Expert: Long Island Gardener - 11/17/2007

Question
I have asiatic lily's (I think that is what they are called), that I just dug up this weekend (11/17).  I live in a condominium in Chicago so space is limited and I'm not quite sure how to handle them.  I'm worried that if I leave them outside in a large planter they will still freeze in January or February.  For the time being I was debating just replanting them and bringing them inside for the winter.  Any thoughts on the best way to keep them?

THanks,

Answer
Lilies, Asiatic and Oriental and otherwise, don't REALLY go dormant.  They fare badly out of the ground for any legnth of time.  On one hand, you are most certainly correct that leaving these outdoors in a planter will be a sure way to lose them.  Moisture and cold adds up to cell damage of the worst kind, and they won't make it through a Chicago Winter.

But you can't leave these indoors, either.  If you have a cool basement, pot them up and get them someplace cool -- down in the 30's.  If you have an old refrigerator, you can put them in a clay pot and try to get them through the season by setting the temperature high, so that it does not get into the low 30s but still stays fairly cool to keep them semi-dormant.  Biggest danger is still bulb rot.  You have to really know what you're doing.

The temperature is the key here.  Any access to a chilly environment?  rsvp