Lilies

I grow two types of lilies in my garden - small Asiatic Hybrid lilies which only grow to about 15 - 18 inches tall and are therefore suitable for growing in pots, and a species lily called Lilium Pyrenaicum which was given to me by a friend. The Asiatic Hybrids have beautiful large trumpet flowers of varied colours and are the ones which are widely available in garden centres. The species lily, Lilium Pyrenaicum, which is pictured left has much smaller bright yellow flowers with curved petals and long orange stamens. It is not as flamboyant as the Asiatic Hybrids but is much more of a traditional cottage garden plant and grows to about 24 - 28 inches in height.
My lilies flower from May to June and have just finished. The bulbs in the pots will increase and become pot bound eventually and I then transplant them to a sunny spot in the garden.
Lilies thrive in sun or partial shade and should be planted between October and March. The Asiatic Hybrid lilies are stem rooting. This means they produce roots from just above the bulb as well as from beneath it. These require deeper planting than those that just root from the base of the bulb. A good rough guide is to plant at a depth of two and a half times the height of the bulb. Young lily bulbs have contractile roots and can pull themselves down to the correct depth if planted a bit too shallowly. If planting in pots use a good soil based compost such as John Innes No.1.
One word of warning - watch out for the bright red lily beetle. The larvae can cause severe damage to your plants. They also cover themselves in a black slimy excrement which looks horrible. Luckily the beetles are very easily spotted being such a bright red colour. Just pick them off and squash them. You need to be vigilant and check your plants regularly. I find they seem to be more active in the evening. There are chemicals which can be used to control this pest but I don't like using strong chemicals in the garden where they could have a detrimental effect on other beneficial insects such as bees. Anyway it's much easier and cheaper to just remove the beetles by hand and kill them.