How to preserve lily bulbs until spring at home?

Lilies are the most beautiful flowers, known for more than a thousand years. They carry extraordinary beauty and pure energy. There are many varieties of lilies that differ in color, flower shape, and aroma. These wonderful flowers can be seen in landscape landscaping; they are the main decorative attribute. But novice gardeners are afraid to grow flowers on the plot, believing that flowers are too capricious. This is wrong. If you know how to store lilies in winter at home, breeding fragrant beauties will not be difficult.

Storage conditions for lily bulbs in winter

Compliance with storage conditions will help preserve lily bulbs for the winter without loss.

• It is necessary to maintain optimal temperature conditions.
• The room where the bulbs will be stored must be sufficiently humid, otherwise they will lose moisture and shrink.
• If the humidity in the room is very high, the bulbs may germinate prematurely or begin to rot.
• The room must be ventilated. Without access to fresh air, mold and all kinds of fungi may appear on the bulbs, which will then lead to the development of the disease.

How to prepare lily bulbs for storage

Experienced gardeners do not recommend trimming the foliage of lilies and stems after flowering. This will allow the bulbs to be saturated with useful substances for flowering in the summer. As soon as the shoots wither, and this happens in late autumn, you can start harvesting. After the period of planting a lily flower, it takes 1.5 months to rest. After flowering, the ovary must be cut off.

The signal for digging lily bulbs out of the soil for storage is the first winter frosts. At this time, cut off the dry stem, leaving about five centimeters. For digging, use a pitchfork, not a shovel. They make a neat slit in a circle, and then carefully remove the bulb from the soil. It is shaken off the ground, then washed under cold water. The bulbs are placed loosely in a container to dry. Some gardeners place moss between the bulbs.

It is recommended to conduct a thorough inspection of the flowers for the presence of affected and putrefactive areas and diseases. Damaged material must be sifted out. Place the tray with the bulbs in a cool, dark place, where they can dry out in two days; if the temperature is too high, mold and mildew may form.

After drying, the bulbs must be sprayed with fungicidal powder. The prepared planting material is placed in paper bags; you can simply wrap each lily in newspaper several times. The bulbs are placed in a cardboard box along with moss or sawdust, in which holes need to be made for ventilation. The place for wintering can be any - balcony, basement, garage.

Proper preparation

The key to quality storage is proper preparation of planting material in the fall. After the plant has dried, it is not necessary to cut off the inflorescences and stems; you must let them dry naturally. The plant needs about 1.5 months to rest.

On a note! Many people leave the bulbs in the ground over the winter, but for more secure storage during cold winters, it is best to dig them up for storage.

Dig up the bulbs when frost occurs. First, trim the stems, leaving about 5 cm above the ground. Then divide the circular space with a fork to avoid damaging the roots. Then the bulbs are carefully removed from the ground.

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The bulbs are washed with water and sent to dry in a cool, dark place. Before storage, each of them is checked for signs of rotting or disease. After drying (about a day), the lilies are treated with fungicidal powder, placed in paper bags or wrapped in newspaper. The prepared material is stored in cardboard boxes with holes for ventilation. Each bulb is moved with sawdust or moss. For storage, you can choose a basement, garage or balcony.

How to preserve lilies for the winter. Storage methods

How to preserve lily bulbs before planting? There are several storage options. If the plant has sprouted, but it is too early to plant it, you need to plant it in flowerpots. Then place in a cool, well-lit place to slow down growth.

You can place the bulbs in plastic bags, puncturing small holes in them to allow air to enter. A layer of peat is placed at the bottom, with lilies on them. There must be a peat layer of at least 10 cm between the plants. The bag is tied, placed in a container or cardboard box and placed in a storage place.

Peat planting pots are also suitable for storage. The containers are placed in a container and placed for storage in the selected location. The method is the most practical and convenient, since planting can be done immediately along with the pots. Before planting, place the flowerpots in a warm, illuminated place and begin watering.

Boarding time

The most favorable period for planting lilies is considered to be the time when the plant has bloomed (late summer - mid-autumn). If you purchased lilies in the spring, you can plant the bulbs as soon as the snow melts and the soil melts. Late varieties of lilies are best planted in spring.

For large bulbs, the planting depth is 25 cm; for smaller ones, this parameter is determined by size. The bulb is planted to a depth 3 times its size. After planting, watering is carried out with stabilized water and mulching is carried out with crushed bark. To protect young lily buds, you can cover them with cut plastic bottles.

How to choose storage space

Storage location is important for the safety of lilies. The temperature regime is important and must be constant. It is best if the temperature is at 0...+4°C. Experienced gardeners do not recommend storing lily bulbs in the refrigerator, since there is not enough ventilation there. As practice shows, such storage significantly reduces the supply of planting material.

It is most convenient to store lilies in a cellar or basement. They are ideal because they can easily achieve the required temperature, ventilation and humidity levels. During the winter, it is necessary to take into account what the air temperature is outside in order to open or close the ventilation duct as necessary.

How to store lilies in winter at home

In a refrigerator. Storing lily bulbs at home is possible in the refrigerator. The bulbs are placed in a bag into which damp peat is poured. The bag with planting material is stored on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. It should be taken into account that when storing lilies in the refrigerator, you cannot store fruit there. They emit ethylene, which is harmful to lilies.

In the basement, garage. These rooms are suitable only when they are sufficiently insulated and the temperature in them, even in severe frosts, does not fall much below zero. A layer of sand or peat is poured into a container (container or box), it should be slightly damp. A layer of bulbs is placed on this layer and covered again with sand or peat. You can make several layers, the top layer should be a covering layer. The container is covered with damp burlap.

