As a tender plant, it is a good idea to dig up and store your lily bulbs to ensure year after year beauty. Most lilies are hardy to United States Department of Agriculture zone 8 with good mulching. However, bulbs left in the ground during winter freezes may not come back in spring and can even rot.
Wait until just after the first frost to lift your lily bulbs. Before you lift them, cut the decayed foliage back to about.3 inches (0.8 cm) above ground level. Lifting the bulbs and overwintering them indoors is particularly important for tender varieties of lily, such as tender colored callas.
Overwintering Lily Bulbs Indoors Lift your lily bulbs after the first frost. If you live in a colder climate but have lilies growing outside in the garden, consider lifting your bulbs over the winter to give them a better chance of survival. Carefully dig out your bulbs.
What do you do with lily bulbs after they overwinter?
After storing lily bulbs during winter, wait until mid to late spring to plant them. If you want an early start, place bulbs in containers with well-drained soil in pots 6 weeks before the date of the last freeze.
This begs the question “How do you plant lily bulbs for winter protection?”
Some authors claimed Apply organic material several inches over the planting zone to insulate the bulbs for winter. Lilies look best in clumps. To achieve the effect, plant bulbs in groups of 3 or more. Space the bulbs 8 to 12 inches (20-30 cm.) apart .
How to care for a lily plant over winter?
Another important tip on how to care for a lily plant over winter is to avoid watering. The bulbs do not need watering more than once per month in low humidity areas and not at all until late winter in high moisture sites. Overwintering lilies in cool climates starts with digging the bulbs from the soil.
How do you save a dying container Lily?
Container grown lilies are simple to save until the next bloom period. Cut off spent flowers and allow the greenery to die back. Diminish watering as the plant begins to go dormant. Once all the foliage has died back, dig up the bulbs and separate any that have split into offsets. Offsets are new bulbs and will result in new plants.