Caring for lilies in the fall, preparing for winter: what to do, whether they need to be covered

When is it necessary to dig up for the winter?

They are very diverse in their varieties. But everyone is similar in terms of care.

To accurately cover it before the onset of cold periods, follow the required steps:

Trimming.
Covering the bulbs.
Full excavation.

It is important to do this in the fall, around the end of September. Many gardeners are unable to find the best rule among the three options for all species and seek an individual approach to all varieties.

Features of wintering lilies of different varieties by region

Wild non-varietal plants are often grown in front gardens; they do not require careful care, so it is not necessary to dig them up every year. For normal development of rhizomes and full flowering, it is enough to replant them to a new place once every 3-4 years. Plants of this group tolerate significant frosts well and can winter without additional shelter (provided they are planted correctly) even in Siberia.

How to preserve lilies in winter

You can store it outside (for frost-resistant species), in a container (for species that cannot tolerate temperature fluctuations).

So that they survive the winter and do not deteriorate or become moldy, follow the classic rules:

Cold-resistant varieties can be covered with leaves or manure humus in a layer of 10–15 cm.
Unsustainable species must be dug up.
The roots should never be cut off.
Proper storage of dug up bulbs.
Two weeks before planting, be sure to water them in the containers in which they were stored.
Precision planting in spring.

There are varieties that are not at all adapted to temperature changes. They must be dug up before the onset of cold weather.

Under ordinary shelter they will not be able to overwinter and delight you with their blooms. Therefore, they are completely dug out of the soil of the earth.

They dig in several stages:

Remove any dry petals or leaves.
Dig out completely with the head.
Carefully examine the appearance of the bulb itself.
Rinse the head with warm water.
Soak for half an hour in a disinfectant.
Roll the onion in ash.
Dry completely.
Store in a cool place, checking constantly.

Once properly prepared, it should be placed in a special container and covered with a cloth similar to burlap. If possible, place moss in a container.

In this way we preserve from autumn to spring. When spring arrives, it is important to carefully examine the roots of the head and shorten them a little.

To prevent the bulbs from spoiling, also observe several storage conditions:

The storage location should not be very dry.
The storage location should not be very humid.
The air temperature should not be very high or low.
Make sure that mold does not appear.

What to consider when preparing for the fall

Different reactions of lily varieties to sub-zero temperatures

If American, Tubular, or Oriental hybrids are planted on the site, then their bulbs definitely need to be dug up. They will not survive the winter in the ground, except in certain southern regions.
Candidum and Royal lilies will have to be additionally covered.
The easiest way to prepare for winter is with varieties such as Martagon, Daurian lily, Pennsylvanian lily, a number of Asian and OT, OA, LA hybrids. One snow cover is enough for them to keep the bulbs well until spring.

But there is a nuance here too. Some varieties intensively grow babies during the summer (for example, the already noted Asian and LA hybrids). If you do not remove them from the ground in the fall and do not separate the parent from the offspring, then, most likely, such a lily will no longer produce abundant flowering. The reason is banal - the “child” will pull some of the nutrients onto itself. Consequently, an adult plant will receive significantly less than it should. Therefore, the exact procedure for preparing a lily for winter can only be understood by knowing its varieties and local specifics.

A separate topic is the northern regions. It is unlikely that with such harsh winters it is advisable to leave lilies on the site. Therefore, in terms of autumn flower preparation, the bulbs must be removed from the ground and the planting material must be stored at home.

Some varieties of lilies are classified as “especially valuable” or “rare”. Considering that their bulbs are quite expensive, it is better not to experiment and remove them from the ground for winter storage. Even if you have a lot of experience in growing these flowers, you should not hope that the coming winter will be a repeat of the previous one. The weather has been throwing us such “surprises” lately that predicting anything is futile. Therefore, it is more advisable to keep planting material at home. It's more reliable.

Location of the proposed planting site for lilies on the site

In principle, it does not matter how the plant prepares for winter. But if a segment of the territory was initially chosen incorrectly for a bed (flower bed, flower border), back in the spring, then it is better to replant the lily (while leaving the bulbs in the ground).

What is meant?

