Expert: Long Island Gardener - 8/20/2006

Question
I live in Laconia, NH. All of my lillies have bloomed. How much do I
cut off the stalks or should I just dig up the bulbs

Answer
Hey, Gordon in the livefreeordie wonderland where my daughter went to camp for years -- don't cut those Lilies!

Best thing you can do is remove -- and yes sir this would entail "cutting" -- the spent blooms, to prevent the Lilies from setting seed.

If you haven't done that, do it at the break of dawn.  You're late, but you know that old gardener's saying: Better late than never.

We grow a few hundred Lilies at our house every year.  Still, I can't bring myself to cut more than 18 inches off even the tallest 6 foot varieties when they are in bloom.  Shorter stalks have fewer leaves to make food.  Lilies have to make food for vigor and to build next year's blooms.  If you cut enough of a stalk, you may cut away so much that the Lily does not have the strenth to bloom again next year.  Or even to survive the winter.

Water carefully and you may even try a little fertilizer for the next week or so.  Then watch them fade into the sunset as they go dormant.  Assuming they are hardy, you can leave them in the ground all winter.  Mulch with dead leaves and grass clippings if you think they are borderline.

Any questions?  I'm here!  Thanks for writing.