There is no clear answer to this question, as it depends on the area in which you live and the type of plant you grow in your garden. But still, let's look at this issue.
Despite the fact that lilies are perennial plants, they still require periodic replanting. Carrying out this procedure allows you to assess the health of the bulb, separate daughter plants from it that may interfere with full growth and flowering, and also somewhat update the root system. The growth rate of the bush and, accordingly, the frequency of repetition of work depend on the variety being grown.
How and when to replant lilies? Basic rules for transplantation
- The plant should be in a dormant stage. This time most often occurs after the end of flowering or in the spring before growth begins.
- Before digging up the bulb, it is necessary to cut the stems almost to the root.
- Not only the babies, but also the affected scales are removed from the mother bulb. After this, they are placed for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- All roots need to be trimmed, leaving about fifteen centimeters and not drying after soaking. They are immediately put in a new place.
How to store flowers if you are not going to replant the lilies after digging them up?
If you are not going to plant the bulbs right away, they should be placed in bags with holes filled with wet sawdust and peat or moss. The planting depth is determined by the variety to which the flower belongs. The larger the plant itself and the taller it is, the deeper it is planted. For example, tall lilies are buried by fifteen to twenty centimeters, while low ones will need ten to twelve. In order not to make a mistake, you can remember one rule - the depth should be approximately three times the diameter of the hole. The soil itself also influences the planting level. For light soil it is greater than for heavy soil. The hole is dug a little deeper than it should be, sand is poured onto the bottom, an onion is placed and covered with earth.
When can you replant lilies?
Most varieties can be planted in September or August, when autumn is just beginning. Many amateur gardeners are interested in the question: “Is it possible to replant lilies in the spring?” Of course, if your varieties are oriental and tubular hybrids, it is better to plant them in a new place at this time of year, since in the fall there is a great threat of frost. When transplanting late, you must take care to protect the lilies from frost, and this can also delay flowering next year.
How and when to replant white lilies?
They are most often represented by the Candidum variety, and the period of their “relocation” falls in July and August. A change of place should be made no more than once every five years. Asian hybrids are universal because they can be replanted at any time, even during flowering. There are varieties that are not at all demanding about changing places. They can be replanted once every ten years. These include Martagon and American varieties. Let's hope that you have figured out when to replant lilies, and our recommendations will help you correctly plant your favorite flowers on your site.
Garden lilies are quite unpretentious to grow and they bloom even for novice gardeners. The main condition for good growth is to plant or replant the lily correctly. If you strictly follow all the rules, then lilies will not only delight the eye with luxurious flowers, but will also actively reproduce.
Timing for transplanting lilies
The optimal time for replanting is considered to be the time when one and a half or two months have passed after the bush has flowered. Since our different varieties of lilies bloom from late May to early July, the time for replanting them will be from mid-July to the end of August.
Which lily bush is ready for transplanting?
Some lilies are green after flowering, and some begin to turn yellow - all can be replanted. In any case, as soon as after flowering a seed box begins to form at the top, it must be removed. It is better to do this by simply breaking it off. If this box is not broken off, it will draw juices onto itself, which will negatively affect the ripening of the bulb.
How to replant lilies
When the time comes to transplant, do it like this:
- Using a fork, dig up the lily bulbs along with the stems sticking out of the ground. If there are babies growing on them, separate them.
- Trim the very ends of the roots a little - use sharp scissors.
- Dig a hole 2.5 times deeper than the height of the bulb to be transplanted.
- Pour a mixture of humus and sand into the bottom of the hole and make a small hill out of it.
- Place the onion on a hill and spread its roots loosely over the hill.
- Cover the bulb halfway with soil and water it well.
- When the wet soil settles, fill the hole to the very top with dry soil.
- Pack the soil around the stem and add a little more water.
- Mulch the planting with dry peat, sawdust or small twigs.
- Cut stems sticking out of the ground to a height of 7-10 cm from the ground.