Configuration of underground water layers. If they are close enough to the surface, then with heavy rainfall in the fall or melting snow in the spring, the soil will be oversaturated with moisture. As a result, the lily bulbs will rot.
The slope of the plot with flowers. The same. If there is a high probability that it will be flooded with water, it is advisable to replant it.
Depth of tubers. It happens that when planting bulbs in spring, it was determined incorrectly. During the season, this is not important, since the soil is prepared in advance, and the care of lilies in the summer is organized. But if there is an excessively large layer of earth above the tubers, then with the onset of warm days it will be quite difficult for young shoots to break through the dense layer that has hardened over the winter. And since not all summer residents come to the site in early spring, many of the sprouts simply will not sprout.

How and when to prune lilies for the winter

If the species are resistant to cold periods, then they do not need to be completely dug up. Therefore, you should simply tear off the dry parts according to the rules, preparing for the cold.

Gardeners constantly adhere to incorrect cutting. As soon as the bud has bloomed, they immediately begin to prune the flower.

This is incorrect because after flowering the stems still have vitality and continue to accumulate nutrients.

You can also tear off leaves in several stages:

Start the procedure before the first cold weather sets in.
The leaves are cut 10 cm from the ground.
Gently loosen the soil.
Sprinkle plenty of sawdust around the tuber.
Cover it near the ground with film.
Trim old or damaged leaves annually.

The leaves and flowers die off on their own in the fall and therefore it is better not to touch them to avoid dying.

If they grow in unstable weather conditions, it is better to dig them up for the winter. This way you will save your life for a long time.

Rules for caring for lilies outdoors in autumn

So what to do with lilies in the fall? There are a number of autumn activities that are very important for the successful cultivation of perennial bulbous crops. These include pruning, fertilizing, and preventive treatment against diseases.

Watering

From the second half of August, watering stops completely! Excess moisture can cause fungal diseases, soaking and rotting of the bulbs. An exception is watering when applying liquid fertilizers and after applying dry granules.

Pruning lilies in autumn

Pruning lilies in the fall is the most important procedure for caring for a bulbous crop, which helps the plant prepare for winter, successfully survive frosts, and begin growth in the spring with renewed vigor.

It is impossible to prune lilies in the summer immediately after flowering ; this can greatly harm the plants or even cause their death. The fact is that after flowering, the plant actively continues its life activity: photosynthesis processes take place in the foliage, the roots continue to grow, the bulb is saturated with nutrients, gains strength for wintering, and ripens. And if you cut off the above-ground part immediately after flowering, the bulb will not be able to ripen and prepare for winter.

After flowering in summer, you can cut off only the flower stalks so that the plant does not waste resources on forming seeds. By removing the peduncle, the bulbs will ripen better.

The timing of pruning lilies in the fall is determined by the appearance of the plant: the leaves and stems should wither and dry out . These signs indicate that the bulbs have matured and the above-ground part can be cut off. As a rule, pruning time occurs in September or early October (in different regions of Russia, due to different climatic conditions, the timing of the care procedure may differ).

The scheme for autumn pruning of lilies is extremely simple: you need to prepare a disinfected pruning shears, and then completely cut off all the stems with leaves, leaving stumps about 15 centimeters high from the soil surface .

Important! If you do not prune lilies in the open ground, then pests and pathogens may remain in the foliage and shoots, and in the spring they can infect your flowers and other plants in the garden.
For the same reason, after autumn pruning, you need to immediately burn all plant debris.

Autumn feeding of lilies

Feeding lilies in the fall is the key to good health of the perennial plant, successful wintering of the bulbs, resistance to diseases and pests, lush and beautiful flowering in the coming season. The most important elements that this crop requires during this period are phosphorus and potassium (they increase the winter hardiness of the bulbs, make flowering more luxuriant and longer).

When is the best time to fertilize? It is most effective to feed lilies immediately after flowering . However, if you did not apply fertilizers during this period, you need to feed the flowers in the fall, but before the earth cools and cold weather sets in (approximate dates for autumn feeding: late September or early October). You can also combine and produce 2 subcortices ! At the same time, it is better to apply fertilizers in liquid form after flowering, but in dry form in the fall.

