Horticulture
Tips on How to Successfully Exhibit Horticulture
Judging Horticulture
Daffodil Planting Notes
TIPS ON GROWING LILIES FOR A LILY SHOW
Our GCV program last fall on growing lilies was the final say on how to plant them in "prepared" beds---preparing the soil in September or October and planting in November when the bulbs arrive. Plant lilies 1 1/2 times the height times the width, times the depth of the bulb---spaced out in groups or rows. Always label each lily cultivar and draw a map of the design area for bloom time next year. Then you can travel with a "labeled" lily to the Lily Show.
To plant lilies in a pot, find the largest composite-material pot you can lift or afford! Place the pot on a rolling dolly before you fill or try to lift it. We prefer a south-eastern exposure, near a house or in a spot where the plants will receive full sun, but protection from cold and wind. Fill the bottom third of the pot with pea-gravel and small rocks. Add a covering of part sand and part garden soil, then start the first layer of lily bulbs. (All one kind or type, like Eyeliner or yellow LA-hybrids works best.) Add more soil, mixing in finely ground leaf-compost. Add another layer of lilies. Keep on going with the leaf compost and soil/sand mix, plus more and more lilies until 7 inches from the top of the pot. Top off the pot with Miracle Grow and chopped leaves mixed together like topping for coffee-cake. You will have a mighty FRUIT-CAKE-of-a-pot, full of lilies. In June you should win lots of prizes at the Middleburg Lily Show or blow the socks off your guests at summer cocktail parties near your south-eastern deck or patio.
(Courtesy Laura Anne Brooks, NALS Lily Judge)
Our GCV program last fall on growing lilies was the final say on how to plant them in "prepared" beds---preparing the soil in September or October and planting in November when the bulbs arrive. Plant lilies 1 1/2 times the height times the width, times the depth of the bulb---spaced out in groups or rows. Always label each lily cultivar and draw a map of the design area for bloom time next year. Then you can travel with a "labeled" lily to the Lily Show.
To plant lilies in a pot, find the largest composite-material pot you can lift or afford! Place the pot on a rolling dolly before you fill or try to lift it. We prefer a south-eastern exposure, near a house or in a spot where the plants will receive full sun, but protection from cold and wind. Fill the bottom third of the pot with pea-gravel and small rocks. Add a covering of part sand and part garden soil, then start the first layer of lily bulbs. (All one kind or type, like Eyeliner or yellow LA-hybrids works best.) Add more soil, mixing in finely ground leaf-compost. Add another layer of lilies. Keep on going with the leaf compost and soil/sand mix, plus more and more lilies until 7 inches from the top of the pot. Top off the pot with Miracle Grow and chopped leaves mixed together like topping for coffee-cake. You will have a mighty FRUIT-CAKE-of-a-pot, full of lilies. In June you should win lots of prizes at the Middleburg Lily Show or blow the socks off your guests at summer cocktail parties near your south-eastern deck or patio.
(Courtesy Laura Anne Brooks, NALS Lily Judge)
