if I order some as late as the middle of June? Usually they should be planted in the fall.

Reply to
I Love Lucy
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Give it a shot. Consider the alternative. Waiting...not always a bad thing ;)) But if you have the bulbs now plant now and transplant when you are ready perhaps in large pots? Lilies can grow to six foot +. A consideration I'd go with a ground cover out to your lilies. Is OK to make many mistakes.

I have!

Bill

Reply to
William Wagner

Oh, thank you. They are kind of expensive; I don't care if they don't bloom this year, only that I get them planted right and properly and they make it through the winter. I'll read up on them. If they spread that much, maybe I don't need so many. I need to order them, but the place was pretty fast on my last order.

Yes, I've made my share of mistakes, and can't say I've learned from all of them. Some I just don't know why something didn't grow and thrive.

The current ground cover is nasty grass and weeds on a terrace that needs a complete overhaul. But I need something started to hold the soil first.

What goes with lilies? Do you have any ideas? Not completely full sun but away from the house some and facing east, so most of it gets sun for a significant part of the day.

Reply to
I Love Lucy

If they spread

That is six foot tall not wide. I'd go slow and look about your area and go to formal gardens and take notes. If you see some thing that connects go for it. Neighbors may have to divide plants too:)).

Good Luck!

Bill

Reply to
William Wagner

Yeah, I'm gonna need it. I just ordered a dozen wild lilies (Regal Lily of China) and my credit card was refused. Looked that up and see no prob with limit or unauthorized charges, except one little one I will check out, think I try to call right now while I'm thinking about it, although they haven't posted my most recent payment (in full). It worries me until I find out what is going on with that. Maybe I entered something wrong. Who knows? They did confirm my order and say they would get in touch with me. I think the same thing might have happened the last time I ordered from them so maybe it is on their end.

Thanks again! Yes, I will visit what I can and be on the lookout for what might work well, don't want a super formal look but don't want a hodge podge either, and I hadn't planned on putting lilies there until I read a post further down. Didn't really have a plan. Well now I do. Now only to make it work!

Reply to
I Love Lucy

The best time to plant Lily bulbs is in the fall or early spring but you can plant them in the late spring or summer if you need to. The only "problem" I have had planting them late is that they bloom late.

Be careful who you order them from. Some places may not ship them until fall if you order them now so be sure to ask before you order. And you might want to check out local garden store. Many of them have marked down their summer bulbs and you can really get a good deal now.

Reply to
Bill R

Thank you for that info. I need to plant them asap, even if they produce no flowers this year, the roots should help with soil erosion after excavating and pouring new steps. I'm getting help with it, and we are going to put in some new topsoil, but I am going to have to ask the guy who poured the concrete to dig further out before we fill with topsoil (right now it's just a fairly narrow trench). I won't plant them too close to the steps. I hope I can get it straightened out from the place I ordered from because I don't know if I could find that particular kind locally. It's a zoo around here, and I've been to about as many garden places as I care to go to this year! They're sold out of a lot of the best flowers, I was lucky to get what I did.

I'm going to try to rig up some old boards, bricks, stone, something spaced between where I plant the lilies to try to hold the bare soil on the terrace behind it until they start to grow and we should be able to tamp it down some but not too much. For some reason this winter, my one back terrace has always been bad for healthy grass (these will be nearer the healthier part, thing runs half a block) and whole puddles of mud ended up on the sidewalk. I had to scrape the mud off with a shovel and throw it back, never had that problem before. It hasn't happened with spring rains, however, thankfully. Some areas on the back terrace have gone completely bare. I sprinkled some grass seed, but it must have gotten washed away, and you need to keep it moist which I couldn't at the time, will either have to sod it or do the burlap thing, a pain on top of everything else I'm trying to get done this season.

If they are the kind of company who take orders and ships in the fall, I will cancel my order and find someplace/something else or just put some annuals in there (didn't do well one year when I tried to grow there) because of dry soil on the top for small seedlings and crabgrass. I'll have to figure out way to deal with the crabgrass later, there are patches of it all over the yard. Read some tips and may get Chem Lawn if airborne spray doesn't damage flowers. Right now I'm just digging/pulling it out in critical areas but that is no long-term solution.

I'm hoping that because you plant lilies fairly deep, they will find enough moisture for the roots and it will be drier on top, plus the soil should retain moisture better with the plants shading it as they mature.

I saw that particular lily in a book and marvelled at its beauty, not that there aren't plenty other ones that are beautiful, too, and never imagined that I could find some like that. I always want something different my neighbors don't grow, as there are various lilies here and there. I like the orange ones on country roads but am tired of them in town gardens. Now I have my heart set on that, particular lily and they are having a huge sale now (online).

I found the most beautiful resurrection lily (not a true lily, people here id'ed it for me) growing wild in a field a couple years ago and wanted to ask the owner if I could try to transplant it, but I guess I can live without it and didn't have the energy to dig it up if they said ok because who knows in that tall grass how I'd get all the bulb(lets). This particular one had sky blue tips on pink petals with yellow throats. Most of the ones I have seen you can buy have more purplish tips. I wouldn't want that by the steps, but would like to grow one somewhere sometime.

I'm getting ready to try to root some old rose cuttings and heard coir, oh I'll start another thread on that if I can't figure out a plan for that. The coir is too matty and should be shredded a little finer I would think. I need to get those rose cuttings started asap, too.

For years I've been toying with the idea of laying stone on the back terrace and making tiers. Part of the problem is that if I do that and can't keep up with it, it will be a mess and it's just easier to go over it with the lawn mower.

So many things running through my mind from years of neglecting my yard and now trying to get it back in shape. I never had it all the way I wanted it, but did reclaim from nature many areas and got flowers growing, many failures along the way and some successes. I know a little more from reading about the things I failed at that I now have a little better chance at success.

Sorry I talked so much. I have to work all this in with getting a lot of things repaired and, of all things, a baby owl we found that I am worried about if the parents are caring for it. It has been in my lilac bush for the last 3 days, moves high up at night and comes down amonst the branches during the day. I've been round and round with the animal people and experts on that and must do as they say, but it's been heavy on my heart because I so want to try to feed it and they told me not to.

What a week this has been and there's so much more lined up to be done. It's tiring to do the work, but it's also tiring to have to try to stay on top of things and the turmoil and snags you always run into you didn't plan on when starting.

Thank you for your advice and listening.

Reply to
I Love Lucy

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