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Bulbs/Exploding Asiatic lilies

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Expert: Long Island Gardener - 5/6/2008


Question
My Asiatic lilies were planted in a nice row in my garden.  Each plant (about 3
feet tall and well branched) gave me a lot of flowers last year.  This year about
12 plants have come up in a clump where there was only one plant last year.  
Must I divide them?  Will they bloom if I leave the clump alone?  I would love
it they filled the garden.  I just don't want to have a lot of leaves and no
flowers. Some of the lilies are coming up as one plant like they did last year.   
I am in zone 5 - Toronto, Canada  Thank you for any advice.

Answer
Asiatic Lilies are the easiest of hardy Summer Bulbs, and quick to multiply --  especially if they're growing in rich, healthy Soil.  Traditional rules of culture call for waiting two or three years after the Bulbs begin to self-split, then divide the clump and re-plant.

Hold off at least one more year, then in Autumn at the end of the season, dig, divide and quickly re-plant.  New bulblets will bloom in just a few years.

L.I.G.

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Expertise

Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.

Experience

Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.

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