Plant the rest of the baby tubers in the same way.
The main rule for planting lilies: never bury the bulb too deep into the ground. Its depth should not be greater than twice the height of the bulb itself.
How often to replant lilies
With good care (timely feeding, loosening and watering), lilies bloom beautifully in one place for 3-4 years. After this period, they should definitely be replanted. If this is not done, the bulbs will go deep and will be difficult to dig out in the future. Also, if they are located too deep, many children will form near the main tubers - they can deplete the main bulb, and the lily will not bloom very intensively.
When transplanting lilies, choose sunny places and places where there is no stagnant water. In partial shade, lilies will bloom, but their color will be pale. If water stagnates, the bulbs can rot and the plants die. Lilies are not very picky about the soil, but it is better if the soil is light and loose.
A beautiful native of Asia Minor, which appeared in Russia from a historical point of view quite recently - during the time of Peter the Great, the lily took a special place in our gardens and hearts. This magnificent perennial does not require special attention, but responds gratefully to care, giving amazing, delicately fragrant flowers. Today we’ll talk about how to preserve the traditions of the annual festive flowering of lilies and avoid their degeneration and diseases. And also about how to replant a lily in the fall.
The need for autumn transplantation
Lilies cannot be grown in one place for more than 4-6 years. The fact is that it quickly forms new bulbs, the flowerbed thickens, and the flowers become smaller, become sick, and if emergency measures are not taken, they degenerate. It is considered optimal to transplant lilies once every 3-4 years, but there are different varieties: some require annual moving, while others grow well in one place for 10 years. With lilies, like with people, everything is deeply individual, however, the bulk of these elegant works of nature still require radical changes after 3-4 years.
Now let's figure out when is the best time to replant lilies. Most gardeners agree that the most convenient time is autumn. This benefits both parties. After summer flowering, the bulbs are in a dormant state, do not sprout and are ready to move quietly. And it’s easier for gardeners: there’s no need to rush, as is always the case in spring during the hottest time. It is important to imagine and take into account the timing of their flowering. Moving is possible a month and a half after the plant stops blooming. You can’t touch it before this time, it won’t have time to get stronger and prepare for winter. But again, let’s make a reservation: a lot depends on the type of lily, the timing of flowering and the climatic characteristics of the region.
Optimal transplant timing
Having decided on the need for autumn work on transplanting lilies, we will figure out the timing of their implementation. After all, you can’t throw a bulb into frozen soil and expect abundant flowering next year. So, when to replant lilies in the fall?
Plants with early and mid-flowering periods are good. What are their features? Early dates determine flowering at the end of June-July. At average, the lily completely blooms in mid-August. In central Russia, autumn replanting of such plants is carried out in August or September. Since the flowering period is far behind, the bulbs have accumulated nutrients and formed several children. When you have to replant lilies at a later date, you should do this with great care for the weather. It will be necessary to take care of high-quality shelter for the winter. Since a late transplant may cause delayed flower stalks next year.
Late flowering lilies
When to replant trumpet lilies and oriental hybrids? After all, they delight gardeners with their flowering almost throughout September. For such plants, spring replanting is preferable. You should not take risks by planting them before winter; there is a high probability that they will not have time to take root.
Choosing planting material
Experienced gardeners begin replanting work by preparing the site, soil and bulbs. Before you think about how to replant a lily in the fall, you should ask the question: “Which lily is best to use for replanting?” There are several rules that must be followed to get a good result. The main mistake a gardener makes is buying Dutch-made bulbs for planting in the fall. Why? Bulbs grown on your own plot or purchased from local gardeners will bloom effectively next year. In the fall, lilies are replanted in a dormant state, having bloomed in time with an undisturbed growth period. Purchased bulbs always have a stunted growth period. As a rule, they are sold with sprouts. This means that they are ready to grow as soon as they hit the ground. Planting material from Holland is dug up much later - in October-November, due to the climatic conditions of the country. It is sorted, processed and stored or goes on sale when the planting season has already passed. Therefore, to the question of when to replant lilies bought in a store, the answer is clear: it’s better in the spring. If you can’t wait and the bulbs have already been purchased, you can plant them by first cutting or carefully breaking out the sprout. In this case, they will sit in the soil for a year without signs of life, become stronger and bloom the next season.
