Most of my Orientals have not broken ground yet. I'm in Z5a, upstate NY.

Thanks for your post. What a relief! I checked out your profile and read that you run a small nursery. Is it on the web? I'm in the Capital region area. Is it in the same area?

I'm in Zone 5. My stargazers, planted last fall, just broke ground.

I am also zone 5 almost 4 and same is happening with my stargazer. Other lilium are not up yet but will be soon. Still kind of early here to worry if it is not alive unless you see rot they are probably fine.

I buried mine pots and all because of mole, vole, porcupine troubles. It seems not to hurt the lilies and they are easier to keep under control come dividing time.

Thank you all for the helpful info. How can I tell if there is any rot issues going on?

Well well well, I went out to the garden this past Sunday to determine what happened to the lilies. To make a long story short the lilies and moles fought a grisley battle and the moles won. :(

Sorry to hear about your losses. :-(

What you might try the next time (and hopefully there will be a next time!) is when you dig the hole to plant, make a tube out of some metal screen (folded over on the bottom) and place in the hole as an enclosure for the bulb. Even if the mole or vole chews on roots that grow through the screen, the bulb will remain intact and should continually grow additional feeder roots to support itself. You could even "cage" an entire bed to keep them out. Or you could sink potted ones (remove the bottom) and leave in place like that. Roots should grow out the bottom (you could even poke some holes in the side) but hopefully the whole thing would be protected against those tunneling critters.

Last summer I had a heliopsis bloom magnificently from June to September. In October I cut it back as it was starting to look bad.

This May, it hasn't produced the lush, green leaves that presage its blooms...it has produced a few feeble looking shoots which have withered. It has a huge root clump and I can't believe I killed it by cutting it back after the blooms were done!

Any suggestions on how I can get it to bloom this summer?
Do they "rest" for a year, like a biannual?

Thanks.
James.

James, You probably did not kill your heliopsis by cutting it back. That should not hurt it at all. It probaby got a fungus or something if you had a long, cold, wet, spring as many of us did. Heliopsis is VERY susceptible to fungal and mold infections.

If it were mine, I'd dig it up and look at the roots. I'd trim off any dead ones and dust the whole thing with anti-fungal powder according to directions. I'd plant it in the most dry place in my garden, in full sun. I'd water sparingly and wait to see what happened. Chances are, if it's still alive, it will recover.

Lainey