Lisa,

Personally I would wait a few more years until there is a steeper decline in the beetle population. If you are still on the fence you might ask someone to post a photo of their beetle destroyed lily.

I do have some oriental lilies growing in a spot that over time has become shady. I will say the numbers have declined (don't know to attribute to old age or shade) but the few that do bloom have avoided beetle damage.

For fun you might shoot off an email to the president of the New England Lily Society and ask what they are recommending.

New England Lily Society
President - G. Robert Meyer, 406 A Ridgefield Circle, Clinton, MA 01510, USA,

grnieyer@comcast.net

Actually, I think most lilies can handle more than a bit of shade. Most, if not all, of mine are in at least half-day shade, with some getting even less sun. I don't know if they would bloom more prolifically in more sun, but I get quite good bloom out of mine.

The beetles...... grr. Yes, they are bad. I guess it's up to you to decide how much damage you can live with. I've found for the most part, in my garden, the damage seems to be more to the foliage than the blooms, although there was one particular grouping last year where the blooms were really damaged.

I've been trying an ammonia drench about once a week here, and it has seemed to help. I've been really wrestling with the idea of trying the Bayer rose stuff. I am an organic gardener, and don't expect perfection, but I do sell cut flowers at market, and the lilies are a big part of that, so I am really struggling with my conscience on this one!

Iin the meantime, I am taking hope from reports of the success of the parasitic wasp release. It seems to have made some headway in MA, I believe, so hopefully it will work its way down south here!

Oh, and no, I don't think the beetles eat anything else, except for fritillaria. I have not seen them on anything else in my garden except the lilies (which is bad enough, lol!)

Good luck with your decision!
:)
Dee

Wow it's a good thing ignorance is bliss...I put in lilies during my bulb spree not knowing anything about beetles. I've been checking them constantly since reading about them here - and thank goodness they haven't found my yard! Is the beetle only a concern when the growth is new, or am I going to have to worry about them the whole time?

Hi there!

I agree about the shady thing....mine are all in partial shade (or even shadier), and very happy. The only thing, if I don't stake them, they lean to the sun, which either looks goofy or sculptural, depending on how you look at it.

I planted all mine about 10 years ago, before I ever saw this beetle. I planted them in about 20 different spots around the yard. I try to hand pick the beetles, but I always forget a patch or 2. So I caved last year and started using the Bayer rose product. It definitely works. However, I don't think I would add something to my yard, knowing it would require a chemical to keep it going well. So if you need lilies, I would advise you to pick one spot (or 2), so that you can more easily stay on top of hand-picking. Just a thought! Good luck either way...

Of all my lilies, the red lily leaf beetles prefer, hands-down, the orange tiger lilies (Lilium lancifolium var. splendens).

I occasionally find them on the asiatic lilies. This year, I found them once on both the orienpet (OT, or oriental-trumpet hybrid) and a new trumpet lily -- as well as a neighbor's easter lily -- but haven't yet seen them on my new Lilium martagon.

By contrast, they seem to steer clear of my oriental lilies, both the giant (6-foot) and dwarf varieties. The oriental lily leaves seem significantly thicker than other lilies, which might explain why I see a difference.

I grow all of them in part shade; all do pretty well, although the asiatic lilies probably are not blooming nearly as well as they would in full sun.

The oriental, trumpet, and orienpet are all fragrant, although I prefer the super-strong scent of oriental.

I have been using Neem oil (Bonide 3:1) for prevention, but I still find some beetles; Neem oil is considered organic. Since the beetles like to jump off the leaf when you try to catch them, I hold a container of diluted bleach underneath their leaf and voila!

So, my suggestion for your trial is to get one or a couple oriental lilies. You'll get the fragrance, they seem to bloom well in part-shade, and I find that they are the lily the beetles like least. Try cultivars 'Casa Blanca' (tall) or 'Star Gazer' (medium), which are commonly found in the trade.

Thanks for sharing all that info, extragalactic! I've found they decimated Asiatics, but tend to leave alone my Orienpets, which are growing up through the shady skirts of a rhodie.

I haven't bought a lily for more that 5 years, but maybe I'll try a few Orientals and see how they do.

planted Black Beauty because Old House Gardens mentioned possible avoidance by LLBs. i have noticed that the red vermin prefer others over this one ...

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Beauty at Old House Gardens

Gee, my orientals were not spared, sadly....

I was at a garden talk last night, and the speaker said she had good luck combatting the beetles with insecticidal soap. This kind of surprised me since it seemed so easy and I don't recall it being one of the recommended treatments. I may as well give it a shot, I suppose.

:)
Dee

Dee: Let us know if the insecticidal soap works.

Thanks,
Claire