The following mineral fertilizers can be used as phosphorus-potassium fertilizer: superphosphate (40 grams per square meter of flower bed) and potassium sulfate (20 grams per square meter). Or you can use ready-made complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizer for autumn feeding of various crops (according to the instructions for the preparation).

Note! If you use dry granules, you need to lightly work them into the soil and then water them (in dry weather).
And to make a solution, you need to completely dissolve the granules in the indicated dosages in 10 liters of water (for better dissolution, you can first dissolve the fertilizer in a liter of warm water, and then mix it with plain water). And then water the flower beds with the solution (10 liters per sq.m.).

As organic phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, you can use wood ash (a source of potassium) and bone meal (a source of phosphorus), 100 grams of each substance per 1 square meter of flower bed. However, wood ash contributes to the alkalization of the soil, so it cannot be used when growing Asian, Oriental, American lilies, and LA hybrids (it is these species that do not tolerate alkaline soil).

Important! Before applying liquid fertilizers, you must first water the flower garden with plain water. You also need to water the flower garden after planting the dry granules.

As an organic fertilizer, you can mulch the flowerbed in late autumn with humus or compost . However, you should not abandon mineral fertilizers in favor of such organic matter, because the latter serves as an additional feeding, but not the main one, because they do not contain the necessary potassium and phosphorus.

Preventive treatment against diseases

Any disease of garden crops is easier to prevent than to treat. Therefore, in order to protect a perennial flower from fungal diseases in the next season, it is very important to carry out preventive treatments of lilies in the fall.

Disease pathogens can be eliminated using preventive spraying with a fungicide solution, for example, Bordeaux mixture, Hom. In this case, you need to spray not only the plants themselves, but also the soil around them.

How and what to cover lilies for the winter

Cold-resistant varieties do not particularly need special shelter. Covering them with a snow layer of up to 10 cm will be enough for them. But it is important to know that excess moisture will be a threat, and they can freeze in the cold season.

They can be covered with different materials. The main ones:

Wood sawdust.
Peat.
Compost.
Ruberoid.
Pieces of roofing felt.
Film.

It is not particularly recommended to insulate fallen leaves. This is because sometimes due to moisture, various pests can settle there. The best would be a coniferous shelter for the winter.

They usually cover in mid-October or a little later (when the first snow falls). This is done directly a week after the first snow.

It is also important to remove the buildup in time. If you remove it ahead of schedule, the heads may freeze and will not survive the next season. And when you harvest it too late, the stems will be very thin and will not be able to grow normally.

Features of preparing Eastern flower hybrids for winter

Overmoistening is detrimental for them. And during the winter (for example, with little snow cover and thaw) and in the spring this is quite possible. When leaving such varieties in the ground, it is necessary to carry out a number of measures.

Transplant lilies to higher ground. This could be an artificial hill, raised beds (flower beds). The methods are different, and the relevant information is available on the Internet.
First, a little river sand is poured into the hole - the onion is laid - again a small layer of the same sand. Above is the soil.
Before the first frost, peat should be scattered on the site (about 5 cm).
After the soil has hardened, you can cover the soil with lily bulbs with sawdust or other mulch. But not with fallen leaves. Such advice occurs quite often. But are they useful? In addition to small rodents, other pests also like to spend the winter in the foliage. It is in it that they often lay their larvae, which in early spring will be one of the first to taste the young shoots of lilies. Therefore, the author does not recommend following advice on insulating bulbs with leaves, tops, dry grass or straw. This won't end well. Tested in practice.
To protect the ground from waterlogging, a waterproofing material is laid (and fixed) on top. For example, thick P/E film.

In principle, there is nothing particularly difficult in preparing lilies for winter. If you take into account all the nuances of the site, the specifics of caring for a particular type of flower, then in the spring it will certainly delight you with magnificent blooming buds.

Basic requirements for storing bulbs

Preparation, processing and sorting of bulbs

It is recommended to carry out several preparatory procedures with the dug up bulbs for their further high-quality storage during the winter months.

First you need to separate all the daughter bulbs and rinse all planting material well. Then you need to trim the stems and roots; their length should not exceed 5 cm. Next, each bulb is inspected in order to exclude the presence of disease or the onset of rotting. Damaged and infected bulbs cannot be stored. If there is slight damage, you can try cutting it off, and then treat it with brilliant green or sprinkle it with crushed activated carbon (or wood ash).

