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Asiatic lily pot plant

#1 · 7th January 2023, 3:26 pm

Hello Everyone! Happy New Year!

I’m just wondering if anyone can help me with a rather beautiful (well, it was ?!) Asiatic pot lily that I was given for Christmas. The flowers are now all gone, and I’d really like to try and get it to flower again … but I a don’t have much in the way of a garden. It’s totally slabbed except for a small wildlife pond and rockery area … the soil is heavy clay (yuk!) and am not going to be do any slab lifting / digging at my age! (24 weeks to state pension …. Whoopie! ?)

Any ideas anyone? I’d be very grateful for suggestions… Thank you in advance!
All the best

Sue (Standby Nan)

#2 · 8th January 2023, 8:51 am

Quote from Lee Garden Ninja on 8th January 2023, 8:51 am
Hi @standby-nan
Great to hear from you again. I hope you had a good Christmas. It sounds like your house has been full of lovely Lily blooms either way!
Asiatic Lilies or Lilium asiatica as they are known in Latin, are the real party girls of the garden. Think of them as the beach babes that love to sit in the sun all day, showing off their big hair and gossiping until dusk. They bring a blast of wow to the garden for a few weeks, then retreat back for the rest of the year. If the Lilies were a person, they would be those rich ladies who lunch that hit the beach whilst their husbands play golf (I'm stereotyping massively but know your sense of humour is good!)
These Asiatic lilies are grown from large bulbs which act as a set of modified leaves that store energy to allow a brief flowering spell each year.
If yours has been forced inside (ie conditioned to think its summer and flower) then it may take a year off in the garden before repeat flowering. They are perennial lilies so come back year after year.
Where to plant Asiatic lilies:
These beautiful Lilies need full sun for most of the day. If planted in the shade, they will produce some foliage but very lacklustre flowers. After a few years, they may die off completely in shade as the bulbs are not getting enough energy to sustain themselves.
Lilium asiatica like free draining, rich soil that doesn't get water logged. So no clay soil, I'm afraid Standby Nan!
How to plant Asiatic Lilies:
A good idea if you're short on growing space or have heavy soil is to plant these lilies in containers. It means you can move them around into full sun in the summer but then also put them out of the way over winter so you're not staring at empty pots.
Plant Asiatic lilies 3x the bulbs size in depth. This helps keep them stable.
If planting in containers use a rich compost mix, dalefoot compost is excellent for this and lasts a good few years rather than shop bough dusty composts that only last a season. (This is an affiliate link so if you do choose to buy receive a small commission that helps keep this blog free to use!)
Plant them with the flat side of the bulb facing down - if you roll them on a table often they will find their own base or flat side if unsure.
Feeding Lilies in the garden:
Asiatic lilies are hungry plants. So when they are in flower its a good idea to give them a liquid feed to help store energy in their bulbs for next year. A good liquid plant feed is comfrey tea which you can grow your self or any decent organic food. Even houseplant liquid feed will do if you have some in the back of your cupboards.
https://youtu.be/drHhi8PQyQg
Supporting Lilies when flowering:
As Asiatic lilies can grow quite tall its usually a good idea to have a few garden canes to hand if they need some support. Push these as far into the container as possible and then use some string to tie in the stems if required.
Where to buy Asiatic lilies?
You can buy these plants easily from garden centres or online. Thompson and Morgan have a fantastic selection here and they can be ordered online saving you traipsing around garden centres. Sometimes buying online means you can pick the exact plant rather than what's left in garden centres. The choice is yours!
So there you go, everything you need to get these Lilies flowering again outside.
Happy Gardening Standby Nan!
Lee

Hi @standby-nan

Great to hear from you again. I hope you had a good Christmas. It sounds like your house has been full of lovely Lily blooms either way!

Asiatic Lilies or Lilium asiatica as they are known in Latin, are the real party girls of the garden. Think of them as the beach babes that love to sit in the sun all day, showing off their big hair and gossiping until dusk. They bring a blast of wow to the garden for a few weeks, then retreat back for the rest of the year. If the Lilies were a person, they would be those rich ladies who lunch that hit the beach whilst their husbands play golf (I'm stereotyping massively but know your sense of humour is good!)

These Asiatic lilies are grown from large bulbs which act as a set of modified leaves that store energy to allow a brief flowering spell each year.

If yours has been forced inside (ie conditioned to think its summer and flower) then it may take a year off in the garden before repeat flowering. They are perennial lilies so come back year after year.

Where to plant Asiatic lilies:

These beautiful Lilies need full sun for most of the day. If planted in the shade, they will produce some foliage but very lacklustre flowers. After a few years, they may die off completely in shade as the bulbs are not getting enough energy to sustain themselves.

Lilium asiatica like free draining, rich soil that doesn't get water logged. So no clay soil, I'm afraid Standby Nan!

How to plant Asiatic Lilies:

A good idea if you're short on growing space or have heavy soil is to plant these lilies in containers. It means you can move them around into full sun in the summer but then also put them out of the way over winter so you're not staring at empty pots.

Plant Asiatic lilies 3x the bulbs size in depth. This helps keep them stable.

If planting in containers use a rich compost mix, dalefoot compost is excellent for this and lasts a good few years rather than shop bough dusty composts that only last a season. (This is an affiliate link so if you do choose to buy receive a small commission that helps keep this blog free to use!)

Plant them with the flat side of the bulb facing down - if you roll them on a table often they will find their own base or flat side if unsure.

Feeding Lilies in the garden:

Asiatic lilies are hungry plants. So when they are in flower its a good idea to give them a liquid feed to help store energy in their bulbs for next year. A good liquid plant feed is comfrey tea which you can grow your self or any decent organic food. Even houseplant liquid feed will do if you have some in the back of your cupboards.

Supporting Lilies when flowering:

As Asiatic lilies can grow quite tall its usually a good idea to have a few garden canes to hand if they need some support. Push these as far into the container as possible and then use some string to tie in the stems if required.

Where to buy Asiatic lilies?

You can buy these plants easily from garden centres or online. Thompson and Morgan have a fantastic selection here and they can be ordered online saving you traipsing around garden centres. Sometimes buying online means you can pick the exact plant rather than what's left in garden centres. The choice is yours!

So there you go, everything you need to get these Lilies flowering again outside.

Happy Gardening Standby Nan!

Lee

#3 · 8th January 2023, 10:17 am

Hello Lee!
Thank you so much for your reply … and yes, super Christmas and new year! Hope you did too!
Thank you for your guidance… I shall do exactly as you suggest! Fingers crossed the little beauties will flower again and I’ll send you pictures if they do!

All the best to you and everyone on here for fabulous gardening year!
Thanks again
Sue ? (Standby Nan)