Preparing lilies for transplantation
You need to know that the stems of lilies do not need to be cut off after flowering. Let them
dry, this is considered an indication that the bulbs are ready for transplanting. After you dig them up, you should let them rest, after cleaning them, removing dried or dead scales, and carefully dividing them into parts, if they have not fallen apart on their own. To avoid the occurrence of diseases, it is necessary to pickle the bulbs by placing them in a solution of potassium permanganate or special products sold in gardening stores such as Maxim.
Planting site and soil
Lilies love sunny places, but “agree” to light partial shade. The soil must be well drained, sufficiently fertile, without close access to groundwater. Before replanting a lily in the fall, you should prepare the bed: dig it up, make holes for the bulbs. It is important to remember that the depth of the hole corresponds to the height of three bulbs plus 6-10 cm for the roots. Plants are planted at intervals of 15-20 cm in rows or groups - this depends on the plan of the grower.
River sand is added to the bottom of the hole. It is hygroscopic and prevents the bulb from drying out by retaining moisture. Then add compost or a little humus mixed with soil. Now we lay the onion, cover it with a mixture of sand, earth and humus, compact it on top and pour it well with warm water.
Reproduction of lilies by scales
We offer an excellent and economical way to propagate these luxurious flowers using scales. Carefully separate the bulb of the variety you like into its scales. They should be separated from the bottom very carefully. We etch the scales, strictly following the instructions for the product whose solution is used. You need to prepare a clean plastic bag and moss. It is better to use sphagnum - an excellent natural antiseptic. But any forest moss growing nearby will do. It is always quite moist, retains water for a long time, preventing the occurrence of putrefactive processes, and will serve as a good environment for the formation of small bulbs. We put the scales in a bag, sprinkle them with layers of moss, close them and store them in a moderately cool place until spring. By spring, bulbs will form on the scales, which will require growing. They will get stronger over the summer. And with good care, scale lilies will bloom next season.
Is it necessary to cover the plantings for the winter?
Lilies are generally frost-resistant, with the exception of oriental hybrids. There is no need to cover their plantings. If this work was carried out quite late, and there is uncertainty that the bulbs will survive the cold, you can insulate the beds with dry leaves or coniferous spruce branches. It will be necessary to remove the shelter as soon as the snow melts so that the bulbs do not dry out.
Now, knowing how to replant a lily in the fall, you can put the information received into practice. The plants will undoubtedly appreciate all these simple operations and provide gardeners with luxurious flowering. For many summer residents, they bloom from June to October, attracting the admiring glances of others. It is quite possible to create a garden of miracles by planting lilies of different flowering periods.
26 Aug 2017
Lilies are wonderful garden flowers that are classified as perennials.. The basis of lilies is a bulb; it consists of scales attached to the bottom, roots grow from the bottom, and in the center a sprout is formed that grows into an erect, tall stem with an inflorescence. The shape, color and size of the bulb depends on the type and its age. After planting, the lily bulb not only grows, it also multiplies, forming daughter bulbs at the bottom and in the zone of supra-bulb roots on the stem just above the bulb.
The most common varieties of Asian lilies reproduce the fastest. After 4-5 years, one Asiatic lily bulb forms a dense nest of 3-5 large bulbs and several small ones. It’s good when there are more lilies, but when the bulbs become thicker, they begin to lack nutrition, there is no room for their further development, so the plants weaken, fewer flowers are formed in the inflorescence and they do not reach their actual size. Congested nests of lily bulbs need to be replanted; to do this, they are dug up, separated and planted in a new place.
