{"id":2767,"date":"2020-03-27T00:04:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T07:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-560\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T12:36:47","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T19:36:47","slug":"dividing-and-transplanting-lilies","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/dividing-and-transplanting-lilies\/","title":{"rendered":"Dividing and transplanting lilies"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a question about what is the best time of year to transplant and<\/strong>
\ndivide Asiatic lily bulbs? Is it fairly easy to identify where the bulb<\/strong>
\nshould be divided? Also, someone told me to use a rooting solution on the<\/strong>
\ndivided bulbs. Is this necessary? Is late October too late in the fall to divide<\/strong>
\nthem?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most sources say to divide lilies in the fall. You do not need to use a
\nrooting solution on the divided bulbs. Sunset’s Western Garden Book<\/em>
\n(2001) says the following: “If clumps become too large and crowded, dig,
\ndivide and transplant them in spring or fall. If you’re careful, you can
\nlift lily clumps at any time, even when they are in bloom.”<\/p>\n

One rationale for lifting them when in bloom is provided in an article
\nfrom the Wisconsin Regional Lily Society, no longer available online, but excerpted here:<\/p>\n

“After three successive years of making this futile pact, I finally
\nconcluded that books were wrong! Fall isn’t the time to transplant
\nlilies. It’s a job best done in mid-summer when they’re in full bloom.
\nThis eliminates most of the guess work, since at this point, the plants
\nare at their maximum height, making it nearly impossible to make the
\nmistake of planting the tall ones to the front of the border, the short
\nones at the back. It also affords a crystal-clear picture of concurrent
\nbloomers. In fall, no matter how carefully one does the job, when digging
\ndormant bulbs at least one bold orange always manages to get itself
\nplaced directly beside the brightest pink. The clashing colors burn
\nthemselves into your retinas nearly as well as flashbulbs-blink quickly
\nand the image reappears!<\/p>\n

“The maximum size of the plants in mid-summer is another advantage. When
\nautumnal plants have shrunk to a mere fraction of their former selves,
\nit’s too easy to misjudge your space placement. Who hasn’t heard the
\ndisheartening ‘crunch’ of a spade slicing through the most expensive bulb
\nin the bed? How it knows the price, I’ll never know.<\/p>\n

“Spring is the only time I’d actually refrain from moving lilies. The
\ndelicate new shoot is easily broken, and once gone, the poor bulb has
\nonly two options: It will either die or spend an entire year below
\nground, depleting its energy reserves as it forms a new shoot for the
\nfollowing spring. All the while it’s caught in a perilous game of Russian
\nroulette. Without aboveground parts to warn of its existence, it can
\nnever quite be sure when a spade might suddenly come slicing down.
\nCrunch! -The second most expensive bulb gone?<\/p>\n

“Certainly no plant will be thrilled at being dug up and moved in full
\nflower, but if it’s kept well watered and blooms are removed, almost any
\nperennial will have recovered fully by the following season. One of the
\nbest gardeners I know says that the best time to move any perennial is
\nwhen you have the time!”<\/p>\n

Bulbs<\/a>, <\/span>Lilium (Lily family)<\/a>, <\/span>Vegetative propagation<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a question about what is the best time of year to transplant and divide Asiatic lily bulbs? Is it fairly easy to identify where the bulb should be divided? Also, someone told me to use a rooting solution on the divided bulbs. Is this necessary? Is late October too late in the fall to divide them?   Most sources say to divide lilies in the fall. You do not need to use a rooting solution on the divided…<\/p>\n

Continue reading Dividing and transplanting lilies<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[47,298,155],"class_list":["post-2767","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-bulbs","keyword-lilium-lily-family","keyword-vegetative-propagation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/2767"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=2767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}