The ones you transplanted are probably just in transplant shock and will get over it. Their roots had to have been hurt when you separated them, if they were 4 in a pot. Now they have to grow new hair roots, the superfine root ends that actually nourish the plant. Whether they will bloom this year or not remains to be seen. If they like their care, they are very likely to bloom next year.

When you transplant, are you keeping as much root matter as possible intact? If the roots are getting hurt, it takes them longer to recover. If you're having to separate four bulbs' roots out of a pot, you are necessarily having to damage those roots. Whether you risk transplant shock on the remaining pot of 4 is up to you, but unless they're in a BIG pot of at least a couple of gallons, and fed often, their bloom performance will probably not be great if they stay in the pot. It may not be great this year if you transplant now, either, but at least they'll be bigger and better next year.

Oriental lilies are the last lilies to bloom. Here, that's August at the earliest. There, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's too soon now. They may have been in bloom out of season when you bought them; that can be achieved in a greenhouse by manipulating bulb chill time, hours of light, and possibly heat.

Jeanne

Jeanne, Thanks so much for your input and advice. I will definitely transplant the other ones. Would it hurt if I just planted them as one big plant and did not seperate them. I don't mind if they don't bloom this year; but I really do want them to get established and hopefully bloom next year. The pot they are in is very small compared to their size and I was thinking they probably wouldn't hold much nourishment as they continue to grow. Thanks again for your help. It is much appreciated.

Hi Rommy,
If you transplant them as one big plant they'll probably grow and bloom fine this year, (since you won't be pulling apart the overcrowded bulbs). Then in the Fall dig them up and space the bulbs farther apart, (and plant deeper, 8"-10").

This is what I do with Home Depot/Lowes potted oriental lilies. These become available in midsummer and are already in bud (and often bloom). I just pull the ball of soil out of the pot and put it in the ground as is. It makes for good inexpensive "instant flowers". After the foliage goes yellow in the Fall I replant, or if I forget I do it in early spring.

I use a hose to gently wash the soil from the overlapping roots so I can untangle the roots while separating the bulbs. All seem to be growing fine

-Helen

Helen, Thanks for the advice on potting the entire pot. I have done just that and it seems to be doing fine so far. I lost two of the ones I seperated. The two smaller ones actually. I hate that but the other ones seem to be doing fine. One question though! I had to buy some spray for my moon flower bush a friend gave me. It was developing a mildew looking stuff on the leaves. I lost one of them too. One of my lillies I transplanted had a web looking stuff in the new leaves growing from the top thick and white. I wiped it out of it and sprayed it too and am going to spray again today. Do you have any idea what it was.

Hey Everyone! My the first pot I transplanted only two survived. Taking Helen's advice I did not seperate the last pot; but planted as one big plant. The first two are not as big as the fully planted pot; but all are producing buds already. Please!!! give me advice on how to help the buds to get big and healthy before they open. How long after the buds begin to form until they actually open and flower? I can't wait to see how they do; but want to help them do their best! Thanks!
Rommy

Hi Rommy,

One of the great things about Lilies is that even though they are as beautiful as exotic plants they are really pretty easy to care for, (with the exception of some of the species lilies). As long as you don't stomp on them (and even then they'll come back next year), have animals munch them up (more of a problem in the winter and early spring), and as long as they get anything resembling reasonable amounts of sun and water, most of the time they grow just fine.

Do be careful not to "kill them with kindness". For example, you could water them every now and then (since they're new) but lilies can handle reasonable dry spells without ill effects. Do be careful not to drown them with overly enthusiastic watering.

As for the white web like stuff or if you have aphids, use any standard aphid spray on them.

When they'll bloom depends on the type. Orientals won't bloom until July-August, (closer to August for most). Bloom time is also influenced by the amount of sun they get (can shift it back by a couple weeks if they're in shade). Later, when they are in bloom you made need to stake them to keep the heavy blooms from pulling the stem over (sometimes breaking it).

Time, will help them do their best. As the bulbs settle in this season, establish roots and grow larger, the plant will do better. Lilies are never truly dormant - though they are sort of "sleepy" in the Fall. So be careful to keep as many roots as possible when you replant. The first couple of seasons your plants will get taller, the stems stouter, and increase bud count. The size of the bloom may also increase a little, but this is more a function of the type of lily than growing conditions.

The only lilies I've had problems growing are pumilum and cernuum. Both are small species lilies (related to each other) that struggle in my heavy clay soil (even after amending). Other species lilies are growing fine. But nothing competes with my hybrid orientals that seem to grow in anything even after fairly poor handling on my part.

Heck, I bought oriental bulbs from Home Depot (which start out small with few roots - I don't recommend them) which I then forgot for a couple months. Planted them WAY late. The first two years they didn't come up (I assumed they were dead). All of a sudden viola! there they were. As of today these lilies are 5' tall, and in the last couple seasons have had huge beautiful blooms.