On the loggia or balcony of the apartment. How to store lily bulbs in winter? You can install a box with thermal insulation on the balcony. The body of an old refrigerator is suitable, which is installed near the wall of the building to get additional protection from frost. It should be taken into account that in severe frost the bulbs may freeze. Handymen can upgrade an old refrigerator box by installing a thermometer inside to monitor the temperature and a few incandescent light bulbs that can act as heaters when the temperature drops.

What planting material to buy

Lily bulbs appear on sale from the last days of January until May. And also from the end of August to September. The “fresh” they are, the more likely it is that the germination of the bulbs will be timely and the flowering of the plants will be vigorous.

• If the purchase of lilies occurs in the autumn, preference should be given to products from a domestic manufacturer. And from February to March you can already purchase imported products.
• At the time of purchase, you should evaluate the appearance and structure of each bulb. There should be no damage or signs of disease. They should feel elastic to the touch, without soft areas.
• It is very important that the planting material does not emit a moldy smell when opening the package.
• Another indicator of the quality of lily bulbs is the presence of living roots. If the bulbs are purchased in the spring, the presence of a small sprout is considered normal.
• When the bulbs are clearly overdried or too soft, have no roots or, on the contrary, have sprouted very actively, it is not advisable to buy them. The lilies were most likely stored in violation of the rules, after which they will not be able to please with lush, bright flowering.

It is very important to carefully examine the bottom of the bulbs. They should be dry and dense, without signs of fungal infection.

Is it possible to leave the bulbs in the ground?

Many gardeners are interested in whether it is right to constantly dig up bulbs? In fact, for high-quality storage, about 15 cm of snow cover is enough, only in this case the lilies will not freeze. And without snow, there is a risk that the bulbs left in the ground will simply die.

Although in warm regions, flower growers leave lilies for the winter at their place of growth. But it’s better to play it safe by covering the beds with peat, spruce branches, and pine paws. Coniferous covering is the most optimal, since in the spring there will be no breeding ground for pests. At the first thaw in early spring, the covering must be removed.

It should be remembered that this storage method is only suitable for frost-resistant varieties. When growing Oriental Trumpet varieties and other oriental hybrids, it is necessary to ensure that they are in dry soil at the time of the first rainfall. In the first week of September, you can cover the beds with polyethylene and remove it when the first frosts hit.

Winter storage option

In regions with a continental climate (North-West, Central Russia, the Urals, Siberia), not all types of lilies winter successfully. Not only winter and off-season frosts are to blame for this, but also poor ripening of the bulbs during the short summer and damp autumn.

Asians, LA-hybrids, Tigers, many Martagons, some wild plants (locusts, daurians, etc.) easily tolerate bad weather. It’s quite difficult for OT and LO hybrids, and especially for Easterners. Classic Tubular (Trumpet) types such as Regale, Planet, African Queen, etc. often freeze out. The capricious assortment is easier to dig up in the fall and replant in the spring.

We remove lilies from the ground as late as possible - after the first frost (depending on the region - in September or October). We cut off the remains of the stem, wash the bulbs in water, if necessary, clean them of rot, and soak them in a solution of Maxim fungicide (according to the instructions). Then they need to be dried for 5 days at moderate heat (about +15 degrees). Storing for winter storage follows the same rules as when purchasing in early spring. The best option is a cellar. Next season, we plant in open ground earlier, as soon as the soil allows.

Covering lilies for overwintering

Sometimes you don't just need to preserve the lily bulbs that you dug up yourself. There are times when planting material was purchased for the winter and needs to be preserved. Oriental hybrids of different varieties of representatives of the Liliaceae family are recommended to be covered. To do this, you need to make a trench in the garden plot. You need to choose a place for it where it is dry and sunny in spring, and where a lot of snow lingers in winter. High-quality drainage will help avoid stagnation of water in the trench. Line the trench with boards and make a cover.

Place the lily bulbs in bags, pack them, put them in a trench, transferring them with bags of water. They will be an excellent temperature indicator and maintain atmospheric changes. If the water freezes in the cold, it means the bulbs will begin to freeze. The storage is first covered with film, then closed with a lid. You can add a layer of cardboard on top, sprinkle with earth, and cover with pine branches. To protect the material from mice, it is necessary to spread rodent poison in the trench.

Typical mistakes of beginning gardeners

The main errors are related to inappropriate storage conditions:

• Low storage temperatures slow down the formation of flower buds. This can slow down the flowering process or even eliminate it.
• At low humidity, the bulbs quickly become unsuitable for planting because they dry out.
• At high humidity, planting material becomes moldy and may rot.
• If the storage area is too warm, the bulbs will begin to grow prematurely.
• During winter, be sure to check the bulbs. If mold appears, you need to wipe the planting material with a damp cloth and sprinkle the affected areas with charcoal.
• When rot appears, it is removed with a knife, treating the cut areas with a solution of brilliant green. If the bulbs are severely damaged, they are thrown away.

Errors and possible problems

Even experienced gardeners often make mistakes that lead to problems:

1. If the bulbs are not sufficiently dried before storage, they may rot.
2. Damaged scales often become the gates of infection, so you need to remove them with a sharp knife with a disinfected blade and treat the sections with bright green or a fungicide solution.
3. Whole healthy tubers should be stored separately from damaged ones.
4. In a room with dry air, the best environment for storing bulbs is soil.
5. Increasing ambient temperature causes germination, so it must be reduced to allow flower buds to remain dormant.