I have found lilies rather hard to sell also. The only ones that sell almost every time is Stargazer. Part of it, I suspect, Is familiarity. THen too, they are rather fragile and hard to get to market unbroken and harder for people to get home unbroken.

Perhaps you need to talk them up more...explain that they will keep blooming until the last bloom is open, tell them how to remove the pollen baring parts to prevent staining, and let them know what a fine cut flower they are.

As far as the scent, either they will love it or hate it! SOme people have an allergic reaction to just the scent or associate it with funerals.

I would love other ideas for selling them also!

Asiatic lilies are one of my main stems, but I only sell pre-made bouquets at market and have never tried selling by the stem. Customers will choose a bouquet with lilies before a bouquet without.

Perhaps trying 3 stems bundled with some frothy filler (baby's breath or sea lavender) with a bundle on display in a vase would show the customer how beautiful they are in the vase. That would be something I would try, displaying the stems that are too bloomed out to sell. Lots of blooms open on the display stems would really get people looking at how beautiful they are. Also sometimes (I find) using a sign that says 'limited time offer' or 'this week only' or something similar gets customers looking.

Just another quick thought. Earlier this summer I had some drop dead gorgeous peony bouquets. But it turned out a lot of customers had peonies blooming that week and I didn't sell as many as I'd hoped (and only to those who didn't have their own peonies). Perhaps that was the case with lilies last week.

As an aside, I had a couple dozen oriental lilies (stargazers and casa blancas) growing in 1 gallon nursery pots. None were open but all had nice fat buds. I decided to take them last week to market, and sold every one and probably could have sold more.

Thank you for your input. I guess there's really no rhyme or reason to this one!

I agree that with lilies people either love them or hate them, and my co-worker just told me the other day they remind her of funeral homes, lol! Not a good association to have when trying to sell them, lol.

Pudge, I also usually only sell bouquets. Actually, this year, due to health reasons, I have not set up my booth at the market, but I am assisting another vendor at her booth at a different market. I don't have a lot of flowers this year, but had the lilies and figured that morning I would give it a shot. I didn't have time for bouquets - and really had nothing cut. I'm hoping maybe this week to have something - anything, lol! - to put in with them to make bouquets. I like your idea of some frothy little filler. Sounds beautiful.

In the meantime I have a two refrigerators full of lilies, lol! I usually bring some leftovers into work, but hesitate with the lilies because of the strong smell. Maybe I'll give it a shot and see how the co-workers handle it, lol. They are just soooo gorgeous (the lilies, not the co-workers) that I hate not to have SOMEONE enjoy them!

Thank for your responses. I appreciate it.

Any ideas on the overwintering of the crates?

Thanks!
Dee

Dee,
When my daughters were selling flowers lillies were always a hard sell. We even had someone come back and complain that the flower petal when it went by it dropped and stained her antique wooden table...oops! Up until then I certainly knew about the pollen staining and but never the petals. I noticed someone up the road selling lillies I'll take note of what she's charging per bunch next time and let you know.
I think the crate idea is terrific ....you sure don't like to put things in the ground do you? lol. I was sucessful last winter wintering over lilly bulbs in pots in my garage I see no reason other than drainage why you would have a hard time. Good luck. kt

Hi Katy! Nice to see you over on this forum! LOL, well, it's not that I didn't want to plant them in the ground, lol. It was more of a space thing. By using the crates, I was able to plant so many more lilies so much more easily, and all in such a small area. Another added benefit, it turns out, is that for me it's easier to cut the lilies when they are in crates. It's more like that's what they are there for, rather than feeling like I am decimating my cutting garden, lol.

Of course, now comes the issue that I knew I'd have to deal with when I first ordered the bulbs from the comfort of my armchair that cold winter's day. Now I have to either plant them out (yikes) or go with the garage. I think I am going to attempt the garage. Like you, I have overwintered potted lilies successfully. I'll just make sure these are a bit more insulated than the pots, so the open sides and bottom are not so exposed.

I never knew about the petals staining either...

Thanks!
:)
Dee

I grow lilies in crates and have found that if I just leave them outside over the winter they rebloom just fine the following year. I found this out one year when I was too lazy to empty the crates. We have not had terribly cold winters the past few years so this might not work if there was a no snow cover and it went down to -20F like it used to occasionally in the 1980s and 1990s.
Kirk

Thank you Kirk! Wow, if you left your crates outside in zone 5, then mine should be okay in the garage here. That's just what I wanted to hear.

I'm still wondering about little things like, will the newspaper on the bottom of the crate disintegrate, and is so what is the effect, and should I add a fresh layer of potting mix next spring, etc. But I won't overthink, and I'll give the garage a shot this winter.

Thanks!
:)
Dee

dee,
I am curious what kind of crates are you planting in? How deep are they? Do you do layer other bulbs in the crate as well? kt

Hi all!
I too have left my lilies in the crates all winter - OUTSIDE - where I think the rain/snow helps! They do come up fine, a little wiry and thin, but still come up. I planted them in new raised, gopher-proof boxes this year, but they were single blooms, so I left them for next year.

My problem is finding new crates! My tulips and lilies don't come in them anymore! Anyone know where to get them?

LizaLily - the crates are black 2' x about 18" or so, some are 9" or so deep, others aren't quite as deep. I think one of Trish's old posts has pictures of crates.

I like planting them in crates and putting them over flowerbeds that are "done" for the year, i.e. daffodils (with the bed covered in weedcloth first!) Double up on the space that way!

Selling them...I usually bring 4-5 5 stem bunches to market and sell them (asiatic $10-15 and oriental $15). I do put them in mixed bouquets and agree, they sell first! When I cut them, I do put them in sleeves right away, so that they open within the sleeve in the cooler...you may lose one bloom, but not all of the outside ones if you're carefull.