Trumpet and oriental lilies reproduce a little more slowly and should be replanted and divided after 6-8 years.
When to replant lilies:
The first question that gardeners have is: When to replant lilies? The best time to transplant lilies is from the second half of August to September, when the lilies fade and their leaves and the upper part of the stem begin to turn yellow, at this time the bulb goes into a dormant state; when transplanted, it experiences the least stress. Before the onset of cold weather, the horse system of the bulb will strengthen and next year the lilies in the new place will bloom in full force.
If it is not possible to transplant lilies at the end of summer - beginning of autumn, then you can transplant them to a new place in the spring or even in the summer with buds or flowers. You need to dig up a flowering lily bulb with a clod of earth, without destroying it, so as not to damage the roots. Lilies transplanted in summer must be watered and shaded for the first time. Remove flowers and buds so that all the plant’s energy goes towards rooting and developing the bulb.
Asian varieties of lilies require replanting more often than lilies of other groups., as they grow in nests, 4-5 year old plantings form up to 4-6 bulbs in a nest. In addition, Asiatic lilies have supra-bulbous roots, which additionally form small children. Asiatic lilies are replanted after 4-5 years. These lilies are the most popular and widespread in gardening, as they are unpretentious, winter-hardy, and rapid reproduction by children makes them accessible.
Asiatic lilies are at the peak of their beauty from the 2nd to the 4th year after planting, when they form a lot of buds and large flowers bloom, but in the following years, the stems grow not so strong, the flowers become smaller, which means it’s time to replant lily bulbs.
Trumpet and Orleans hybrids of lilies also grow in nests., but their first babies appear only in the 3-4th year after planting. Without transplantation, these lilies bloom without weakening for up to 6-8 years in one place.
Lily Curly, Caucasian and North American varieties grow very slowly and can remain in one place for up to 7-10 years.
Transplanting lilies to a new place:
1. It is better to replant in dry weather so that the lily bulbs are better cleared of the soil and are not dirty.
2. For convenience, the stems of lilies can be cut off at the surface of the ground.
3. It is better to dig up lily bulbs with a pitchfork, so you will damage their roots less. If you dig up flower bulbs with a shovel, some of the roots will be cut off and there is a risk of cutting the bulbs.
4. Divide the dug nests into separate bulbs; they are easily separated with your fingers; a knife is not needed for the work. Select small bulbs - children from the supra-bulb roots; after transplanting, they quickly develop into full-fledged bulbs.
5. Remove the soil from the separated bulbs, but their roots cannot be cut, just shorten the too long roots a little. Cut the stem with supra-bulb roots with pruning shears at the top of the bulb or unscrew it to the base.
6. Carefully inspect the peeled bulbs; they should not have dark scales, roots or spots.
7. To prevent the appearance of diseases, lily bulbs are kept in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes.
8. After digging, lily bulbs can be immediately planted in a new place; there is no need to dry them. Lily bulbs are dug up and replanted in September, but no later than mid-October, will have time to take root before winter and will bloom next year.
If you need to save lily bulbs for planting in the spring, place them in a bag of peat or sawdust. Make holes in the bag for air access. You can store lilies in a bag in the refrigerator in the vegetable department or in the cellar.
Preparing the soil for planting lilies:
The process of planting lilies does not depend on the time of year. In autumn or spring, the soil must be dug up and filled with fertilizers before planting the bulbs. so that the flowers do not experience a lack of nutrients, since they will grow in one place for several years.
Lilies not only need nutritious soil, it must be loose, breathable. Lilies will not take root in heavy clay and marshy soil. Coarse sand must be added to such soil.
To increase fertility, up to two buckets of humus compost or well-rotted manure, superphosphate and potassium sulfate, 50 grams per sq.m., are poured under planting. Fresh manure or mullein cannot be added to the planting of bulbous flowers; they provoke the development of putrefactive diseases.