In summary, sit back and enjoy them. And this fall try to resist the urge to spend the rent/mortgage money buying lots of new lily bulbs for next year!! :)

-Helen

Helen, Thanks again for the advice. I will hold back on the watering. I have been trying to give them a little water everyday even if it is only a spray; but will cut it back. I am going to start hand watering them about twice a week with my coffee and egg water. I'm hoping that will help the buds stay healthy and get big. They have already formed quite a few buds. I think each has about three and one has four. I planted some day lillies and another pink oriental bulb I bought; and it seems the squirrels watch what I am doing. I have found several spots dug up and am not sure if the bulbs in those locations survived or not. They didn't dig very deep andI didn't want to distrub what might be left. I am going to wait it out and if I don't see anything in a few weeks I may dig and see if anything is still there..lol! But, I promise you faithfully I will not spend the rent money this fall...at least not all of it!..haha! God bless and thanks again for the advice. I am going to post before and after pictures of the lillies as soon as I get some batteries for my daughters new digital camera ..she didn't get rechargable and she keeps them run down..lol! Have a wonderful memorial day weekend!
Rommy

Helen & Jeanne, I just wanted to follow up on my lillies since you were both kind enough to offer such good advice. The have done wonderfully this season and I hope they keep it up, even better next year. I am posting some pics. I was so tickeled at how well they did I took these pics early on and wish I had one of the red in with all the blooms it is producing right now. Do either of you know the id of either? I have no idea; but the smell makes it very pleasant to sit on my swing in the evening! thanks again for you help early on!
Rommy

Said my message was rejected; but it is showing! Go figure... I'll learn this site evenutally I guess!..haha!

Hi again rommy!

They look great! Of course, now there's no hope for you. Especially with the Fall mail order season coming up! :)

The top lily looks like "Muscadet". Muscadet is a short to mid sized Oriental (~3' tall). The pink lily looks like "Stargazer". Stargazer can get 4'-5' tall once it is established and mature. (So, when you replant in the fall make sure the Muscadet is in front.)

The ID's also make sense with your bloomtimes. I'm assuming by your wording that the top lily bloomed first. I'm one zone colder than you and my Muscadet have just started to bloom and my Stargazer have decent sized green buds but are not ready to bloom just yet.

And don't forget about the two bulbs you think are dead. This Fall when you dig them up, if they don't look rotted, go ahead and plant them. There's a good chance that after transplanting they decided to spend this season growing roots. If so, they'll come up this spring, (though a little smaller than the others).

-Helen

Helen, I have a question! You mentioned digging up and transplanting. I am a novice and need to know; do you mean to dig them up and replant them in a diff. location? I want to make sure they do well so I need any help I can get. Should I not just leave them where they are and let them winter over there; with lots of mulch of course? Thanks!

Hi Rommy,
As I understand it you planted the one pot of bulbs "as one big plant", i.e., without separating the bulbs. That was a good choice at the time because the plants were too mature to separate without damage. But for the long term, these bulbs are probably crowded and planted too shallowly. If you don't plan to move them they will be OK, but for better performance you will want to space out the bulbs and plant them deeper (8"-10" deep). While mulching will help compensate for shallow planting (insulating the bulb) lilies are stem rooting and get nutrition from the soil through their stem roots. Also replanting is a good time to amend your garden soil if it needs it. Since Orientals like mildly acidic soil and good drainage, peat moss is a good soil amendment for them.

After a lily blooms the leaves' photosynthesis is put into strengthening the bulbs. That's why you don't want to cut back a lily after blooming (but do "deadhead"). You also wouldn't want to disturb the plant (by transplanting) while it is photosynthesizing. Consequently, the best time to move bulbs is in the Fall after their foliage turns yellow, when there is no more photosynthesis to build up the bulb and before they start next seasons growth. Transplanting in the Fall gives the bulb until Spring to settle in and establish their root system in their new location.

Of course in always helps, at any time of year, to be as careful as possible with the roots while separating the bulbs. Dig the rootball out (it will probably come up still in the shape of the pot) and rinse the soil out gently with a hose. This will make untangling the roots a lot easier.

Fall is also the best time to buy bulbs since some mailorder houses don't sell lily bulbs in the Spring and you have a much bigger selection then you can get potted from local garden centers. I know, I know, I'm being a "lily addiction enabler"!

-Helen

Helen, I'm a firm believer you can't enable someone who is willing..haha! Thanks for all this wonderful advice; now I will know how to take care of them in the fall. I am in for a job dividing though...I haven't divided my daylillies in about 3 or 4 years, not to mention my elephant ears... I hope I can tell what is what..I better do it while there is still some foliage this fall. :( Now if I can just get my backyard in shape and keep my dogs away from things I can transplant a lot back there. I am having so much fun this season...even if I am sore every weekend b/c of bending and stooping and squatting..lol. It's much more fun than trying to exercise just to do it and I have lost 15 lbs. since the season started. Lot's more benefit than just enjoying the flowers...huh? If I get too bad I'll ask you if there is a lillies anonymous around anywhere..haha!
Rommy