Stains - a designer friend taught me the "pipecleaner" trick! White pipecleaners (or a small dry brush) will clean the pollen off the petals! I try to pull the pollen and the middle stamen off to show customers what to do at home and always end up with yellow/red fingers on those days I take lilies to market!

I think of lilies as one of my main event (as Jeanne used to say) flowers!
Wendy

Katy, the crates are pretty much as Wendy described them above. I bought mine from Ednie. I don't layer other bulbs. These are strictly for growing lilies to cut for market.

Wendy, thanks for that info. It really heartens me to hear that several people here have overwintered bulbs in the crates - and outside no less! How many years do you get out of the bulbs before you need to plant out? And how many per crate do you plant?

I have to say I'm kind of surprised that you can sell the bunches for $15. That's great. I'm going to try to mix some other flowers in this week. Unfortunately, I don't have what I really want - something wispy and light. I guess it's a matter of taste, but I can't see why these lilies didn't sell on their own. They are really quite large and very beautiful. Oh well, live and learn!

And thanks for the pipecleaner trick. I don't know that I will have or want to take the time to do that, but it's good to know it works. I try to be very careful in taking off the pollen when I cut them.

Thanks!
Dee

Hi all, just thought I would put in my two cents here. I grow lilies, asiatic and oriental in both lily crates and milk crates. I do not put as many orientals in the milk crates as the asiatics as they do not appreciate being overcrowded, but the crates work really well and I just leave mine outside to overwinter. The newspaper does disintegrate but the roots have formed a mat by that time and so nothing terrible happens. Make sure you feed the crates next season and the bulbs will flower again for you. My lilies do not sell by the stem but always sell in the mixed bouquets and I did sell the really wonderful asiatic Golf and Black Out lilies together in vases. They are a bright orange and a very dark red, striking together, and the vases sold for $15.00 for 8 stems. Kat

Hi Kat!

Thanks for adding your experiences. Yes, I was thinking how I would have to feed the bulbs next season. Glad to hear the bottom will hold up!

Our markets don't start until July, so it's a bit late for me to sell the Asiatics. Too bad, as there is a lot of variety with them.

I'm going to make up a few bouquets tomorrow, but will probably try selling by the stem also. This is a different market than last week, and while only one town over, and lots of mixing between towns, there is a slightly different atmosphere at this market and the stems may do better than last week. I just don't have much to mix in. Now I'm wishing that my Queen Anne's Lace had germinated and grown better. I think something wispy like that would look nice. Still embarrassed to think that I can't grow what others complain of as a weed, lol. Oh well.

Thanks again to everyone. I've gotten so much help out of this thread!

:)
Dee

P.S. Kat (and anyone else!) how many years do you leave the bulbs in the crates? And then what - do you plant out in the field/garden? Thanks!

Dee - I haven't left my lilies in the crates because I don't have enough and need them to store my dahlias in over the winter! I need to check out Ednie to buy crates!

I am building one more long raised bed to plant the lilies that I planted in crates this year in for next year. I've only been growing them in crates for 3 years, but never have grown them in the crates a second year...usually plant them somewhere!

Kat - what do you feed them with?
Wendy

Sorry for not responding earlier. Dee, I have kept the lilies in crates for three years and this year I will be planting the older ones out in the field because the stems were getting a little crowded. The stems of the asiatics get quite large and they tend at that point to be a little too big for mixed bouquets, for me anyway. As to what to feed them, Wendy, I feed them good rich compost on the top of the crate prior to sprouting in the spring and water them with compost tea. You could, of course, feed them with a high nitrogen fert in spring followed by a high phosphate in the late spring when they are getting ready to set bud. The only trouble with leaving them in the crates is that it is very difficult, without a cooler, to time the flowering so I tend to get a monster rush of flowers all at the same time with the crates that I have overwintered. So, there are pros and cons to leaving them in the crates but I do find that I save money on new bulbs. Kat

Thanks Kat! That was helpful. Yes, I made the mistake of planting my lilies almost all at once, so I had a big rush of blooms all at once. I planted a few of them later, but it may have been too late.

I may plant more (new)next year in more crates, and plant them a bit later to follow the ones already in the crates. In typical fashion for me, I'll worry about it next year, lol!

Perhaps when it's time to plant out the bulbs, I'll sell lily plants. I don't know that I will have room for so many lilies in the garden. I can overwinter in the garage, transplant into pots in spring, and then replant the crates with new lilies. Sounds like it might be a plan...

Thank you!
:)
Dee

Dee, just a word of caution regarding planting the lilies in pots, (orientals, I'm talking about, I did not do this with the asiatics). I planted 3 oriental lilies to a square gallon pot, 36 pots to be exact, and had them outside through the summer with the idea of selling what I thought would be glorious lilies for people's decks or whatever. Well, first of all they were all uneven in the pots, some came up immediately some later, they all got sunscorch so the leaves were ugly (this would have been alleviated if they had been in a hoophouse under some shade, keep this in mind) and come time to sell them, they were uneven in bloom and would have not been appealing to the average shopper, here anyway. Asiatics would, I think, be much more obliging and if you have experience with already doing this then please let me know how you fared. Forgive the rambling, All best, Kat

Once again, Kat, thank you for your input regarding the potted lilies. I was indeed referring to Orientals (our market doesn't start until July, so Asiatics are a bit early for me for this purpose). I do have plenty of shade (a bit too much, actually!) so I could keep them out of the hot sun. I'll keep this info in mind. Hopefully I can get another two years out of the bulbs in crates before I need to pot them up, but we'll see.

Thanks so much!
Dee