Preventative treatment is necessary for all healthy bulbs before storage. First, they are soaked for 30 minutes in a warm disinfecting solution based on manganese or karbofos. As a preventive measure against the appearance of onion mites, a soap solution based on laundry soap is used for washing. After this, the wet bulbs should be rolled in wood ash and left in a dark room with good air circulation to dry. It is very important not to overdry the planting material, as it will become unusable.

The next procedure is sorting. Large and medium-sized bulbs are useful for spring forcing, and the smallest specimens can be used for planting in flower beds in the spring season.

Temperature

The most favorable conditions for proper storage of bulbs are temperatures from 0 to 5 degrees Celsius. With such moderate cold, the bulbs will not freeze, but they will not germinate.

Storage

The storage location must have conditions under which the planting material will maintain the necessary humidity and receive fresh air in the form of regular ventilation. One of the most suitable storage places is a household refrigerator or basement. It is important that the bulbs are not stored in the refrigerator together with vegetables and fruits, since most fruits have a negative effect on lilies due to the ethylene gas they produce. A loggia, glassed-in balcony or cellar can also be a storage place, but the bulbs may suffer from unexpected temperature changes.

Storage methods

Wet wintering - when stored in damp conditions, planting material retains the necessary humidity and air permeability. You can place the bulbs in a plastic bag filled with sand or moistened peat, but it is better to place them in moss and wrap them in thin paper. As the wrapper becomes moist, replace it with a dry one.

Dry wintering - the dry storage method involves placing the bulbs in dry soil with a waterproof cover. These bulbs need timely moistening (about 2 times a month) and treatment with manganese solutions at the first signs of mold.

Wintering in the open air - a place for such storage should be chosen in a low-lying area where snow has been lying for a long time and high snowdrifts have accumulated. The construction of a storage facility consists of preparing a shallow trench with a lid, the walls and floor of which must be insulated using polyethylene or thick cardboard (or dry peat). This material will perfectly retain moisture and heat. The bottom of the storage is covered with a reliable drainage layer, which in spring will protect the bulbs from melted snow.

Experienced gardeners recommend placing small containers of water in the prepared trench along with the bulbs to control the temperature inside. If, when inspecting the storage facility, the water is not frozen, then the bulbs are safe.

Transplanting into pots

You can save planting material in another way, if you transplant the plants from the garden or flower garden into a regular pot, and after the above-ground part has withered, rearrange them in a cool room with a temperature of 5 to 10 degrees and with good lighting. Basic care is to moderately moisten the soil as needed. These bulbs are suitable for spring planting in outdoor flower beds.

Is it possible to leave the bulbs in the ground?

Some gardeners are afraid to dig up lilies and leave them in open ground. This is quite dangerous, especially if the flowers are grown in northern regions with harsh winters. However, experienced gardeners assure that under dense snow cover the bulbs overwinter normally and do not deteriorate.

It is necessary that the snow shelter be at least fifteen centimeters thick.

If there is no snow cover, the likelihood that the plant will die is extremely high. Therefore, to be on the safe side, the area where the flowers are grown is covered with an insulating layer of pine paws, dry spruce branches and peat. When creating an insulating shelter, it is spruce and coniferous branches that are used, since they are the most reliable. The shelter is removed in the spring, when the frosts end and the temperature rises to 5-7 degrees.

People who plan to leave bulbs in the ground for the winter should remember that this method is used only when growing frost-resistant varieties. This storage method is not suitable for oriental hybrids, as they will die at the first frost. Even an additional polyethylene coating will not protect hybrid varieties from low temperatures.

Propagation of lilies during storage

Often, when preparing bulbs for storage and during the process, flower growers are left with a large number of scales. This is an excellent material for propagating flowers. They are placed in a bag with damp moss, peat, sawdust and placed in the refrigerator for a while. Moisturize periodically. After about a month, small sprouts will appear on the scales, which are divided and planted in a container with soil. After a year, you can get bulbs for planting.

The author of the video will tell you how to remove lily bulbs for the winter: