JAS_OH1
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You can also just trim back the flowers and keep the plants inside until spring.
Cats and plants
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Lullabelle
Midlands, England
That would probably be the best option. Do I need to cut back the stems?
JAS_OH1
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I think if you only cut back the flower stems and leave the leaves it's best. I'm no garden expert so if you research it you will find out more expert advice.
Just leave them in the pot. When the flowers /leaves die off, put them in the greenhouse/shed/garage/ cupboard. Once winter is over, take them out again, put them in a sunny spot and start watering them. They'll grow again.
I had a whole border of the garden full of Japanese lillies. Eventually, I dug them out because they only flowered once a year/.
Lullabelle
Midlands, England
Thankyou both for your input, just wasn't sure what to do but didn't want to get rid of them.
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
I have a bed of lilies that only bloom once a year, much like many other flowers do (daffodils, hyacinths, tulips). I don't mind that they only bloom once year. What's really cool about flowering bulb plants is that when planted in the ground, the bulbs multiply and spread out into clusters, as I'm sure you already know. They don't have room to do that in pots.
Lullabelle
Midlands, England
OK, so the flowers and stems have all died off but the bulbs are perfectly fine
Can I leave them in the pot of compost in the shed? If my dad were still with us he would know what to do, I am a bit lost.
Can I leave them in the pot of compost in the shed? If my dad were still with us he would know what to do, I am a bit lost.
Leave them in the shed. Nothing will happen to them until next year, when they'll grow again. Bulbs just sit tight until the atmospheric/weather conditions are right, they they start growing again. Daffodils and tulips, for example, just sit in the earth until spring, and when the warm weather comes, they spring out!
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
That's true. If I keep mine in the refrigerator at a constant temperature, they don't need water. In the shed, though, the soil is going to dry out, isn't it? When the bulbs are left in the ground outside, melted snow and/or rain will water them. Aren't the bulbs going to dry out if just left in the soil in the shed?
I get wild gladioli springing up all over the garden. Once they flower, I dig up the bulb and put it in a flower pot - no earth, no nothing. Might be advisable to put them in some damp earth, just in case. However, when you think about how they sell them, they're just bulbs in a packet, right?
JAS_OH1
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Do you get rain? My lilies come up but they are not stored in a shed, they are in the ground and we get rain.
The thing is, the ones in the packet will dry out and die. My mom was bad about buying them and not putting them in the ground right away, and by the time (a few months) had gone by when she finally planted them, they did not grow.
We've got 2 seasons here. A rainy season from May to November, and a dry season from December to April. I do water the garden during the dry season, because 5 or sometimes 6 months with no rain is havoc for the plants.
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
I think the thing to do would be to call a local garden center/greenhouse and ask for their advice. I only know what works from my experience and it's best to consult someone with expertise on this one.