Lilies have several leaf arrangemet forms. Some are ladder-like, some are whorls, and some are feathery. Don't worry about it, it's normal in a bed where you've got several varieties together.

Once your lilies bloom, that's it for the year. If you want them to make flowers for next year, you need to side dress them with blood meal. Some people use bone meal too.

Lainey

Thanks, Lainey! I knew they didn't rebloom (like some daylilies do), I just meant that maybe they would produce more buds than the few I could see so far. On what I think are the orientals I see only 1 or 2 very tiny buds on each stem. But they are still so small, 1/4 inch or so, maybe more are developing. The 2 year old asiatics, on the other hand, are loaded with buds. But since they bloom earlier of course the buds are bigger right now.

Thanks for telling me about the blood meal. I didn't know it had special benefits for lilies. I bought some to use to repel rabbits: they ate the buds off some of the shorter lilies. When should I apply the blood meal? Now or after bloom? The directions on the bag aren't too clear: how much per plant? I have bone meal too. Use both?

Which kind of lilies work best on terraces with about 45-degree slope? I would assume daylilies because they have different foliage that covers the ground better plus some rebloom, but I'm partial to the Asiatic kind as well and saw some orange ones planted on a slope about like mine.

I'm not real up on lilies yet, but to me there two kinds, ones that grow like Easter lilies, tall stalks with leaves going up the stalk and the ones that have leaf structure I refer to as "fountains".

Which ones tolerate dry conditions better, maybe none, I read that they like their feet cool and their heads in the sun, neither of which would be true at all times on my terrace where I need them.

Why not plant both? I have both. I've been growing daylilies longer and find them very easy care. I have some growing in an area where the hose won't reach: they get only whatever water the rain provides, and they are fine. If you plant both the daylily foliage could be keeping the true lily feet cool!

Hi linnea56,

The ones that "have 1-3 buds coming off the sides near the top" are your Orientals. Asiatics will have the "Umbel" of bloom stems coming from one point at the top of the stem (like an upside down umbrella). Trumpets have bloom stems coming from the top in a few rings that produce a pyramid like set of buds.

I've been confused by another post as well as yours that have mentionned leaves "growing on the sides" vs. "ringing the stem" since both Asiatic and Orientals have alternating leaves up the stem and oriented in all directions, i.e., what you refer to as "ringing the stem" (vs. the collar like whorls of Martagons and North American Species). The main difference is that most asiatic have more smaller somewhat thinner leaves than the Orientals do. So I went out to my garden to check more closely. Sure enough, SOME (within a variety) of my oriental plants would start off with alternating leaves ringing the stem at the bottom but higher up the leaves were only on opposite sides of the stem "like a jacobs ladder" as you noted. This is especially evident on my Rubrum lilies. I don't believe this is standard growth since it would differ between bulbs of the same type. My Siberia and Aruba does it hardly at all, Stargazer a little more, and Rubrum the most.

If you mapped them out by size the Trumpet lilies should be in the back since they get quite tall. Similarly your pixie lilies (very short asiatics) should be in front.

The trumpets should be easiest to distinguish by their leaf forms. They have a LARGE number of thin leaves. When they first come up they look like Dr. Seuss creatures with "tufts of hair" on their heads.

There are two things going on with newly planted bulbs that affects bud count and plant height. 1) Their bulb size - smaller bulbs will produce shorter plants with fewer buds, And 2) though Fall planting is better than Spring planting, even a quality large bulb planted in the Fall will need a season to get fully established.

When mature and established you can expect that your Orientals will have from 7-12 buds. It depends on variety, garden conditions, and the vagaries of the weather that season. Trumpet lilies often have large number of buds when established. I have a second year L. Regale with 25 buds on it. But others in the same bed have only 7. The average is about 15.

The hardest to distinguish will be the Rubrum (a species Oriental) from the hybrid orientals, since it is one of the hybrids "parents". Once established the hybrids will have thicker stems and larger buds. The Rubrum buds also have three little points sticking up (from three of the nascent petals) while the oriental buds are a smooth ovoid shape.

-Helen