storing Lilium bulbs for the winter
by Di
(Calgary zone 3)
I am reorganizing my flower beds and since my lilies were green till today and tonight is expected to go bellow _4 deg C I dug them out. I read two versions of storing lily bulbs over winter. One is to keep the roots somewhat wet (not soaked) and the other is to keep them in a fridge. Both methods call for non growing medium as peat moss or saw dust as a storage medium. How do the industrial growers keep the lily bulbs over winter?
Doug says that a lily is an interesting plant in that the bulb can dry out or be damaged by poor handling very easily. Commercial growers don't keep them damp or wrapped up with material but they do control the humidity to keep it humid enough to prevent drying out. So this isn't likely something you're going to be able to do.
In general the problem with overwintering them out of the ground is that there's a fine line between rotting and drying out for most home gardeners.
Generally speaking a barely moist vermiculite is used and the bulbs get warmish (65F) dark conditions. When I say "barely" I mean just a hint of moisture - almost enough to clump the material together but nothing more. If you can feel it "wet" it may be too wet. (Boy, that's tough to describe) :-) but I hope you get the picture here.
This works for most bulbs. Not tender tropical ones or indoor ones but should help for most of the hardier garden lilies. Two notable exceptions - L. candidum is much better off being planted as it roots in the fall better (although it will survive this treatment) and L. canadense needs damper conditions than this and probably won't winter indoors without specialized care. Good luck.