Lilies do not like acidic soil, so the ground is limed or wood ash is added up to 200 g. per 1 sq.m.
Plant lily bulbs as follows:
1. Dig up the space reserved for planting lilies using the bayonet of a shovel and form a trench, since the bulbs are always planted in a group in one or several rows. The depth of the trench should be 20-30 cm, and the width depending on the rows of bulbs. To place the bulbs in two rows, at a distance of 25 cm, you need to dig a trench two shovels wide.
2. Loosen the bottom of the trench with a pitchfork, pour humus, fertilizers, wood ash into it and mix with the soil.
3. Place the bulbs in the trench, spreading the roots to the sides. Large bulbs should be located at a depth of 15-20 cm from the surface of the earth, small children are planted at a level of 8-10 cm, and small ones at a depth of 5 cm. To regulate the planting depth, you can pour mounds and place the bulbs on them, spreading the roots along its slopes. It is better to plant lily bulbs, selecting large ones for a deep trench and planting small bulbs separately; they will bloom only after one or two years and adult plants will not oppress them.
4. If lily bulbs are susceptible to diseases, then they are placed on mounds of sand and sprinkled on top first with sand and then with earth.
5. When transplanting lily bulbs, for tall varieties the bulbs are placed at a distance of 25-30 cm, and for low lilies at a distance of 15-20 cm.
6. After planting, lilies are watered abundantly.
Caring for lilies after transplantation:
1. To prepare for the first winter after planting, the surface of the ground where the bulbs are planted is mulched with peat, straw, and dry leaves. If the winter is expected to have little snow, then you can stick branches or spruce branches after pruning the garden to retain the snow, then the soil will not freeze deeply.
2. In the spring, after the snow melts, the surface of the earth is cleaned and the soil is loosened so that moisture is retained in the ground longer.
3. Caring for lilies consists of weeding, loosening and watering at the root. There is no need to fertilize lilies in the first two years if you have amended the soil well when planting the bulbs.
But if your lilies bloom late, and a month after that it will already be cold, then the bulbs will not be able to take root well in the new place. After all, if the soil temperature drops below zero, the bulbs may become hypothermic, their root growth will be delayed, and the plant may die. Therefore, in areas where autumn frosts occur early, replanting lilies should be postponed until spring.
In areas with a temperate climate, autumn replanting of lilies is carried out in August-September, when the plants have finished flowering and the underground shoots have already accumulated enough nutrients. By this time, instead of one planted bulb, several new ones had formed.
If you need to replant your lily later, remember that a lily transplanted in colder weather will need to be thoroughly covered for the winter. But such a lily may bloom next year with a delay.
When transplanting lilies in the spring, another problem arises: the need to preserve the bulbs dug up in the fall until spring. To do this, it is necessary to dig up lily bulbs in October: by this time they will already have accumulated sufficient nutritional reserves.
You need to dig up the bulbs, shake off excess soil and put them in a plastic bag with holes for air. Place wet sawdust between the layers of bulbs. This bag can be stored all winter in the refrigerator.
With the onset of warm spring days, the bulbs are planted in soil mixed with sand and rotted leaves.
Is it possible to replant lilies in the summer?
The only variety of lily that is replanted in the summer is the snow-white lily (candidum). This special flower has a dormant period in mid-summer. During this period, in July-August, the lily must be replanted in time, since in September the plant will already begin to form a new rosette. The optimal frequency of transplanting snow-white lilies is 
once every five years.
Asian lily hybrids can be replanted at almost any time, even during their flowering period. The main requirement for replanting these plants is to try not to damage the fragile roots, and to water the transplanted lily well in the new location. In this case, it is better to pick flowers and buds. This will make it easier for the lily to take root, and next year you will admire its beautiful large flowers.
Flower growers note that those lily bulbs that were planted in the spring develop faster compared to lilies transplanted in the fall. Therefore, before you start replanting lilies, decide on the optimal period for this work.